PARISH MINISTRIES
How might you serve?
Ministry comes from a Latin word meaning service. In John’s Gospel after Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet he said, “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (Jn. 13:14).
All Christians should take this injunction by Jesus seriously. Mostly Catholics serve others by participating in their parish.
How well do you follow Jesus’ instruction? In what way do you serve?
There are many ministries within our parish there is something there for you. What is holding you back? Have you really taken time to bring this to prayer?
In our parish last year there were over 600 parishioners committed to at least one ministry; in total there were around 1150 different ministries covered. This year parishioners are asked not to take on too many ministries. An example might be one person committing to Children’s Liturgy, Hospitality, Special Minister of Communion, Proclaimer, and Choir. As you can see by this example this is too much for one person. Hopefully every Resurrection parishioner will carefully and prayerfully consider where God is calling her or him to serve. This includes “new” and “old” parishioners, the young and the old (and the in-betweens), those parishioners previously involved in a ministry and those who have not. Perhaps as a rule of thumb parishioners might consider just two Liturgical ministries (i.e. those ministries at Mass)
Baptism Welcome
This is a greatly expanded ministry.
Infant Baptisms are usually celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. The Liturgy Group has three Baptism Teams. These teams meet with Fr Noel and the families of the infants to be baptized. Families are then invited to the 10.30am Mass on the last Sunday of the month.
Among these families there is a wide range of faith and on-going commitment. Some families may not have been to church for quite some time.
What might we do to make welcome and gently encourage these families to participate in our parish?
Perhaps by sitting with a family during the Welcome Mass, or maybe after Mass we could share a simple meal in the hall. You are not expected to provide the meal but rather to give your time, share your faith and discuss your involvement in Resurrection parish.
Brochure Delivery
Within the Resurrection parish boundaries there are approximately 13,000 homes. At Christmas and Easter every one of those 13,000 homes receives an invitation to join our celebrations. We deliver two brochures to each home, the first around ten days prior to Christmas or Easter the second about three days.
By dividing our parish into zones each parishioner committing to this ministry would letterbox drop to about 500 houses.
This is our outreach to everybody living in our parish. There is great satisfaction in inviting people to join with us to celebrate these major feasts.
You can commit for all four deliveries or just one. This ministry is ideal for busy people who need only commit for as little as four hours per year.
Children’s Liturgy
Every second week during school terms we offer children from about four to eight years of age the opportunity of participating in a special Children’s Liturgy. Children are invited to come in front of the altar after the gathering hymn. They are met there by members of our Children’s Liturgy team (never less than two parishioners). The children then proceed to the DeGabrielle Room (the meeting room on the Northern side of the hall). The children return after the Procession of Gifts. They then gather around the altar for the Eucharistic prayer.
Children’s liturgy team members are supplied with copies of the Gospel of the day and work sheets for the children. Children’s Liturgy Ministers will be supplied with a set of guidelines and there will be a training session.
This is a valuable ministry as it gives children their special time within the Mass to hear about the Gospel and an age appropriate level. Parents of children who usually participate in Children’s Liturgy might consider taking a turn once every six weeks.
State law requires that any person having regular contact with children has a “Working with Children” check. The only cost involved is supplying a passport type photo. Applications are available at any Post Office. If you have any difficulty filling out the application please make an appointment with our Office Manager Marian D’Rosario who will willingly assist you.
Choirs
Liturgy is enriched by music and song.
Being part of a choir is pure joy for many people. You might be a couple or a single person or perhaps a family; by joining a choir you will get to know and make friends with other like-minded Resurrection parishioners.
Resurrection is blessed to have ten parish choirs. Each choir has its own distinctive style. All our choirs welcome new members. If you are already in a choir this is your ministry, however in signing up for a choir please indicate the name of your present choir.
Should you not be in an existing choir please indicate that by checking “new” in the box provided on the ministry form.
Church Care
As soon as you walk into a church you know straight away if it is loved or not. Is it clean? Is it tidy?
Does is look loved?
Our church is cleaned once a week usually on Friday or Saturday mornings. However there are many other things to be done during the week. Such things as taking out-of-date notices of the notice boards, cleaning windows, removing dead flowers, replacing candles in chapels, spot cleaning carpets, straightening chairs and much more. The good news it can be done anytime during the week at a time to suit you. You can be on a weekly or monthly roster depending on your availability.
