Liturgy Group report – parish AGM 2022
The Liturgy Group was formed in 2015 to support the parish priest in the delivery of the liturgy, and to coordinate the different ministries that assist in the liturgy – altar servers, Eucharistic Ministers, choir / musicians, children’s liturgy, readers and also the ministry of hospitality (welcomers and those who prepare refreshment after mass).
Following the easing of pandemic restrictions last year, and the gradual resumption of a more normal level of parish activities during the last twelve months, the Liturgy Team has met several times to both review and look ahead with regard to the liturgical life of the parish.
Whilst Easter services in 2021 still operated under some restrictions, by Christmas 2021 and certainly by Easter 2022 services were going ahead on a more normal basis. There were and are still some obvious shortcomings, such as fewer altar servers and a much smaller choir. Sadly, a number of servers and choir members have chosen or been unable to return for a variety of reasons.
As we were starting to get back to normal, with Masses “in real life” once more, but still with some restrictions such as mask-wearing, hand sanitising, no Mass books and no hymn books, the welcome team did a fantastic job reminding people about the precautions, for which thanks are due.
Thanks also go to the brilliant team of volunteers who cleaned the church after each Mass, and without whom we couldn’t have had our regular services. Thanks, too, to the safety team who laid out the church with regard to social distancing and other precautions.
We are pleased that the Children’s Liturgy team have resumed providing age-related liturgical activities during part of the Sunday 11am Mass, although currently bi-weekly rather than weekly. Again, hopefully this will build up again with time and with, hopefully, some additional volunteers.
It is good to report that both the 1st Holy Communion and the Confirmation programmes have resumed, with young parishioners receiving both sacraments in recent weeks. The baptism programme hasn’t yet re-started, but Deacon Martin has been holding the fort and providing catechesis for those wishing to have their child baptised. Thanks to all the catechists for their hard work.
As we can now have the liturgy of the Word proclaimed by readers once more, Josie has taken on providing the rota, and anyone wishing to become a reader can contact her to see about being added to the list. A reader training session will be organised in the not too distant future. Most Eucharistic Ministers are also fulfilling their duties during Mass, with others continuing to take communion to members of the parish who are housebound.
Another “missing element” in our parish life is the refreshments after Mass on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. We are keen that this should get going again, as an important aspect of parish bonding, but, once again, some of the previous volunteers are no longer in a position to carry on and, so far, there hasn’t been much response to the call for new volunteers.
An important event during recent months was the induction of Fr Pawel as parish administrator, even though he had been with us for quite q while by the time it happened! Everything went perfectly, with a lovely Mass and plentiful feast afterwards, with the weather being kind so we could gather outside.
If anyone would like the team to look at anything related to the parish liturgy, please speak to Fr Pawel or Liz Simmons.
Liturgy Team report 2020
The Liturgy Group was formed in 2015 to support the parish priest in the delivery of the liturgy, and to coordinate the different ministries that assist in the liturgy – altar servers, choir / musicians, children’s liturgy, readers and also the ministry of hospitality (welcomers and those who prepare refreshment after mass).
The Liturgy team has met regularly during the year to discuss matters to do with all aspects of the parish liturgy. We welcome comments and observations about our parish liturgies – it is always good to get feedback!
We also arrange and facilitate the annual mass for the housebound, to enable those who can’t normally be part of the parish celebration to join with us.
Obviously, at the moment, all liturgies are being done behind closed doors and streamed on YouTube, due to the Corona virus outbreak. We’d like to record our gratitude and thanks to Fr Bart for both his spiritual support and technical expertise in sharing the liturgies and uplifting us.
Bullet points of matters discussed by the team are displayed on the notice boards shortly after each meeting. If anyone would like the team to look at anything related to the parish liturgy, please speak to Fr Bart or Liz Simmons.