Summertime presents many ministerial problems, not the least of which is the lack of folks at Masses which stems from summer vacations and travel, all understandable. However, the Mass continues every day and each weekend—with or without a full contingent of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, altar servers and ushers—as they say, “the Church prayers unceasingly.”

But this is not a summertime only problem. Once soccer, hockey and other sports kick into full swing, both young children and their parents are sometimes “otherwise engaged” when they are on the schedule to serve…and not always is a timely sub-request sought. This leaves us in a scramble right before Mass begins as we try to find someone to serve and who is appropriately dressed to serve. So I am going to go out on a limb here and will ask for your—my parishioners’—help:

I would like you to consider becoming a Eucharistic Minister, lector, altar server or usher. If you are interested there will be sign-up sheets in the atrium and vestibule or speak to me directly.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion—requires a one-time, brief training by the Archdiocese of Hartford;

Lectors—require a one-time training session right here in the parish;

Ushers—are trained locally one time here in the parish,

Altar Servers—are trained twice in the parish by members of the Liturgy Committee.

All of the above ministry servers then list themselves on the automatic scheduling system (Scheduler Pro) that allows the individual to schedule vacation time away as well as the Mass time which you normally attend; family members who serve in different ministries are also linked by last name so that you are not scheduled at multiple Masses on a given weekend. We try to make it as convenient as possible. And, it is a great way to serve the parish while you are already attending Mass.

We are blessed here at St. Catherine of Siena with many people who are willing to serve God and our parishioners in a variety of ways. However, some folks feel that they are unworthy to serve or that they have never been asked. God created us to serve Him so our worthiness is in His hands…and now I hope you consider yourself asked! It is my hope that many folks will
volunteer to help out in these capacities so the burden will be light on those who toss their hats in the ring…it’s a “critical mass thing.”

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to just ask me. Thank you! The sign-up sheets will remain in the atrium and vestibule until June 30th.