20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners,

    Last week we had a Stewardship Sunday.  It is not too late to sign up for a ministry.  We will have lists to sign after Mass this weekend or you may call our office to get involved.  We have four ministries that we would like people to volunteer for. 

    Two of these ministries are liturgical ministries.  I would like to clarify a couple of issues concerning these ministries.  One thing I would like to say is that for all our liturgical ministries other than being an Extraordinary Minister it is possible to sign up at any time during the year.  Why is being an Extraordinary Minister different?  Because this ministry must be approved by the Bishop.  We are not supposed to install more ministers than are realistically needed.  An Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion must have received all the sacraments of initiation and be a practical Catholic.  In other words, there should be no barriers to receiving communion. We must send names into the Chancery for acceptance.  There is no other ministry where that is the case.  This limits the pool of candidates.

The second issue that I would like to clarify is that a person should only exercise only one liturgical ministry at a time.  If a person wants to be a Musician, reader, usher, Extraordinary Minister, Greeter, etc. that can be very hard to schedule.  In a pinch we may ask a person to do more than one ministry, but this is only if there are extenuating circumstances. 

The ministry of Extraordinary Minister and Reader should especially be exclusive of one another.  I would say that finding articulate readers is more difficult than finding E.M.’s.  I would encourage our readers to keep reading rather than switch to being a communion ministers.  The number one fear of people is public speaking.  That is why a good reader, who proclaims God’s word with conviction and clarity is very important.

I hope this comment answers some questions people might have.  Again, doing one liturgical ministry well is the ideal.  We have enough parishioners to fill all roles without the necessity of a few carrying the whole load.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark