Lay Preacher

In the Albany, N.Y., home of Thompson H. Littlefield '41 the dining room table is work space. Among other things on the table, when a guest sat down to talk some months ago, was a copy of Daily Prayer: Supplemental Liturgical Resource 5. This book accounts for some of the eight hours a week that Tom devotes to his training to become a commissioned lay preacher in the Albany Presbytery. Commissioning will qualify Tom to celebrate communion, but he already has preached and led the worship at three different churches as a fill-in for vacationing ministers.

Years earlier Tom had thought about a vocation in the ministry, but the prospect of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew studies was too daunting to contemplate. Instead, after finishing up his Dartmouth undergraduate years as the designated class poet at Commencement, Tom earned a Ph.D. and became a Shakespearean scholar and professor at the Albany center of the State University of New York. At SUNYA Tom was part of the campus ministry in the 19605, and he became increasingly active as a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Albany. Following his retirement from the university, Tom assumed more responsibility for church affairs as deacon, elder, and member of the Presbytery Council, among other things. When contemplating the training program, "lorn got a little anxious about the implications for the professionals and asked if the purpose of the program was to train "scabs" for the ministry. But he was reassured on this score, entered the program, and has enjoyed it folly, so much so that he has regrets about not having prepared professionally for the ministry in the first place.