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87-769: The DC Minyan is a lay -led unaffiliated Jewish congregation that holds worship services and other events in the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center (DCJCC), located in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C. , in the United States. Founded in 2002, the congregation generally demonstrates the characteristics of an independent minyan , with a dual commitment to halacha /Jewish law and egalitarianism . It's programs include Shabbat/Sabbath and Holy Day worship services, education, social events, retreats, and opportunities for tikkun olam , improving and transforming

174-652: A "preoccupation with activities inside the church", as well as a lack of literature and programs on the subject. For these reasons, attempts to link faith and daily life "fizzled out". For Miller, "hindsight suggests that the institutional church and its leaders never fully embraced or understood lay ministry". Therefore, they stopped promoting the "ministry of the laity" concept to their members. Miller deems "Faith at Work" to be "a bona fide social movement and here to stay". Unlike earlier movements, business people (from evangelical and mainline Protestant denominations, Roman Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, and unaffiliated) initiated

261-625: A Pentateuchal book ever found in a Holy Ark . The deciphered text fragment is identical to what was to become during the Middle Ages the standard text of the Hebrew Bible , the Masoretic Text , which it precedes by several centuries; it thus constitutes the earliest evidence of this authoritative text version. The scroll is badly charred and fragmented and required noninvasive scientific techniques to virtually unwrap and read. Torah reading from

348-441: A Torah scroll during his lifetime." It is considered a tremendous merit to write (or commission the writing of) a Torah scroll, and a significant honour to have a Torah scroll written in one's honour or memory. In modern times, it is usual for some scholars to become soferim and to be paid to complete a Torah scroll under contract on behalf of a community or by individuals to mark a special occasion or commemoration. Because of

435-454: A Torah scroll or Sefer Torah is traditionally reserved for Monday and Thursday mornings, as well as for Shabbat , fast days, and Jewish holidays . The presence of a quorum of ten Jewish adults ( minyan ) is required for the reading of the Torah to be held in public during the course of the worship services. As the Torah is sung , following the often dense text is aided by a yad ("hand"),

522-423: A Torah scroll: gevil and klaf . The ink used is subject to specific rules. The ink has to adhere to a surface that is rolled and unrolled, so special inks were developed. Even so, ink would slowly flake off and if the ink from too many letters is lost, a Torah scroll is no longer used. After the preparation of the parchment sheet, the scribe must mark out the parchment using the sargel ("ruler") ensuring

609-654: A bookstore in Dupont Circle. Its founders were a mixture of young Conservative and Modern Orthodox Jews, who wanted to re-set worship that combined traditional prayers and rituals with an egalitarian approach to the inclusion of women. As the congregation grew, in late Spring 2002 it moved to the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center. For special occasions, such as worship services for the High Holy Days , when space requirements or scheduling needs make it impossible to use

696-506: A church council called a vestry which manages church finances and elects the parish rector . Parish musicians, bookkeepers, administrative assistants, sextons , sacristans , etc., are all roles normally filled by lay persons. At higher levels, diocesan and national offices rely on lay persons in many important areas of responsibility. Often specialized ministries as campus ministers, youth ministers, or hospital chaplains are performed by lay persons. Lay persons serve in worship services in

783-459: A different phenomenon: ...members of today's independent minyanim are not counter-cultural types in rebellion against their parents or committed to smashing existing institutions, but a generation that is at once self-sufficient and open to compromise. An example of the newer spirit is the DC Minyan's commitment to separate seating, an infringement on the principle of strict sexual egalitarianism that

870-663: A family, farmers, bank tellers, drivers, by doing their jobs in the world with a Christian spirit are already extending the Kingdom of God. According to the repeated statements of Popes and lay Catholic leaders, the laity should say "we are the Church," in the same way that the saints said that "Christ lives in me." Lay involvement takes diverse forms, including participation in the life of the parish, confraternities , lay apostolates , secular institutes , and lay ecclesial movements . There are also lay ecclesiastical ministries , and where there

957-452: A group (called a circuit ) of preaching houses or churches. The lay preacher walked or rode on horseback in a prescribed circuit of the preaching places according to an agreed pattern and timing, and people came to the meetings. After the appointment of ministers and pastors, this lay preaching tradition continued with local preachers being appointed by individual churches, and in turn approved and invited by nearby churches, as an adjunct to

