Many of the roles of today's extraordinary lay ministers finds their roots in the minor orders of the sub-Diaconate. Traditionally these came before Ordination to the Diaconate, thus called sub-Diaconate and included the minor orders of: Porter, Exorcist, Acolyte and Lector. Today the church retains the institution of Ordinary Acolytes and Ordinary Lectors for those preparing for Holy Orders and she extends the invitation to the lay faithful to serve in the capacity as extraordinary ministers of reader and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.
Scheduled lay extraordinary readers and ministers of communion may need to, from time to time, yield their scheduled role to a vested "ordinary" minister. Because the ordinary takes precedence over the extraordinary, lay extraordinary ministers of reader and/or minister of communion are asked to be sensitive when visiting Priests, Deacons or 3rd year Seminarians are vested and in the sanctuary so that they may serve in the ordinary roles for which the Bishop has designated them.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion aid in the distribution of the Holy Eucharist during Mass. Readers proclaim the first and/or second readings and the Prayers of the Faithful. Ushers help parishioners with seating and the collection.
If you have an interest in serving as an usher, or extraordinary reader, or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, please contact the parish office.
The altar server apostolate is an adult supervised program run by the senior altar server whereby the youth are trained to assist at the altar for the celebration of Holy Mass, funerals, weddings and special liturgies. As the altar server continues to train, they advance in both position and responsibility. The program is intended to help young men contemplate a vocation or calling to the Priesthood. Since 2007, several of our servers have gone on to seminary and others continue discernment