Practice of liturgical ministry

In order to promote the proper and worthy worship services of Luther Academy, on the evening of March 29, students, teaching staff and graduates were invited to the seminar "Practice of liturgical ministry".

The practice was led by the dean of the Riga Cathedral, Elijs Godiņš. Under his leadership, the participants of the seminar acquired knowledge and skills related to the ministry at a free-standing altar, which is found not only in the worship room of the Luther Academy in the Riga Reformed Church, but also elsewhere in the congregations of ELCL. At the beginning of the classes, the concept of "Jesus among us", presented by Dean Elijs in relation to a free-standing altar, also became the guiding principle and motivation for everything discussed in the seminar: the real presence of our Lord in the worship service is the main reason why preparing and conducting the service must be done accurately and in awe. There is also a second important reason for this – the assembled congregation, whose grateful response to the Lord's presence in His Name and the Sacrament of the Altar during the service should not be hindered or disturbed by anything.

During the practical classes, attention was paid both to the preparation of the Lord's Supper service and its conduct. This applied both to the part of the Word of God (from which place to read the Holy Scriptures, how to prepare for the reading), and to the Lord's Supper (preparation and placement of elements on the altar, the place and meaning of the altar vessels and cloths, what must be observed when distributing, how everything should be arranged afterwards).

The practical classes started by evening prayer in the form of vespers and concluded with a service of the Lord’s Supper where one could observe and experience what was discussed in the classes earlier.

In both prayer and Lord’s Supper service, Dean Elijs gave a short homily that also served as a model for student-prepared homilies in circumstances where time between lectures is limited.

A lot of questions were asked in the classes, which showed that students and faculty want to apply the acquired knowledge not only in the services of the Academy, but also in the congregations in which they themselves are involved. Therefore, one can definitely say that the seminar led by Dean Elijs achieved its purpose, serving as encouragement and strengthening to its participants and promoting good liturgical practice.

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