Together by grace, grounded in love: Celebrating the work of clergy and laity
By Jessica White, UNY Conference Lay Leader | Email
October is a month of celebration, a time to recognize the faithful ministry of our clergy siblings, and to celebrate the many ways laypeople live out their calling as disciples of Jesus Christ.
As we celebrate Clergy Appreciation Month and Laity Sunday this October, may we remember that these are not two separate celebrations. They are reminders that God calls all of us—clergy and laity alike—to participate in the mission of the Church.
Our clergy siblings lead, teach, preach, shepherd, and walk alongside us. Our laity bring their gifts into our congregations, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Together, we are the body of Christ. Each of us has different gifts, experiences, and ways of serving, but we share one calling: to make the love and grace of Jesus Christ visible in the world.
So this October, I encourage you to do two things:
Take time to thank those who provide pastoral leadership in your congregation. Let them know that their ministry, prayers, presence, and faithful service matter.
On Laity Sunday on October 18, take time to celebrate the people sitting beside you in the pews, and perhaps remind them that their ministry matters too.
Ministry does not begin when we enter the church building, nor does it end when worship is over. Every time we feed someone who is hungry, welcome someone who feels alone, serve our neighbors, advocate for those whose voices are not heard, teach a child, visit someone who is sick, offer encouragement, or simply show Christ's love to another person, we are living into our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Look through the Weekly Digest and you will see people doing exactly that—collecting kits for Mission Central, working to alleviate food insecurity, organizing toy drives, helping communities recover after storms, and finding countless other ways to serve. These are reminders that the gifts of the laity are not simply gifts for the Church; they are gifts for the world.
We need one another.
Clergy need laity. Laity need clergy. And the Church needs all of us, bringing the gifts God has given us and using them faithfully.
When we come together and share those gifts, we become more fully the body of Christ—a people rooted in love, strengthened by grace, and sent into the world to serve.
As 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 tells us, “Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. Certainly the body isn’t one part but many.”
May we continue to be together by grace, grounded and rooted in the love of Christ. And from that foundation of love, may we continue to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in our congregations, our communities, and throughout our connection.
Thank you to our clergy for answering God’s call to pastoral leadership.
Thank you to our laity for answering God’s call to discipleship and service.
And thanks be to God, who calls all of us together to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.
Together by grace, may we rise up and be the Church God is calling us to be.
