Ministries

 
If you feel called to serve your faithful community, please feel free to contact the Parish office at 697-0645 to discuss your areas of interest. Altar Servers, Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Ministers of Holy Communion, Greeters, and Lectors are needed.

Being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

 
As part of the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council, the Church invited faithful lay men and women to help ordained ministers in the distribution of Holy Communion.

In the years since these liturgical changes, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have become an important ministry in the life of our parishes. Their presence and ministry in the liturgy has facilitated the giving and receiving of Holy Communion so that the Communion Rite is not prolonged. Their presence has also allowed many parishes to enjoy distributing Holy Communion under both species, under the form of bread and wine.

Additionally, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have been a great assistance in bringing Holy Communion to the sick and elderly confined to their homes and thereby prevented from participation at Mass.

All Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion should be mature Catholics in good standing (registered in the parish, attends Mass weekly, if married, in a marriage recognized by the Church), persons of excellent reputation who take their faith seriously, and have respect and reverence for the Eucharist. It is indeed a great privilege to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. Being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is a wonderful opportunity to increase devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist. Besides your service at Mass, you are also invited to increase your devotion to the Eucharist through periods of Adoration and spiritual reading on the Eucharist.

Proclaiming the Scriptures in the Ministry of Lector

 
The Church dares to teach that when the Scriptures are proclaimed at Mass, Christ himself is present in the Sacred Liturgy. Lectors are the human voice and essential instruments the Divine Author uses to convey the beauty of His message.

Those who perform the ministry of Lector at Mass are not simply reading lifeless words from ancient texts, nor are they actors trying to revive Shakespeare for a modern audience. Lectors proclaim the Word of God which is living and active. They provide an important service to their brothers and sisters who listen attentively and are called to reflect on every word they hear from the pulpit.

All Lectors should be mature Catholics in good standing (registered in the parish, attends Mass weekly, if married, in a marriage recognized by the Church), persons of excellent reputation who take their faith seriously, and have respect and reverence for the Eucharist. It is indeed a great privilege to be a Lector. Being a Lector is a wonderful opportunity to increase devotion to the Sacred Scriptures. Besides offering service at Mass, a Lector is also encouraged to increase his/her devotion to the Word of God through regular reading of the Bible and prayer.

Welcoming God’s People in the Ministry of Greeter

“It can be lonely living by oneself in a small town, as I do. But I can always go to Wal-Mart and know that I will be met at the door by a smiling employee who will greet me with “Welcome to Wal-Mart” and give me a shopping cart and a flier with today’s specials. If only I could be so lucky at church! How many times have I gone to Sunday Mass and opened the church door to find myself in a dark vestibule, greeted only by lost gloves, mismatched galoshes and a stack of collection baskets.

Thanks be to God, this is no longer the case in most Catholic parishes. Today we are greeted at the door by ministers of hospitality, who welcome us into the Eucharistic assembly.”

-from The Ministry of Hospitality by Thomas Richstatter

Proclaiming God’s Love with a Warm Welcome

You (and your family) are invited to help make those who worship at St. Anthony Church to feel welcome, whether they be longtime parishioners, visitors from another parish, city, state or visitors of another faith, by volunteering to be a Greeter. Your presence in the vestibule before Mass, offering a friendly greeting and distributing hymnals and other worship aids, helps our parish say “Welcome to our community of faith! We’re glad you are here.”