Eucharistic ministers help to administer the elements at the Eucharist, while Eucharistic visitors bring those elements to members of the congregation who can't be present. The Manual for Lay Eucharistic Ministers offers practical guidance on everything a Eucharistic minister or Eucharistic visitor does. 

This guide also offers suggestions on how to prepare oneself spiritually to present the sacrament, what to do when visiting the sick or shut-in parishioner with the Eucharist, and how to prepare a sacred space in someone's home or hospital room. Appendices include rites, suggested prayers and guidelines, services for commissioning and sending forth Lay Eucharistic Ministers, and a bibliography. Beth Ely also traces the changing customs and canons of lay administration of communion from the early churches to the present, and discusses the riches and mystery of the Holy Eucharist through the centuries. Paperback 85 pp

Beth Wickenberg Ely is a former journalist, award-winning sportswriter, and editor, and served as canon for regional ministry in the Diocese of North Carolina.