The following are the different ministries found in the Church:
- Liturgical Ministry
The word “liturgy” comes from the Greek word leitourgia which means “work of the people.” As Catholics, we use the word “liturgy” to refer to the celebration of the Mass, the center of our faith life. Together, as a church family, we are all called to participate in the liturgy through our prayer, song and spoken responses at Mass. Some of us also feel called to serve at Mass as liturgical ministers. Our liturgies couldn’t be successful without our wonderful group of liturgical ministers sharing their time and talent with our parish community!
If you would like to learn more about serving in any of the liturgical ministry positions listed below, training is provided, please contact Father Robert or the coordinators listed therein.
- Altar Servers
- Ushers
- Proclaimers of the Word
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Funeral Ministers
- Music Ministry
- Ministry of Visiting the Sick
- Sacristans
- Catechism
- Justice and Peace
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul
- Youth
- Family Life
ALTAR SERVERS
Altar servers assist the priest at the altar during the celebration of Sunday Mass, Holy Day Masses, weddings, funerals, Stations of the Cross, and Benediction. The duties of the altar servers include processing into the church with cross and candles, holding the missal for the priest, setting the altar during the offertory (in the absence of a deacon), and assisting the priest or deacon with whatever they need during the liturgy. Altar servers are to maintain a reverent and attentive disposition during the Mass, so as to allow the congregation to enter into deeper worship. Altar serving is open to boys and girls who have completed their First Holy Communion. This ministry is also open to adults who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation. If you are interested in becoming an altar server, contact Veronica Poipao: 0837214126.
USHERS
Ushers are sometimes referred to as ‘Greeters’. Being a welcoming community is very important. Ushers are the first face of the parish. They greet those coming into our church, offer assistance to those in need, distribute parish bulletins, take up the collection, and distribute other materials as needed. Ushers are needed at Sunday Mass, Holy Day Masses, and Funerals. Ushers must be 16 years of age and above, and must have received the Sacrament of Confirmation. They also carry bread and wine to the altar during the Offertory Procession at Mass, or can request families, groups, or individuals to volunteer to serve as gift bearers. Ushers must have a clear understanding of what Christian hospitality means, and be able to perform their duties with reverence and devotion. If you are interested in joining contact Father Robert, the parish priest.
PROCLAIMERS OF THE WORD
Proclaimers (Lectors) proclaim the Word of God during the liturgy. At weekday Masses, Memorials, and Feasts a reading from either the Old or New Testament and a Psalm are proclaimed. At Sunday Masses, Solemnities, and certain Feast days readings proclaimed are from the Old Testament, followed by Psalms and the New Testament, before the Gospel Reading. The Proclaimer is also responsible to proclaim the Prayers of the Faithful, the prayers of the entire community offered to God, when a deacon is not present. Proclaimers must proclaim the Word of God clearly and with devotion. Proclaiming the Word of God is not a theatrical performance, but a sacred act in which the proclaimer allows the Holy Spirit to speak through him or her to the assembled community. Proclaimers must have a profound love and reverence for Sacred Scripture and have received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION
This ministry is open to all adults who are full members of the Church and have received all their sacraments – including the Sacrament of Marriage. They assist with the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass and funerals, they may bring communion to parishioners who are homebound or who reside in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. A member is required to serve for a year, commencing from the feast of Corpus Christi to Trinity Sunday. A member is required to renew their enrolment by attending the Corpus Christi Feast at the Cathedral every year. If you are interested in joining, contact Father Robert the parish priest.
FUNERAL MINISTERS
MUSIC MINISTRY
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in its section on liturgical music, quotes the famous expression of St. Augustine: “He who sings prays twice.”
This aphorism, pseudonymously attributed to St. Augustine and included in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, asserts that prayer is made more efficacious when combined with song. If sung “well” (with sincerity and love), the words of a practitioner’s prayer and the music they sing each simultaneously constitute acts of worship. In fact, they form a gestalt expression of devotion, the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts. This merger is so effective that “… the combination of sacred music and words, … forms a necessary or integral part of solemn liturgy.”