Church Cleaning
“Many hands make light work” This proverb certainly rings true when it comes to church cleaning. Our church gets a lot of use over the course of a week.
It needs to be cleaned. Professional cleaners would be very expensive. So parishioners committing to this ministry are doing two things; firstly they return our church to a state were we can worship and secondly they save the parish a lot of money.
There are usually eight teams so a turn every eight weeks would seem reasonable. Cleaning happens on either of Friday or Saturday morning, usually around 9am.
Joining other parishioners in this ministry is a great way of meeting people. Alternately you might like to gather five or six people and have your own team.
Church Flowers
Except for Advent and Lent we try to have flowers in our church all year round. The parish purchases the flowers each week but they need to be arranged. Some people have a real gift in flower arrangement. If this is you this might be your ministry.
This ministry could expand into sometimes picking flowers within the parish grounds, or perhaps asking parishioners to occasionally supply flowers.
Coffee Clean Up
Perhaps some might see this as less glamorous than actually making the coffee but it is surely no less important. It is like being at home and doing the dishes. Somebody has to do it. Some parishioners find real joy in serving others. Again working as a team and taking a turn to clean up can be fun. It is also a great way to meet other parishioners. This is an ideal ministry for a family to take on together.
Coffee Hospitality
This is a new ministry.
For about eight years we have offered tea and coffee after our weekend Masses. This has proved to be very popular with Resurrection parishioners. However to take this after-Mass hospitality to another level it would be great to have two or three parishioners focused on making sure that there are sufficient tables and chairs available, looking for opportunities to bring people together, introducing people, and perhaps just sitting down with someone for a cup of coffee.
How vibrant or healthy a parish is can be easily be determined by the number of people involved in the liturgy and the number of people who stay after Mass.
We do well. We can do better.
Coffee Maker
The espresso coffee machine in our narthex requires skill to use. You can be taught. This is surely a fun ministry. Depending on the time of the Mass you might take a turn once every five or six weeks to help make coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. You will be working as a team with other parishioners. If you know how to use a large espresso machine or be willing to learn this can be a ministry for you.
Collector
Being a Collector is a ministry.
Some might see this ministry as no more than passing the collection basket. But when you stop and think of what is being collected and the reason for a collection it takes on a different meaning. Why? Because what is collected comes from Resurrection parishioners; it is their Thanksgiving offering. This offering enables the mission of the Risen Jesus entrusted to the parishioners of Resurrection to continue.
A certain graciousness and a friendly smile will always make this a more rewarding ministry.
Counting
Each week on either a Sunday or Monday morning our weekend collections are counted. As money is involved the counting has to be done both accurately and professionally.
Usually there are eight counting teams so depending on the number committing to this ministry a turn every eight weeks is likely.
The good news is a coin-counting machine has recently been purchased making a significant difference to the time involved.
This is a terrific way of getting to know other parishioners.
Food Preparation
There are some chefs both professional and amateur in the parish that might choose this as their ministry.
During the year we have some functions based around a meal. It might be for Prep families, families with children with special needs, a day for all Parish Groups, or a host of other functions.
On days such as these it would be great to have a couple of parishioners to call on to help prepare the food. The parish will supply the food but the preparation is another matter.
Can you help? You might consider helping the “chefs” by serving the food or cleaning up afterwards.
Gardening
One of the first things visitors to Resurrection notice and comment on are our gardens. They are much admired and have been loved to life by many people over the years.
Our four annual working bees achieve good results. But weeds do grow, lawns need cutting, and roses need pruning. Again this ministry has flexibility as regards to day and time. Parishioners committing to this ministry can work by themselves or with others. A parishioner might commit to a particular garden to look after. It would be ideal for anybody not in full-time work and perhaps would get somebody “out of the house”.
Grief Hospitality
When a person dies there is often a Vigil including a rosary and associated prayers the night before the funeral. Sometimes there is a viewing.
What happens afterwards?
Some parishes and other churches can’t wait to get everybody out and lock up the church, turn the lights out and lock the gates.
This is not what we do at Resurrection.
Our Grief Hospitality ministry is well known and is a source of comfort and practical help to the mourners.
We make tea and coffee and serve light finger food and clean up afterwards. Sometimes this can extend to a couple of hours and it is always appreciated by grieving families. Resurrection offers this hospitality whether the parish knows the deceased or not.