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1044-454: A half years. An error during transcription may render the Torah scroll pasul ("invalid"). According to the Talmud , all scrolls must be written on gevil parchment that is treated with salt, flour and m'afatsim (a residue of wasp enzyme and tree bark) in order to be valid. Scrolls not processed in this way are considered invalid. There are only two types of kosher parchment allowed for

1131-669: A liaison for LGBTQ issues. Although there is no rabbi officially affiliated with the congregation, one rabbi who is consulted on a regular basis is rabbi Ethan Tucker , the co-founder, rosh yeshiva, and Legal Chair of Hadar , in New York. Rabbis in the D.C. area also offer assistance on an needs basis, including support for life-cycle events and pastoral care . Laity Terms such as lay priest , lay clergy and lay nun were once used in certain Buddhist cultures, especially Japanese, to indicate ordained persons who continued to live in

1218-692: A local parochial church council , through Deanery Synods and Diocesan Synods . At the topmost level, the General Synod includes a house of Laity. Likewise, in the Episcopal Church in the USA, the General Convention includes four lay persons from each diocese in the House of Deputies, and each diocesan convention includes lay delegates from the parishes. On the local parish level, lay persons are elected to

1305-505: A metal or wooden hand-shaped pointer that protects the scrolls by avoiding unnecessary contact of the skin with the parchment. All Jewish prayers start with a blessing ( berakhah ), thanking God for revealing the Law to the Jews ( Matan Torah ), before Torah reading and all days during the first blessings of the morning prayer ( Shacharit ). According to halakha (Jewish law), a Torah scroll

1392-513: A more incisive female presence in the Church". The "missionary transformation of the Church" is seen by some as "the goal of this pontificate", with all the baptized becoming "missionary disciples", The Orthodox Church in America 's web site has eleven articles regarding its Theology of Lay Ministries. The term "lay ministries" refers to all the "people of God" (from the Greek laos tou Theou ) including

1479-608: A number of important positions, including vergers , acolytes , lectors , intercessors , ushers . Acolytes include torch bearers, crucifers , thurifers , and boat bearers . Lectors read the lessons from the Bible appointed for the day (except for the Gospel reading, which is read by a Deacon), and may also lead the Prayers of the People. Some specialized lay ministries require special licensing by

1566-422: A situation that seemed to ignore and show a certain amount of disrespect for the women who had come to pray. The compromise agreed upon at the early DC Minyan services was that the portions of the service that did require such a minyan would not be conducted unless there were both ten men and ten women. According to some sources, this approach, sometimes referred to as the "10-and-10 minyan," was originally crafted by

1653-501: A war that contradicted its optimism about Christianizing society. The Social Gospel was promulgated by the preaching, writing, and other efforts of clergy on behalf of the laity rather than by the laity themselves. In the early 1930s, the Social Gospel was described as "a preacher's gospel. It has not been the church's gospel. The laity have little share in it." Many were not aware what their clergy believed. Most scholars hold that

1740-521: Is "through their continuous participation in political, economic, educational, and kinship institutions" that the laity "powerfully influence the character of these institutions". Laymen also play important roles in the structures of the church. There are elected lay representatives on the various governing bodies of churches in the Anglican communion. In the Church of England , these governing bodies range from

1827-576: Is a priest shortage , lay people have to take on some functions previously performed by priests. In December 1977, "A Chicago Declaration of Christian Concern" was published. The declaration looked back a decade to the Vatican Council II with appreciation for its "compelling vision of lay Christians in society." As the Declaration interpreted it, the Council viewed the laity's "special vocation" as being

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1914-548: Is a copy of the Hebrew text of the Torah handwritten on special types of parchment by using a quill or another permitted writing utensil, dipped in ink. Producing a Torah scroll fulfills one of the 613 commandments . Written entirely in Biblical Hebrew , a Torah scroll contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained scribe, or sofer , an effort which may take as long as approximately one and

2001-559: Is done in a ceremony known as hachnosas sefer Torah , or "ushering in a Torah scroll"; this is accompanied by celebratory dancing, singing, and a festive meal. This practice has its source in the escorting of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem , led by King David . As described in the Books of Samuel , this event was marked by dancing and the playing of musical instruments ( 2 Samuel 6:14–15 ). Both

2088-462: Is maintained for the sake of accommodating the group's diverse population. In the present moment, pluralism is valued over purity. Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, rosh yeshiva and executive director of Mechon Hadar and on the Talmud faculty of Yeshivat Hadar, defined, in 2009, an "independent minyan"—Jewish worshiping communities like the DC Minyan—as a congregation meeting three requirements: Kaunfer added

2175-532: Is often a major possession of a Jewish community. A chumash contains the Torah and other writings, usually organised for liturgical use, and sometimes accompanied by some of the main classic commentaries. While not in use, a Torah scroll ( Sefer Torah ) is housed in the Torah ark ( Aron Kodesh or Hekhal ), which in its turn is usually veiled by an embroidered parochet (curtain), as it should be according to Exodus 26:31–34 . The gold and silver ornaments belonging to

2262-539: Is secularity: they are Christians who live the life of Christ in the world. Their role is to sanctify the created world by directing it to become more Christian in its structures and systems: "the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God". The laity are full members of the Church, fully share in Church's purpose of sanctification, of "inner union of men with God", acting with freedom and personal responsibility and not as mere agents of

2349-614: The Auburn Theological Seminary wrote a retrospective of the Ministry of the Laity era based on research and survey. His research participants were women and men in equal numbers, aged 20 to 60, from six denominations. Reber found that "all were really interested to link faith with their daily life and work". However, in his survey, Reber found that little had been done in the six denominations to enable laity to make this link. He observed

2436-649: The Five Precepts (or the Eight Precepts during Uposatha Days ) as discipline for ethical conduct. Laymen and laywomen are two of the "Four-fold Assembly". The Buddha referred to his disciples as the "Four-fold Assembly" – the gatherings of 'bhikkhū' (monks), 'bhikkhunī' (nuns), 'upasakā' (laymen), and 'upasikā' (laywomen). In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta , the Buddha famously said that "He would not pass away until

2523-465: The Methodist Church of Great Britain , a "worship leader" is a trained lay person appointed by a Church Council to "take a leading and significant role in the conduct of worship within the life of a Local Church". Presbyterians do not use the term "lay". Thus the Church of Scotland has "Readers", men and women set apart by presbyteries to conduct public worship. This arises out of the belief in

2610-450: The Northwest section of Washington, D.C. The founders of the DC Minyan were committed to a traditional approach to worship and Jewish life, and determined to push the limits of tradition to include women to the greatest extent possible. They began by studying ancient Jewish legal texts, with the goal of learning the position of traditional authorities, "with an eye towards including women in

2697-658: The Spanish and Portuguese Jews (with the exception of the Hamburg tradition ), and the Judaeo-Spanish communities of the Ottoman Empire — also use tikim, though this is not always the case. The installation of a new Torah scroll into a synagogue, or into the sanctuary or study hall ( beth midrash ) of a religious school ( yeshiva ), rabbinical college, university campus, nursing home, military base, or other institution,

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2784-437: The five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible ). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers . At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue , the Torah ark , which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem , the direction Jews face when praying . The text of

2871-585: The priesthood of all believers . Ministers are officially 'teaching elders' alongside the 'ruling elders' of the Kirk Session and have equivalent status, regardless of any other office. In the Church of Scotland, as the Established church in Scotland, this gives ruling elders in congregations the same status as Queen's chaplains, professors of theology and other highly qualified ministers. All are humble servants of

2958-654: The "Four-fold Assembly" is well-established in the learning and practice of Dhamma, and proficient in propagating His Sublime Teachings." The movement to help laity apply their faith to daily life has been divided into three eras by David W. Miller in God at Work . The Social Gospel sought to reform society by the application of biblical principles. Its major proponents were all clergy: Washington Gladden , Charles Monroe Sheldon , and Walter Rauschenbusch . They were better in diagnosing society's ills than finding remedies. The Social Gospel reached its peak just prior to World War I,

3045-509: The "leaven" for the "sanctification of the world" in their "secular professions and occupations". However, lamented the Declaration, the council's vision has "all but vanished" from the church. The Declaration was signed by forty-seven clergy, religious, and laity that included men and women in many occupations, and it served as the charter for the National Center for the Laity (NCL). The NCL helps lay Catholics respond to their call to change

