2 minute read
The Altar Ministry: Faithfully Preparing Our Church for the Liturgies
The liturgy is essential to the Catholic faith. At each Mass, we experience the Last Supper, as Jesus gives of His Body and Blood. Central to the celebration of the Mass is the altar. It takes a dedicated group to keep the altar and the entire church prepared for each liturgy. Thankfully, we are blessed with a committed team at St. Patrick that gives of their time and talent to ensure that everything is in place throughout the church.
Peggy Griffin has been coordinating our Altar Ministry at St. Patrick for about seven years. She is quick to credit her great team of 14 members for all their work, as she certainly couldn’t carry out the ministry's work alone.
Advertisement
“This makes you part of the liturgy in a different sense than some other ministries,” Peggy says. “The liturgy is the summit of our faith.”
The group's work includes everything from cleaning the holy waterfonts to switching out the flowers and washing the altar linens. A few times a year, the members perform a deep cleaning of the parish and they also change out the decorations to match the liturgical season. Each person on the team has a task which they do alone or with a few others. For instance, someone keeps track of swapping out candles while another group cleans the corporals and purificators. It’s these small, simple tasks that make all the difference at St. Patrick. Peggy points out that none of this work is hard, but it all has to get done.
“Some members love taking care of flowers and would have no interest in doing the ironing of the altar linens,” she says.
The team gathers to do the work together when it comes to decorating for a holiday or deep cleaning. In these instances, there is a lot to be done at once, but every part of it is essential to the life of St. Patrick’s.
“When I was first asked, I didn’t know what this all involved,” Peggy says. “It’s such an honor to know that we are able to give the sanctuary the dignity it deserves.” Peggy asks all parishioners to consider how they might be able to give of their time, talent and treasure at our parish. It could be through serving as a lector or choir member, or something that takes place behind the scenes, like the Altar Ministry.
“To be involved in a ministry, you should be asking what you are called to do, not what you have to do,” she says.
In addition to being thankful for the opportunity to do this work, Peggy is also grateful to the people she has met through this ministry — their faith is a continual inspiration to her. Altar Ministry members are always willing to take on extra tasks, doing what needs to be done without asking for anything in return.
“There are so many faith-filled people in this ministry,” Peggy says. “They are good people to be around. They are responsible and reliable. They want to be there. I am blessed to be part of a great team.”
