Tips on lectoring

  • Thread starter Thread starter Izzy1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I

Izzy1

Guest
How can I get less nervous while lectoring? What is an appropriate lector outfit for teenagers …I’m 17
 
I think the only way to get less nervous lectoring is to 1) pray to God for him to help you and 2) lector a lot.
If possible to do a dry run at home the day before your lectoring day where you just stand up and read the appropriate reading out loud, that could help you get familiar with it in advance so you won’t stumble over words when you do it at church.

Regarding appropriate outfits, I’m assuming from your profile name and past posts that you’re a girl.

First, find out if your church has any kind of dress code for lectors. If there’s a dress code, then follow whatever it tells you to wear.

Second, make sure that your clothes aren’t too tight or too revealing. Any top you wear should have a modest neckline, a back, and sleeves (short sleeves okay), and shouldn’t cling to your bust. You can also wear a blazer or a cardigan over a blouse or dress. Any skirt you wear should reach your knees or below. If your church allows female lectors to wear trousers, then wear a nice pair that aren’t too tight. Wear nice shoes with a low or medium heel that you can walk in easily.

DON’T wear any of the following: a camisole or spaghetti strap top, a sleeveless or backless top or dress (unless you wear a blazer or sweater over it), any top that shows your midriff, anything low-cut, anything clingy or tight, yoga pants, athletic wear, athletic shoes, shorts, any skirt that hits above your knees, sandals (unless they’re the dressy kind).
 
Last edited:
If your parish didn’t already suggest what you should wear: dress shoes with dress pants and blouse, a dress, or a skirt and blouse. As long as the skirt isn’t short.

As for nervousness, that goes away with practice. Deep breaths beforehand. Remember the congregation are your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, they are a friendly audience. And most are glad to see young people getting involved. They understand you are inexperienced.

Read slowly— slower than you think you should— speak deliberately and loudly/into the mic, follow through and don’t fade out at the end of a sentence, project from the diaphragm just like when singing, use your finger to follow the text in the lectionary so you don’t lose your place. Practice the reading beforehand and look up words and names your aren’t familiar with online and listen to the pronunciation.
 
Last edited:
1ke gave you great tips. Just to say that I’ve been doing it for 30+ years. Doing it in my own parish is a piece of cake but any time I’ve been asked to read outside my parish I still feel weak in the knees as I walk to the ambo. It gets a lot easier once you’re comfortable with your “audience”.
 
I lector about twice a month …mostly for the youth mass . I do tend to practise reading out loud because it helps me to figure out the proper pronunciations of various words .

For the past few months I’ve worn black jeans , converse and a blue denim jacket because most of my dresses are super short and all my T-shirt’s are sleeveless and tight . So I feel like wearing a denim jacket just lets me thrown on any shirt and it looks good too
 
I get really nervous before lectoring but when I do it I really enjoy it . It feels amazing to be given an opportunity to read the word of God before my parish . I guess practise is the key to not getting nervous
 
If it’s a youth Mass, they may have a more relaxed dress code. Most churches here in USA would not let someone be a lector or a cantor in jeans and Converse, unless it was a church in a poor neighborhood where it was understood that people didn’t have money for clothes, or a Newman Center where they pretty much let students come to Mass in anything.
 
Last edited:
As a pastor, I was taught the same too, and not only in order not to loose my place. It is a way to make visible the fact that the lector is not addressing their own words to the congregation, but merely conveying what is fundamentally told by Another.
 
That’s important. All too often we hear a lector pause uncomfortably, evidently flummoxed by a difficult name. Also, before Mass begins, read the full reading aloud, so that you won’t have to puzzle anything out on the spur of the moment. For example, you don’t want to be caught off guard by an unforeseen question mark at the end of an innocent-looking sentence.
 
I’m from Asia …most of my fellow teenagers who also lector dress similarly.

Guys wear jeans , plaid shirt shirt or if it’s a feast mass they tend to wear dress shirts and sneakers

Girls on the other hand tend to very a variety of things right from knee length dresses to formal skirts to jeans and T-shirt’s .
 
I only look up in the beginning and before saying “The word of God”. Looking up just makes me nervous
 
I’ve been reading the Scriptures at Mass for nearly 50 years (gives you an idea of how old I am), starting in grade school. I’ve always considered it a huge honor to be asked to do it.

God bless you for serving the people in your parish!

A few hints that may be helpful:
  1. The readings in most lectionaries that I’ve seen present the readings in sense line format like this:
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

The end of the written line of text is a natural place to take a breath.
  1. Familiarize yourself with the correct pronunciation of any unusual words in advance. When you are reading, say those words confidently, like you are 1000% certain that’s the way they are to be pronounced. Even if it’s different than people are used to hearing, they will give you the benefit of the doubt if you say it with confidence. SAN-huh-drin or San-HED-rin? Both a valid and get the point across.
  2. As mentioned previously, don’t feel like you have to look up at the congregation during the reading. Especially if you’re nervous, keep focused on the text so you don’t lose your place. I still follow along the text with my finger so I don’t lose my place.
  3. Project your voice a little - you don’t have to shout unless your church has no sound system. Let the loudspeaker do the work for you.
  4. Having said that, don’t “swallow” the microphone - keep a distance of at least a few inches from your mouth to the microphone. That way you won’t “pop” your p’s when you are reading.
  5. Be warned: St. Paul’s letters were not written with 21st-century spoken English in mind. A couple weeks ago, I encountered a six-verse reading from one of Paul’s letters that was just one sentence! Advance preparation is crucial in situations like these. Study it until it makes sense to you; you can then plan on where to take your breaks and what inflections to use. If the reading doesn’t make sense to you, you will have a very difficult time presenting it in a way that makes sense to those hearing it.
  6. Ask God for help. You were chosen to provide a service to His people…He can assist you in carrying out that service in a way that leads the people in the congregation closer to Him.
  7. You’re not an actress when you’re reading at Mass. Use expressions in your voice, but don’t get overly dramatic.
  8. As far as nerves, I second the notion that the way to get over it is to read at Mass. Experience will help you relax. In the meantime, don’t look at the congregation. Imagine that you’re reading God’s Word to just one person - your mom or grandpa or someone.
 
Thanks a lot for these tips . I started lectoring more often after receiving the sacrament of confirmation early last year . Before that I only read ever so often during school mass( I went to a catholic school run by nuns so mass was a given )
It’s just the beginning of my journey as a lector and I’m really honoured to participate like this during mass .
 
First, review the readings at home, speaking them aloud into the mirror, even record yourself and watch it back. Speak s l o w l y, so slow that it feels strange. Speak into the mic, don’t tuck your chin down or you not be heard except for mumbles.

When you review the readings, look up words you are not familiar with, names, places, and learn the proper pronunciation.

If you have practiced and prepared, that is the best cure for nerves!

Slacks and a collard shirt for young men, a blazer or suit if you have them!

For a young lady, slacks and a blouse or sweater is fine
 
Last edited:
Izzy1 said:
I only look up in the beginning and before saying “The word of God”. Looking up just makes me nervous
Click to expand...
Although I was trained to look at the congregation, over the years I’ve come to understand that that puts the focus on me rather than the words. Like you, I now only look at them when I’m announcing the reading and at the end when I say , ‘The word of the Lord.”
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top