The Church needs volunteers to help serve at Mass. Here are the five different ways you can get involved:
Eucharistic Ministers
Eucharistic Ministers are called not only to minister the Body and Blood of Christ, but also to take on Christ’s likeness. The ministers accomplish this by strengthening their faith from within and sharing it with the faithful at communion time. The role of Eucharistic Ministers seems simple enough: to minister the Body and Blood of Christ to the assembled faithful. In reality, the role of each Eucharistic Minister is to draw faith from the people of God, to become more and more like the Body and Blood of Christ. Eucharistic Ministers are called not only to minister the Body and Blood of Christ, but also to take on Christ’s likeness. The ministers accomplish this by strengthening their faith from within and sharing it with the faithful at communion
Lectors
Lectors speak God’s Word as Storytellers. Lectors are scheduled to read at specific masses on Saturdays, Sundays and holy days of obligation. The time commitment is determined by each individual lector both in scheduling and preparation. It is recommended that lectors read and mediate on each reading in the week prior to the reading and show up 15 minutes before the start of Mass. Each lector receives a yearly lectionary of readings to help the individual with difficult pronunciations, understanding of where the reading fits in scripture, and how the readings fit together for an individual worship service.
Ushers
Ushers are always needed! For a small commitment of time you can provide an important service by setting a welcoming tone for our parish. We welcome people into the church and escort them to a pew as required. During the service, we are available to handle accidents or emergencies. At the proper time, we go down the aisles where we are stationed and take up the collection(s). We also shake hands with as many people as we can during the Sign of Peace. We select the family or group for the presentation of the gifts at the Offertory and direct the flow of traffic during Communion. When the Mass is over, we hand out the bulletins and any other handouts and answer questions. Outside of our Mass duties, we assist other ministries as needed and participate in other social or fund raising activities in the parish.
Choir Members
Music is part of almost every event at St. Francis Xavier. The most important contribution of the music ministry is participation at the weekend, Holy Week, and Christmas Liturgies. Choir members rehearse every weekend in preparation for mass and other Church events as needed.
Alter Servers
Altar Servers assist the priest at Mass. At special celebrations, such as weddings, funerals and Holy Days, altar servers will assist and need to know the special liturgical rites and rituals. During their training, altar servers are told that this is their first ministry in the church. As such, it affords them opportunities to become more involved in the church, as well as instilling in them individual virtues. Altar servers learn responsibility and organization.