3132-496: The 613 commandments, one – the 82nd as enumerated by Rashi , and the final as it occurs in the text the Book of Deuteronomy ( Deuteronomy 31:19 ) – is that every Jewish male should write a Torah scroll in his lifetime. This is law number 613 of 613 in the list of Laws of the Torah as recorded by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin in his book "Biblical Literacy", 1st edition, New York: Morrow 1997, p. 592: "The commandment that each Jew should write

3219-635: The Anglican and Episcopal churches is lay reader . In the Uniting Church in Australia , that was constituted in part from the Methodist Church, persons can be appointed by the congregation as a lay preacher or by the regional presbytery to preside at Communion . The Methodist Book of Discipline describes the "Ministry of the Laity" in their daily lives as being "Christ-like examples of everyday living" and "sharing their own faith experiences". In

3306-763: The Center, the congregation used a number of other nearby buildings, including the Westin Embassy Row Hotel. DC Minyan programs include guided individual study; study group including the DC Beit Midrash (co-sponsored by the DCJCC); celebrations of life-cycle events; and volunteer opportunities, often linked to programs at the DCJCC. The congregation's website offers audio files for individual prayers and prayer services, to help individuals learn "synagogue skills" that include leading

3393-452: The Church sacred ministers who in law are also called clerics; the other members of the Christian faithful are called lay persons. There are members of the Christian faithful from both these groups who, through the profession of the evangelical counsels by means of vows or other sacred bonds recognized and sanctioned by the Church, are consecrated to God in their own special way and contribute to

3480-406: The Church. These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted among the People of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world. In this narrower sense, the Council taught that the laity's specific character

3567-513: The Hebrew text of the Tanakh , and the Torah in particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon for formal service use, and transcribing is done with painstaking care. Some errors are inevitable in the course of production. If the error involves a word other than the names of God the mistaken letter may be obliterated from the scroll by scraping

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3654-563: The Social Gospel movement peaked between 1900 and World War I. There is less agreement about when and why the decline happened. The Ministry of the Laity in daily life premise was stated by Howard Grimes in his The Rebirth of the Laity . "Although it is not alone through our daily work that we exercise our call, there is a special sense in which we do so in that area, since so much of our lives are spent in our occupations as lawyer, doctor, manual laborer, skilled craftsmen, housewife, domestic servant, student, serviceman." In 1988, Dean Reber of

3741-485: The Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions, called a Chumash (plural Chumashim ; "five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations. The researchers working on the En-Gedi Scroll have concluded that by the fourth century CE, there was no halakhic rule yet prescribing that scrolls used for liturgical purposes must contain

3828-405: The Torah scroll is a cause for great celebration, and honoured guests of the individual who commissioned the Torah are invited to a celebration wherein each of the honored guests is given the opportunity to write one of the final letters. It is a great honour to be chosen for this. It is a religious duty or mitzvah for every Jewish male to either write or have written for him a Torah scroll. Of

3915-582: The United Methodist Church (more commonly in the United States) attend a series of training sessions. These training sessions prepare the individual to become a leader within the church. All individuals who are full members of the church are laity, but some go on to become Lay Speakers. Some preachers get their start as Lay Speakers. Local preachers lead the majority of church services in the Methodist Church of Great Britain . The comparable term in

4002-460: The United States and Israel. That model of community came to be known as an "independent minyan." Kaunfer emphasized that the word "independent" meant that many of these groups developed independently in terms of volunteers coming together to create and lead it, but—in agreement with Wertheimer's assessment of these minyanim—they are not, nor do they seek to be, independent of the larger Jewish community in terms of their vision or self-identity. "Quite

4089-455: The age of 12 who are judged by church leaders to be in good standing are ordained to an office of the priesthood and hold various positions in the church. Most church positions at the local level are unpaid, but the LDS church helps with the living expenses of top church leaders and some others (e.g. mission presidents ). Many top church leaders serve in these positions after long secular careers. With

4176-465: The bishop: the ministries which require a license vary from province to province. In the Episcopal Church, there are six specialized lay ministries requiring a license: Pastoral Leader, Worship Leader, Preacher, Eucharistic Minister, Eucharistic Visitor, and Catechist. An early tradition of preaching in the Methodist churches was for a lay preacher to be appointed to lead services of worship and preach in

4263-650: The contrary," he stated, "they see themselves filling a need not being met by existing institutions, but operating within the larger Jewish map, not outside or against it." Ongoing leadership for the DC Minyan is provided by the members of the Steering Committee and the Leadership Council, with frequent input from all participants, and proactive efforts to receive input and ideas from the outside community. The DC Minyan website described "The DC Minyan Dialogue" as "an effort initiated by DC Minyan's leadership to take

