Help for new volunteers.

"HOWEVER this book came to you," says the series introduction, "it almost certainly happened because you have also been chosen for a ministry in the church ..."

Then follows a series of brief meditations focused on the particular volunteer ministry to which the reader has been called. Clearly, they were written by fellow Christians who have been there, in both the good and the difficult times.

The authors are members of the Episcopal Church USA, and use terms in common use there, for example references to the American Book of Common Prayer. Even though different page (and hymn) numbers can be an irritant, Canadian Anglicans would still recognize most of the quotations. The books for vestry and choir members, however, rely mainly on quotations from the Bible.

As gifts for Lent or anytime, these little purse / pocket-sized books can give a needed spiritual dimension to church jobs that can easily become very task -- rather than ministry -- oriented.

FAITHFUL SERVANT SERIES

Meditations for ... Vestry Members by Colleen McMahon ISBN 0 8192 1789 1

Choir Members by Nancy Roth ISBN 0 8192 1779 4

Lay Eucharistic Ministers by Beth Maynard ISBN 0 8192 1770 0

Lay Readers By Suzanne E. Hunger ISBN 8192 1771 9 Anglican Book Centre/ Morehouse Each 80 pages, paper, $9.95