It may include one or more of the following: ministry of the word, laying on of hands and anointing, and Holy Communion. These parts are used in the order indicated if two or more are used together. The Lord's Prayer is always included.When she visited Mom at the assisted living facility, the lady minister asked if I wanted to join the Communion service. Sure. During the service the People have formal responses, and Mom needed a backup voice. More importantly we would receive wine, which had been absent from Holy Communion for two years because of COVID protocols. It still is omitted from church services, by the way.
Communion took only twenty minutes, but the lady minister spent two hours chatting with Mom about goings-on in the church and the extended-family members who attend. My maternal grandparents each had over ten siblings, some of whom were church members. There are numerous second cousins whose branch of the family tree is often unclear to me, but Mom loves talking about them, and the minister kept up. When she left, Mom was tired and happy.
Much of the work that priests do is out of the sight of the congregation at large. And it is undoubtedly true that some priests take advantage of the fact that no person is watching when they are out of the office 3-4 days a week. Nevertheless they are accountable to a strict taskmaster.
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.----Matthew 6:4
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