4350-628: The current policy." The Leadership Council include special volunteers for administration, the Beit Midrash, Chinuch, community relations, finance, gabbai , hospitality, parents and kids, social action, and special events. In addition, there are special voluntary positions that include representatives or coordinators for the "Dvar Tefillah and Torah", the Friday Night Oneg collation , "greening"/ecological issues, happy hours, Shabbat morning "kiddush" , life cycle events, technical/website support, and

4437-501: The donor's parents or other loved ones, and decorated with gold or silver. In the Mizrachi and Romaniote traditions , the Torah scroll is generally not robed in a mantle, but rather housed in an ornamental wooden case which protects the scroll, called a "tik", plural tikim . Some Sephardic communities — those communities associated with the Spanish diaspora, such as Moroccan Jews ,

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4524-442: The entire Pentateuch. As of 2018, no other statements regarding when this rule came into being could be made with any degree of certainty. It must be noted that, while the physically determined date for the scroll points to the 3rd or 4th centuries, its text has been palaeographically dated by Ada Yardeni to the first century CE or the early second at the latest, a discrepancy not uncommon in this field, which could push back in time

4611-410: The entire discussion. The En-Gedi Scroll is a Hebrew parchment radiocarbon-dated to the 3rd or 4th century CE (88.9% certainty for 210–390 CE), although paleographical considerations suggest that it may date back to the 1st or early 2nd century CE. The charred scroll, found in situ in the synagogue's Torah niche, was discovered to contain a portion of Leviticus , making it the earliest copy of

4698-752: The exception of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , the First Quorum of the Seventy who are at the top of the church hierarchy, and patriarchs , all leadership positions are temporary. In Buddhism , a lay Buddhist is known as an upasakā (masc.) or upasikā (fem.). Buddhist laypeople take refuge in the Triple Gem the Buddha , Dhamma (His Teachings ), and Sangha (His community of Noble Disciples ) and accept

4785-410: The faith at work movement and support it because they want to connect their work and their faith. Management training often includes a faith dimension. Examples of various kinds of faith at work initiatives follow: Some faith at work initiatives focus not on work itself but on the workplace as a "mission field". In this "business as missions" concept, faith at work means "reaching people for Christ in

4872-471: The goal of "spiritual prayer" to this list, noting that he often experienced worship services more as a "community experience" than as a "spiritual one." Kaunfer noted that Kehilat Hadar began in New York as a result of a number of young Jews who were "looking for new ways to connect to the substance of their religion and tradition"—but instead of becoming "just a local minyan," ... "it became a model of grassroots religious community that spread dramatically across

4959-419: The goal of creating and offering vibrant worship services that combine tradition and egalitarianism remains at the core of the minyan's offerings. As of 2010, Saturday morning worship services are held on the first and third Saturday of each month, and Friday night Sabbath evening services are held on the second and fourth Fridays of each month, in the DCJCC. Other locations are used when required, almost always in

5046-410: The guidelines are straight. Only the top guide is done and the letters suspended from it. Most modern Torah scrolls are written with forty-two (42) lines of text per column ( Yemenite Jews use fifty-one (51)). Very strict rules about the position and appearance of the Hebrew alphabet are observed. Any of several Hebrew scripts may be used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting. The fidelity of

5133-465: The hierarchy. Due to their baptism , they are members of God's family, the Church, and they grow in intimate union with God, "in" and "by means" of the world. It is not a matter of departing from the world as the monks and the nuns do that they sanctify themselves; it is precisely through the material world sanctified by the coming of the God made flesh, i.e. made material, that they reach God. Doctors, mothers of

5220-455: The laity as the "people of God" between those who are ordained priests and those not ordained is one of cooperation in three areas: (1) in the Liturgy , (2) Church administration, and (3) service (ministry) to others. In spite of the church's teaching about the ministry of the laity in the world, the church gives more recognition to ministry within the institutional church. The "daily ministry" of

5307-554: The laity in their work, in their homes, and in their recreation remains hidden. Priests may intend to support their parishioners' daily ministry, but their priority tends to be recruiting volunteers for the church's programs. In the Anglican tradition, all baptized persons are expected to minister in Christ's name. The orders of ministry are thus laypersons, licensed lay ministers (or readers), deacons, priests, and bishops. The ministry of