Parishioners in this ministry find joy in the sadness because they are reaching out to people at a very fragile time.
Hospitality
Offering hospitality is integral to being a Christian. It is never just an add-on extra. Fortunately Resurrection parishioners embrace this tenet of our faith by making Hospitality one of our most popular ministries. It involves taking a turn once every five or six weeks to greet people as they arrive for Mass, offer them a hymnbook, provide information at the Welcome Desk as required, and generally be on the lookout to help people. After Mass the Hospitality Minister offers the Parish Bulletin to parishioners as they leave. This is an ideal ministry for a family to take on together.
Because greeting parishioners as they arrive is part of this ministry it follows that Hospitality Ministers need to come thirty minutes before Mass commences when they are “on duty”.
There will be a training session for all parishioners committing to this ministry.
Information Technology
This is a new ministry
As we move further into a technological environment, with interactive websites, SMS communications, server environments and new Thanksgiving databases that keep the office up to date; as well as the Archdiocese investigating at an IT footprint for all parishes. This new ministry is created to move Resurrection Parish into an interactive parish using the latest technology. Some ideas would be website changes; monitoring new technology and its suitability to the Parish, looking at security etc. the possibilities are endless. So if this is where you are skilled please commit to this ministry.
Music
Much of what has been said about Choirs can be also said about music. If you play a musical instrument and would like to share your talent with Resurrection parishioners, this ministry is definitely for you. Again, if you are not in an existing choir check the “new” box provided on the ministry form.
Parish Office Cleaning
It would be a significant cost to the parish if professional cleaners were employed to clean the Parish Office. Since the new Parish Office opened over six years ago a small number of dedicated parishioners come in and clean the office. Depending on the number who commit to this ministry a turn once every six or seven weeks would seem reasonable. The good thing is that you can clean the office at a time to suit you – as the Parish Office is open seven days a week.
Proclaimer of the Word
“When Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself is speaking to his people, and Christ, present in his own Word, is proclaiming the Gospel”. This quote is from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and perhaps best catches the importance of Proclamation in Catholic Liturgy.
The ministry of Proclamation needs first of all a love of God’s Word. Liturgy demands a proclamation, it follows that Proclaimer rather than Reader better describes this ministry.
Careful preparation goes hand in hand with this ministry. There will be a training session for all Proclaimers, readings are available two weeks in advance, and a pronunciation guide is provided.
Why not experience the thrill of Proclaiming God’s Word to the assembly?
Sacristans
After Mass there is both cleaning and tidying to be done. Sacred vessels need to be washed, and stored. Liturgical books need to be put away. Sacristies need to be tidied. All this takes between ten and fifteen minutes.
Special Minister of Communion
For over forty years it has been possible for non-ordained persons to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion. Often called Eucharistic Ministers people called to this ministry have the honour along with the priest of offering the Body or Blood of Christ to worshippers.
It is therefore self-evident that a person called to this ministry must have a love of Eucharist themselves. Eucharist must be distributed with reverence. There are proper procedures. Looking at these procedures at a training session will deepen your understanding of Eucharistic theology and help us to realize it is a privilege to offer the Body or Blood of Christ to another person.
Supper Club
Do you enjoy baking a cake? There are occasions during the year when it would be good to have someone bake a cake, make some sandwiches, or bake some biscuits. The occasion might be a special parish gathering, a vigil for a funeral, or a parish meeting.
It would be good if a number of parishioners committed to this ministry. They could be called on at various times during the year to provide cakes, biscuits, sandwiches etc.
This is a very good stay-at-home ministry and yet vitally important.
Watering
This is a new ministry
Our parish is concerned about the environment and conserving water is a priority. Seven water tanks have been installed with two more in the near future. However there are some plants needing hand watering. At present we are able to water between 6am and 8am on Sundays and Wednesdays. Perhaps if you have an even-numbered house (our number is 51) and therefore different days for watering you might consider making this your ministry.
Working Bees
During the year there are four Saturday morning working bees. The parish Maintenance Group plans the scope of works; however how many jobs get completed depends on how many people come to the working bee. The working bees next year are on 13 March, 15 May, 11 September, 27 November is this where you can serve? Could this be your ministry?
Would you be prepared to join a ministry? If so click here to sign up