T
he Prayer and Worship Committee is one of the five standing committees of the Pastoral Council. This committee gives direction and input to a wide variety of parish liturgical events, and deals with the pastoral and logistical issues relating to the prayer and worship life of the parish including ministries such as Eucharistic ministry, altar servers, sacristans, readers, greeters, ushers, liturgical music and coordinators of liturgy. Volunteer opportunity includes: Numerous opportunities exist for involvement with the committee and/or to participate in, organize, or lead in the various areas listed below.
-Altar Linens
These volunteers work on a rotating basis, cleaning and ironing all the linens needed for worship.
-Arts and Environment
This group prepares the worship space for various liturgical seasons.
-Holy Dusters
Assist with light cleaning of the church, Eucharistic Chapel and sacristy. Opportunities include:
Cleaning crews working on an alternating schedule dust the altar, Eucharistic Chapel, and statues, redistribute books in the pews, wash and refill Holy Water fonts, etc. Time commitment: Once every 5 weeks, approximately 1- 1 ½ hour.
-Altar Servers
The primary function of the altar server is to assist the priest during Mass. Altar servers are scheduled to serve at weekend Masses and requested to serve at the evening Mass on Holy Days of Obligation. They are sometimes asked to serve at special liturgies (i.e., Confirmation, Weddings and Funerals). Altar servers consist of boys and girls from our parish who are in the fourth grade or higher.
-Extraordinary Ministers
Extraordinary Ministers are people who serve their parish community by assisting with distribution of Holy Communion at Mass.
-Greeters
Greeters are Ministers of Hospitality, who greet people at the church entrance, welcome them to worship and hand out any worship aids that are needed. With their friendly smiles and handshakes, they are available to answer questions that people might have about the facility.
-Lectors
The mission of the reader is to “proclaim God’s living word.” Through the word, God speaks to us and calls us to respond in faith and love. Lectors are trained to communicate the divine message of God to the faithful.
-Sacristans
The dynamic role of the Sacristan is to know the meaning and purpose of the liturgy as well as the needs of the particular Liturgical assembly. He or she prepares setup for the liturgy.
-Ushers
Ushers are also Ministers of Hospitality. Their goal is to make people feel comfortable and welcome in coming into church, find appropriate seating, take up the collection, distribute bulletins, and maintain our church as a reverent setting for prayer and worship.
-Cantors
Parish Mass Cantors serve the liturgical assembly by animating and leading their corporate sung prayer and praise. Musical and textual preparation and knowledge of liturgical orders of worship and pacing are requisites. Collaboration with the keyboard accompanist prior to the liturgy for 20-30 minutes is typical.
-Choir
The Parish Choir supports the assembly’s sung prayer on a weekly basis through the year of our Lord portion of the liturgical year. Weekly rehearsals and Sunday Mass participation are expected.
-Instrumentalists
Instrumentalists are used to support the musical component of the celebrations. Preparation is coordinated with the music director.
-Eucharistic Adoration is every Tuesday from 2-4 pm in the chapel. Dedicated parishioners volunteer an hour each week as adoration leader.
-The prayer network reaches out to others in the parish to pray for the needs of the members. Special requests are made to the members and a "calling tree" format is initiated to spread the word about the need to pray for that special need.