Youth are invited to be altar servers to assist the priest and deacons during Sunday Mass.
If you interested in becoming an altar server see Fr. Fred or contact the Church Office
There are lots of reasons for becoming an Altar Server. Here are seven of them and a look at why becoming one might be one of the best things you could do.
Sure, swinging the censer (the smelly incense thing) is kind of fun but why is it that we do it? By becoming an altar server you begin to learn these things and it makes all the symbols of the Mass so much more understandable and interesting.
Very much linked with the last point, when you start to understand why we do something you get so much more from it. More than this though, by serving at the altar you pay more attention to the whole Mass to help you remember where your part fits in. By focusing and understanding what’s going on, the Mass can then lead you into a much deeper relationship with God and you feel the impact of Mass far greater!
By becoming an altar server you’ll be meeting up with many of the same people every time you serve at Mass. With a great range of ages and experiences, you’ll meet some fantastic people you’d probably meet nowhere else. As your friendship develops, you’ll end up having many friends who all share your faith and this can lead to some brilliant conversations and great memories.
Communication, teamwork, perceiving what needs to be done and doing it, punctuality, self-confidence, and the list goes on. Serving on the altar is a great place to start building these skills. You’re supported by all your fellow servers, you have quite a large responsibly and rules to guide you. Even if you do something wrong, nobody in the congregation notices so basically it’s always a winning situation!
By taking up a responsibility at Mass you start to recognize more and more people in the church, in general. This slowly changes your experience of the church community, from a group of random people you stand next to at Mass, to a large and diverse family who you can meet and chat with every time you go and make you feel truly at home in your church.
Far and away the best reason to do altar serving is that it helps you discern your vocation better. Every vocation (whether marriage, consecrated singlehood, religious life or priesthood) is awesome and leads us to a greater and deeper understanding and relationship with God. Altar Serving is a great way to begin to see that beauty more fully in both priesthood and religious life.
Even if you are not discerning priesthood or the religious life, by altar serving you learn so much more about the priest and deacons that you work with. This is great beacuse it allows you to both fully appreciate their human side while also appreciating much more the sacramental grace that has been given in holy orders and the deaconate.
