News

Liturgy Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday 30 August in the parish meeting room.

Readers Proclaiming the Word: Christ is present in the Word proclaimed at Mass. The Readers in our Parish are encouraged to proclaim the Word with all the depth of life in the text. The Readings present the gathered community with the story of our identity; a reminder of who we are and where we come from.

Those who proclaim the Word are invited to study, reflect, and practise their Readings before they come to Mass on Sunday. They are encouraged to use verbal and non-verbal skills to bring out the meaning of the text. To the best of their ability they bring out the colour of the text so that Christ can speak to each one of us with a message for today. To be able to have full, conscious, active participation during the Readings it is necessary that we all actively listen with openness so that Christ present in these Readings may flourish in us.

Liturgy Committee The Committee’s focus is to facilitate every aspect of the parish vision statement on worship, guiding the community in its liturgical celebration and praise of God’s presence in their lives. It will therefore include representatives of the relevant ministries involved in planning liturgies: Acolytes, Altar servers, Readers, Eucharistic ministry, Choir and musicians, welcomers.

A minister is one who, being baptised, has discerned that he or she can use a particular gift for the honour and glory of God and to serve the People of God. We are all ministers at our liturgies, perhaps only seen differently. The three groups who minister are the faithful, the ministers at the altar and the ministers to the altar. The faithful are ministers when they are participating in the liturgy, providing their full, conscious, active participation.

There are ministers to the altar. These are ministers who may not be seen performing their ministry, their service to the People of God. These are the many people who clean, vacuum, prepare banners, flowers, linen for Mass, make sure the vestments, albs and so forth are in good condition.
Children’s Liturgy of the Word is a liturgical ministry where the Word is broken open for the children.
All ministers need support and prayers. The skills for certain ministries are different. Some are more time-consuming than others. All are a part of the Body of Christ.
Members of Liturgy Committee: Fr Shane, Fr Sam, Sr Jill, Colleen Haughey, Grace Stagg, Ryan Potter, Karen Bartou, Nick Turner, Diane Redmayne (Co-ordinator)

Preparation of the Gifts The people gathered are represented by those who bring to the altar the bread and wine. These represent the “work of human hands” and along with any money collected and gifts for the poor and needy, we prepare to unite ourselves with Christ’s offering. – in the Eucharistic prayer the bread and wine is transformed into nourishment for our souls as the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Christ.
Volunteers needed Each week before Mass commences, parishioners can volunteer to bring up these gifts or you may be approached by a Welcomer to do this task on behalf of all those gathered at the Mass. Children together with an adult can also participate. Instructions will be near the vestry in the foyer

Instituted Ministry of Lector and of Acolyte Recently Sr Monica Barlow from the Diocesan Liturgy Committee spoke to a gathering of parishioners about the Institution of Readers and the Institution of Acolytes. These Rites are celebrated by the Bishop and the ministry is open to men and women who are fully initiated into the Catholic Church and at least 16 years of age. It was explained that this was separate from those who are readers and adult altar servers as it involves being prepared to take on extra duties in the parish.

Those nominated need to be endorsed by the parish priest and the number is based on the needs of the parish. The persons selected undergo formation and should be a recognised, trusted, and respected member of the local community with potential for leadership and talents specific to the ministry in question (discernment of gifts). They should be inspiring examples of service in the associated lay ministries. For further information please contact the Parish Office.

Liturgy Roster Update and Training For those new to the ministry of Reader and/ or Eucharistic Ministry, formation and training is needed before you can begin. You will be contacted by the Ministry Leader with relevant information. Rosters will be available soon and actioned from November 26/27 2022 at the start of the new Liturgical Year. It is important to understand that when undertaking a ministry at any given Mass, ideally, there is no doubling up
(doing more than 1 role) as this undermines the Liturgy guidelines stating that each minister has a clear focus and that the responsibilities are shared amongst the community.

Proclaiming not just reading: Those who read at Mass have been encouraged to proclaim rather than just read the Scriptures. To achieve this, they are asked to prepare well so that they can proclaim all of the life that is within the Scriptures. This does not mean that the reader will be theatrical but, with use of voice, proclaim the full meaning of the words.