At Our Lady of the Rosary, the liturgical ministries give you an opportunity to participate more fully in the worship services while assisting with various parts of the liturgy. Liturgical ministers are generally scheduled once a month at the Mass time of their choice but may volunteer to serve more if they wish. Training is provided for each of the ministries. Ministers are asked to be at church 15 minutes prior to Mass when they are scheduled unless otherwise noted below.
Altar Servers
Altar servers assist the priest at Mass. It is crucial that all Mass servers are mature and reverent during Mass. Altar Servers are boys or girls who have been baptized, received the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, and are in grade 5 or older.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion/Eucharistic Ministers
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist the priest in distributing the Body and Blood of Jesus during Mass. To serve as an EMHC you must be an adult who has received the Sacrament of Confirmation and be commissioned to serve in our parish.
Lectors
The proclamation of Sacred Scripture is a very important ministry. We usually have two lectors at each Sunday Mass. To be effective, lectors need to make adequate preparation including study, prayer and practice. Lectors should have a loud, clear and unhurried speaking voice. To serve as a Lector, you must be in 9th grade or older and preferably have received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Liturgical Arts
The Liturgical Arts and Sacred Environments Ministry is in charge of ensuring an inspiring, blessed, and spiritual physical environment within the church sanctuary and ancillary rooms. They are responsible for changing the church banners and altar cloths to reflect the appropriate colors of the liturgical calendar as well decorating the church for special liturgical celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, etc.
Music Ministry
Our Lady of the Rosary is blessed with two beautiful choirs: the English Choir that sings at the 9:00 Sunday Mass and the Hispanic Choir that sings at the 11:30 Sunday Mass. The two choirs sing together at our bilingual Masses. Both choirs are a dedicated ensemble of adult voices who strive after a high standard of excellence in singing to give due praise to God. The choirs rehearse one day/week.
Membership in the choir ranges from young adults through retirees and consists of people from many different walks of life. We welcome musicians with formal training to those with little or no musical background. A choir is not just a collection of singers—it’s a community!
We are always interested in recruiting new members to our choirs. Due to the great amount of music that we endeavor to sing, a strong commitment to weekly rehearsals and Masses is expected from all members.
Sacristan
A Sacristan’s role is to prepare the items needed at the altar for Mass. This includes preparing the credence table, which holds the sacred vessels, and the side table, which is for the extraordinary ministers to sanitize their hands prior to distributing communion. They also prepare the gifts table. After Mass, they ensure that all of the vessels are purified prior to washing and that everything is put away properly. To serve as a Sacristan, you must be an adult who has received the Sacrament of Confirmation and has been commissioned to serve in our parish.
Ushers
Ushers are needed for all Masses, including Christmas, Easter and other special liturgies. An usher arrives 20 minutes early and is a host, acting on behalf of the parish, to greet people, assist seating when necessary and check the overall comfort in the church building. They open and close doors, take up the offering, and distribute bulletins. Ushers must be able to take initiative and be comfortable approaching and directing parishioners, as necessary. To serve as an Usher, you must be in 9th grade or older.