Volunteers

Each time we gather around the Eucharistic Table, we celebrate that all people are equal in God’s eyes.
With this awareness of God’s all-encompassing love, we understand that every member of the assembly is a minister of hospitality.
Those specifically designated to serve in this ministry, regularly remind us of our call to this God-like spirit.
They not only welcome the stranger, but they also awaken within us our oneness in Christ.
They don’t just serve individual needs; they serve the health and wholeness of the entire community.  

• Archdiocesan Guidelines for the Ministry of Hospitality - LAcatholics.org

Altar Servers are part of a very ancient tradition in the liturgical life of the church.
The server is a member of the assembly who assists the priest and deacon during the Eucharist and other liturgical ceremonies so that the liturgy can be conducted with grace and reverence. Servers should be active and full participants in the celebration with the understanding that they are first and foremost members of the assembly. The server expresses this by singing, praying and keeping silence along with the rest of the
assembly. 

• Archdiocesan Guidelines for the ministry of Altar Server  - LAcatholics.org

The administration of Holy Communion during the Mass is truly a ministry. It is the ministry of bringing the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ to the People of God. It is also the ministry of witnessing to faith in the real presence of Christ in the action of sharing in the Eucharistic meal of Christ’s sacrifice.

• Archdiocesan Guidelines for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) - LAcatholics.org

According to the ancient tradition and the teaching of the Church, the readings other than the Gospel are proclaimed by lay ministers called readers.
“The function of proclaiming the readings is by tradition not presidential but ministerial.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal #59).

• Archdiocesan Guidelines for the ministry of Lector - LAcatholics.org

The Ministry of Music for Eucharistic celebrations provides joy and enthusiasm to community worship that cannot be gained in any other way.  It imparts a sense of unity to the community and sets the tone for the celebration. Music expresses texts, meaning and feeling, and communicates ideas and intuitions which words alone cannot yield.

• Archdiocesan Guidelines for the Ministry of Music - LAcatholics.org

For liturgy to be engaging and to call forth full, conscious and active participation from the assembly, careful preparation and organization is necessary.  In the light of the participatory quality of the liturgy, everyone attending trusts that those involved in the leadership roles are preparing effectively and thoroughly. 

This trust makes it possible for the community to act as one body and pray themselves together into the vision of God’s Kingdom. In every parish, this careful preparation begins with the sacristan, the person or persons who have responsibility for the reverent care of the liturgical books, vessels, vestments, linens and all other objects used in the community’s ritual prayer. A well-organized sacristy is the beginning of a well-organized liturgy.