St. Augustine’s assertion is very much in accord with the sentiments expressed in Sacred Scripture, where we find myriads of exhortations to “sing to the Lord.” Many of these are found in the Psalms, but St. Paul himself exhorts the Ephesians (Eph. 5:19) to “address . . . one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord…”
The Church encourages playing and singing in her liturgy. The Catechism even calls “the musical tradition of the universal Church…a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art” (CCC 1156). The General Instruction of the Roman Missal calls for the singing, in particular of the Responsorial Psalm on Sundays, or at least of its refrain.
The Music Ministry, like all ministries, is one of service.
• Service to God:
In the liturgy praise and prayer is offered to the Father by the Son through the Holy Spirit. In Sacrosanctum Concilium the Church speaks of Christ introducing on earth “the hymn that is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven. He joins the entire human community to himself, associating it with his own singing of this canticle of divine praise” (SC 83).
• Service to the Word:
“Allowing the text to be communicated, proclaimed and prayed” – music should be faithful to the word – both to the text of the liturgy and to implications of its message for people’s lives. A variety of styles and layers is allowed to reveal layers of meaning within a text but as liturgy is the activity of the whole Church, care should be taken to avoid the sentimental and overly individualistic approach but recalling the essential “noble simplicity” of the Roma Rite.
• Service of the people of God:
Music must enable the assembly’s participation in the liturgy. It should be music which serves a diversity of communities with a variety of resources available to them.
The Music is used in the liturgy as a means of praise of God, of uniting those on earth with the worship of heaven. Music should take account of the ability of the assembly, the relative importance of the rite and its parts, and the festivity of the day itself. It must promote the sanctification of the members of the liturgical assembly by drawing them closer to the holy mysteries being celebrated, strengthening their formation in faith by opening their hearts to the mystery being celebrated.
Therefore, the Music Ministry is open to all full members of the Church both youth and adult who have received sacraments or in the journey to receiving them. The member is called upon to be a person of prayer, someone whose ministry derives from participation in the liturgy, participation in the Paschal Mystery, and with humility responds to the promptings of the Spirit. A member is required to attend choir practices which are on Wednesdays and before start of every Mass. It is important that there are choir practices so as to ensure that songs and hymns to be sung in Mass are liturgically correct and to increase the repertoire of hymn offering. The choir’s role in liturgy is not that of performance but to assist in the meaningfulness of the liturgy and enable prayer and participation by the Church in the liturgy.
If you are interested in joining, contact Father Robert or the choir leadership.
MINISTRY TO THE SICK AND HOMEBOUND
The ministry to the sick and homebound provides connection, support, visitation, and sacramental support for members of the parish who are unable to come to the parish church for Mass and other liturgical services.
The ministry maintains a team available to visit the sick at home or hospitals to provide support and bring the Lord in the Eucharist for communion. These individuals assess when there is a need for a priest (for confession or the Sacrament of the Sick) and then make necessary arrangements.
SACRISTANS
In parish life, one of the roles that is rarely seen by parishioners is that of a Sacristan. It is a “behind-the-scenes” volunteer position that makes the priest’s job on Sundays less stressful. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains: “The following also exercise(s) a liturgical function: The Sacristan, who carefully arranges the liturgical books, the vestments, and other things necessary in the celebration of the Mass” (No. 105).The Sacristan makes sure the sacramental supplies (hosts, wine, chalices, linens, etc.) are in place before Mass. Sacristan takes care of keeping the sacristy in order that items for Masses are available, giving the tools that they need, and keeping a watchful eye on the house of God and the liturgical environment. There is also an opportunity to assist with washing and ironing linens; cleaning water fonts, and refilling holy water, and dusting the main altar, and the sacristy. It is easy to overlook many of the basic, unheralded activities that are needed to keep a parish running smoothly. The church linens, including altar and communion cloths, need regular and expert laundering.
