The Episcopul Church has many thousands of dedicated lay people who, as Lay Readers, further its ministry in worship and service. "The Church in Perspective", writ-ten by the Rev. Edmund B. Partridge in 1969, at the re-quest of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. has been revised and updated to provide sound training material for these volunteers.

The Rev. Edmund B. Partridge, author of "The Church in Perspective", was Associate Director of the Division of Laymen's Work of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church and is now a parish priest in the Diocese of Newark.