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5394-405: The laity is "to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church". Much of the ministry of the laity thus takes place outside official church structures in homes, workplaces, schools, and elsewhere. It

5481-521: The laity. The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) devoted its decree on the apostolate of the laity Apostolicam actuositatem and chapter IV of its dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium to the laity in a sense narrower than that which is normal in the Catholic Church . The normal definition of laity is that given in the Code of Canon Law : By divine institution, there are among the Christian faithful in

5568-469: The lay apostolate in the world". Pope Francis is quoted as confirming this lament. Priests tend to "clericalize the laity" and view their ministry as only "within the Church," discounting their "workaday" ministry. From the start of his papacy Francis called for structural change in the Church which will foster the responsibility of the laity now held "at the edge of the decisions" by  "excessive clericalism", and to "create still broader opportunities for

5655-425: The letter off the scroll with a sharp object. If the name of God is written in error, the entire page must be cut from the scroll and a new page added, and the page written anew from the beginning. The new page is sewn into the scroll to maintain continuity of the document. The old page is treated with appropriate respect, and is buried with respect rather than being otherwise destroyed or discarded. The completion of

5742-408: The marketplace", people that career missionaries could not reach. For example, Member Mission "teaches the baptized to see themselves as missionaries out in the world in each of their daily places". Torah Scroll A Torah scroll ( Hebrew : סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה , Sefer Torah , lit. "Book of Torah"; plural: סִפְרֵי תוֹרָה Sifrei Torah ) is a handwritten copy of the Torah , meaning

5829-494: The minister or during their planned absences. The United Methodist Church recognizes two types of lay ministries. One is a "lay servant ministry" of (a) assisting or leading local church meetings and worship or of (b) serving as lay missioners to begin new work within the church that requires special training. The other type is the "ministry of the laity" in their daily lives. In addition to being appointed by members of their local churches, local and certified lay speakers of

5916-407: The ministry of the priest in their daily lives in their families, their communities, their work: "in whatever circumstances they find themselves". The most important "lay ministry" can be done anonymously. What one's ministry is depends on the abilities of the person: "landscaping, carpentry, writing, counseling, child care, sports, music, teaching, or just being a good listener". The relation within

6003-452: The minyan, Shira Hadasha , in Jerusalem, inspiring a number of other groups around the world to follow the same example. In 2018, after extensive halakhic study, DC Minyan decided to adopt a policy of simply counting any ten Jewish adults, regardless of gender, as a minyan. In addition to efforts to respect and accommodate egalitarianism, there are also obvious signs of pluralism in terms of

6090-457: The national and international Jewish community, such as New York's Kehilat Hadar and Jerusalem's Shira Hadasha and Kehilat Kedem , that are sometimes described as being part of the independent minyan movement. The name, minyan ( Hebrew : מנין ), means the prayer quorum traditionally required for a full Jewish prayer service. The DC Minyan first began meeting in February 2002, at Luna Books,

6177-469: The ordained. Thus, every Christian has a vocation to ministry. A minority are called to ecclesiastical ministries. The majority are called to serve God and their fellow human beings in some way in the "everyday secular world". The Orthodox Church's assertion that all Christians are "appointed" as ministers is based on Scripture (1 Peter 2:9 ) and the Church Fathers . The ministry of the laity complements

6264-549: The people in the congregation and parish. Ministers are simply men and women whose gift is for their role in teaching and possibly pastoral work. They are thus selected for advanced theological education. All elders (teaching and ruling) in meetings of Session, Presbytery, or Assembly are subject to the Moderator, who may or may not be a minister but is always an elder. Many leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are lay ministers. Essentially all male members above

6351-497: The people", from λαός , laos , meaning "people" at large. The word lay (part of layperson , etc.) derives from the Greek word via Anglo-French lai , from Late Latin laicus . In many Christian denominations , including the Catholic and the Anglican churches, anyone who is not ordained as a deacon , priest , or bishop is referred to as a layman or a laywoman. Non-ordained preachers or readers are considered part of

6438-509: The priests or kohanim and David himself "danced before the Ark" or "danced before the Lord". Special prayers are recited when the Torah scroll is removed from the ark and the text is chanted, rather than spoken, in a special melodic manner (see Cantillation and Nigun ). Whenever the scroll is opened to be read it is laid on a piece of cloth called the mappah . When the Torah scroll is carried through

