Altar Serving is an important ministry within the Church, and the Priest relies upon having a team of dedicated and well trained Altar Servers available for every Mass.

At Sacred Heart, many children sign up each year to become Altar Servers, but as they get older they gradually drift away.  It is a sad fact that many who join the team do so as a means to secure a place at a Catholic school, not from any desire to take part in the Mass.  Once in Secondary school, they consider their duty discharged and stop.  Obviously Father Kieran is fully aware of those for whom this is not the case, and is very grateful for their continued service.

The fact remains that our core of regular servers tends to consist of those still in Primary School, with few serving for more than 2 or 3 years.

Why do we need a change?
Firstly, a child fresh from their First Holy Communion is really too young to be given the responsibilities of serving on the Altar.  It is a daunting prospect, and having to sit still and decorous for an hour in full view of the congregation (and the Priest!) is a big thing to ask of an 8 year old.  The candles and the cross are very heavy and there is a lot to remember.  Also, at this age a child really needs to be present for Children’s Liturgy, from which they will gain far more benefit than sitting on the Altar trying not to look bored.

The second problem is that at certain times of the year the demands of the Mass call for much older and more experienced servers.    We have so few of these in our parish that there is no holiday cover.  At Easter, Father Kieran found himself with a handful of very willing, but also very young servers who were simply not able to undertake all the duties which should have taken place.

What changes will be made?
We have decided to launch a new role, the Altar Steward, to introduce the younger children to the idea of serving before actually taking part in the ministry itself.

Altar Stewards will be required to come a little early to Mass to assist in the preparation, and then stay a little late afterwards to help put things away, but they will not actually serve during the Mass and will instead sit as usual with their families and join Liturgy.  They will be fully supervised and become familiar with all of the items used in the Mass, discovering their relevance and meaning.  The purpose of the role is to prepare them for the time when they will actually don the ceremonial robes and start serving. 

Children may join the Altar Steward team from the September following their First Holy Communion.  Usually this will be the September they go into Year 4.  We have decided to do this based on school years to allow us to plan for each year’s intake, and to make it fairer for the children so that friends all start together.  A rota for the Stewards will be set up for each Mass.

The children will continue in the Altar Steward role in Year 5, at which point training will begin for actually becoming a full Altar Server.  Children will then be introduced to the Server’s duties and will eventually be permitted to join the team on the Altar during Mass to observe the other Servers.

In Year 6, the Altar Stewards will become fully fledged Altar Servers.

We would expect that children will continue with their duties as Altar Servers right up to the time of Confirmation and also be available for feasts such as Christmas and Easter.  

Those in Year 7 onwards may be interested becoming members of the Guild of St Stephen, which will recognise their ongoing commitment to the role.  A medal will be presented to members, to be worn during Mass to signify their membership.  For further information see:
http://guildofststephen.all-catholic.net/about.html#start

What if my child is already an Altar Server?
This refers to those children who began serving last year following their First Holy Communion.  They will be going into Year 5 in September and as such would be in the second year of their Altar Stewardship.  However, since they have been serving for a year they may continue to do so.  They will, however, be asked to join with the Altar Stewards in their preparation duties (basically so the new Altar Stewards don’t end up knowing more about the Mass than the existing servers!).

What about older children who wish to join or re-join the team?
The answer is a resounding “Yes please!”. 

In order for this to work, we need to ‘win back’ some of our Secondary school children who have stopped serving so we can have a fully rounded team with lots of mature servers.  We will set up a training session specifically for this purpose, so watch for it in the newsletter.  Come along with your friends and give Altar Serving another chance – we don’t bite.  The more servers we have on the rotas, the fewer times you will be called upon to serve.

Summary
This all starts in September this year and is based on the year the child is going into in September.

*Only if First Holy Communion taken.

What do you need to do next?
If your child is already serving, just keep up the good work!

If your child would like to join the Altar Steward team in September, contact the relevant person below (depending on your usual Mass).  Training dates will be issued shortly.

If you are thinking of re-joining the Serving team, don’t be shy.  Look out for the training day in the Newsletter, contact us and get back on that horse!

Contacts
Peter Lovat (9am & 5:15 Mass)     This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Claire Spiteri (10:30 Mass)            This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it