ALTAR SERVERS: Growing in Faith, Serving God and the Parish Community

Are you looking for a way to involve your children in parish life, or to further open their eyes to the joy of the Mass? Or are you looking for a way to draw closer to Christ yourself? Look no further — the Altar Servers Ministry is a great way to serve God, serve others, and grow in faith.

“The Church is the community, and the more opportunities those in the community can have to participate in the Mass, the better it is for everyone,” says Deacon John Hinkel. “Altar servers — along with the priests, deacons, cantor, lectors, Extraordinary Ministers, ushers, and anyone else who contributes to the Mass — both contribute to and benefit the community, and I hope that they will feel like they are growing closer to Christ through that service.”

Children may begin altar serving once they are in the fifth grade, and the parish encourages children of all ages to get involved, including our middle school and high school students. In fact, the parish — and the Church itself — doesn’t have an “end age” for altar servers, so adults are also welcomed to serve.

“We’d really like to have a wide variety of ages, and I think it’d be particularly nice to have high school students who had gone to Christ the King, but have now moved on to high school and would like to stay involved,” Deacon John says. “It would be great to have anyone in the parish who is eligible and wants to serve.”

Altar servers are trained by Deacon John, who sets up a time for training once interested parties have reached out. Beyond that, servers can request at which Mass they’d like to serve, and they will be put into a rotating schedule. After having the ministry on pause during the pandemic, everyone is looking forward to bringing altar servers back to Mass again.

Since they experience the Mass in an “up close and personal” way, altar servers can grow in their understanding of the Mass and the miracle of the Eucharist.

“They will understand the Mass better if they are actively participating in it, preparing before and helping out after the Mass, and being closer to the priest on the altar,” Deacon John says. “They will naturally be more alert and observant.

“I’d encourage anyone to just try it,” he adds. “Don’t be intimidated! Like anything else, you’ll learn by doing it, and we’ll be very patient with you. So don’t worry — you really won’t know until you try it!"

If you would like more information about the Altar Servers Ministry, or to get involved, please contact Deacon John Hinkel at jhinkel@cdlex.org.