6525-418: The pulse of the community by soliciting ideas and feedback on DC Minyan's programming, leadership structure, and decision-making processes." Additionally, a " kashrut task force" was convened to "study Jewish source texts on kashrut, research the policies of other communities, consider relevant teshuvot (halakhic responsa ) relating to communal kashrut standards, and solicit feedback from community members about

6612-488: The rollers when the scroll is closed. Some scrolls have two crowns, one for each upper end. The metalwork is often made of beaten silver, sometimes gilded. The scroll-handles, breastplate and crown often have little bells attached to them. The housing has two rollers, each of which has two handles used for scrolling the text, four handles in all. Between the handles and the rollers are round plates or disks which are carved with images of holy places, engraved with dedications to

6699-495: The salvific mission of the Church; although their state does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the Church, it nevertheless belongs to its life and holiness. The narrower sense in which the Second Vatican Council gave instruction concerning the laity is as follows: The term laity is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by

6786-413: The scroll are collectively known as kele kodesh (sacred vessels). The scroll itself will often be girded with a strip of silk (see wimpel ) and "robed" with a piece of protective fine fabric, called the "Mantle of the Law". It is decorated with an ornamental priestly breastplate , scroll-handles ( ‘etz ḥayyim ), and the principal ornament—the "Crown of the Law", which is made to fit over the upper ends of

6873-406: The sections, rather than using a more traditional mechitza , or physical wall), but calling up women as well as men to lead worship and read from the Torah . While precedent was found for prayer without a mechitzah, and even for calling women up to the Torah, no traditional source seemed to allow conducting certain portions of the worship service without a minyan —a prayer quorum—of ten adult men,

6960-455: The service or a portion of it, and reading from the weekly Torah portion and haftarah (the weekly portion from the Prophets ). Hospitality is also stressed as a foundational concept for community, and programs offered in this area include initiatives that coordinate invitations for Sabbath or holy day meals between those seeking a place and those with a place at their table to offer. However,

7047-405: The services . . . even allowing them to take a leadership role." The congregation's commitment to both traditionalism and egalitarianism has resulted in a number of innovative policies and practices that sometimes reflect approaches of other groups, and sometimes are a hybrid of past approaches. So, for example, the worship setting includes separate seating for men and women (with a space in between

7134-498: The text, depending upon the movement that published the book. The DC Minyan is part of a growing number of similar independent minyanim groups. There were other attempts to create settings for worship outside of the traditional structure, such as the chavurah movement. However, Professor Jack Wertheimer , an academic from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , stated in 2010 that independent minyanim represented

7221-526: The various movements within Judaism. For example, many of the worshipers use Orthodox prayer books, and others follow in prayer books created by the Conservative movement. Similarly, participants follow the Torah reading with various printed editions of chumashim , with commentaries on the readings from the Torah and haftarah (Prophetic readings) that sometimes offer divergent translations and interpretations of

7308-457: The wider community instead of retiring to a monastery . Some Christian churches utilise lay preachers , who preach but are not clergy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses the term lay priesthood to emphasise that its local congregational leaders are unpaid. The word laity means "common people" and comes from the Greek : λαϊκός , romanized :  laikos , meaning "of

7395-407: The work involved, these can cost tens of thousands of US dollars to produce to ritually proper standards. A printed version of the Torah is known colloquially as a Chumash (plural Chumashim ). Although strictly speaking it is known as Chamishah Chumshei Torah (Five "Fifths" of Torah). They are treated as respected texts, but not anywhere near the level of sacredness accorded a Torah scroll, which

7482-465: The world through their daily activities and regular responsibilities, and it publishes a monthly online newsletter Initiatives: In Support of Christians in the World. Initiatives: In Support of Christians in the World (January 2015) rejoiced that "50 Years since Vatican II" the increased lay ministry in parishes has "brought fresh vitality". However, the newsletter lamented "the neglect of formation for

7569-410: The world. The leaders and members of the community seek to create "a warm and intellectually engaging community for prayer and study." Additionally, Beth Tritter, one of the group's four co-founders, stated that the minyan has been able to create worship services that exhibit " ruach [spirit] and kavanah [spiritual focus]." The DC Minyan is part of a growing number of similar lay-led programs within

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