ST. LEONHARD'S INTERNATIONAL
ENGLISH SPEAKING ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISH
MINISTERS OF WELCOMING
HANDBOOK
September, 2009
Welcoming Ministers Prayer
Jesus, You are our savior
and it is through You that we come to the Father.
You have blessed us with Your words and Your actions
and have asked us to take them into the world.
We ask You to help us to be welcoming and caring
to all those who enter through the doors of our Church.
May our example of love encourage others
to take the welcoming into their homes and their work.
We ask this in Your name. Amen.
BEFORE MASS
Arrive a minimum of 20 minutes
before Mass
·
The Ministry of Welcoming is a vital element in the
celebration of the liturgy and as such it requires involved, dependable
members.
·
One of the most important responsibilities you have as a
minister of welcoming is to arrive at church at least 20 minutes early. It is imperative that you are on hand to
greet both parishioners and visitors as they enter.
·
Spend a few minutes in quiet reflection and prayer as you
are about to assist in the celebration of the liturgy. Ask the Lord for His guidance in your
ministry.
Dress appropriately
·
Provocative clothing should not be worn.
·
It is not necessary to have fancy or expensive clothing, but
just to wear something suitable for representing your parish.
If you agree to substitute for
another minister, update the book at the back of the church if possible
·
Advise the mass coordinator who
you are replacing.
·
Make sure you always know who all the other ministers are
who will be serving with you at
·
If you notice that a minister is missing, volunteer yourself
to the mass coordinator as a substitute.
·
If you arrive at church to find that the scheduled minister
of welcoming has not
come into the church yet, please fill in until the scheduled
minister arrives.
Security check
·
Upon arriving at the church, the first duty you should
fulfill is the security check, looking for any items which have been left
unattended. This could include
rucksacks, bags, boxes, etc.
·
Begin by walking up and down every aisle checking each pew
as you go. Also check the 2 alcoves, the
confessionals and the loft.
Setting up the greeters station
·
Bring the 2 carts of hymnals from the far side of the church
to their location near the entrance, in front of the stairs to the loft but not
blocking it.
·
Place a chair with the notice for visitors requesting that
they not view the church during the
·
Make sure there are enough baskets for the collection. There are normally 4 on Saturdays and 6 on
Sundays.
·
The bulletins and the money envelope for the collection will
be brought to you by the mass coordinator.
·
Check with the mass coordinator to see if there are any
special instructions for Mass e.g., if there is to be a basket for food
collections or additional notices to be passed out, etc.
·
The sacristan will bring the vessels of wine and hosts to
the back of the church a few minutes before
Greeting parishioners and visitors
·
You are the doorkeeper in the House of the Lord and the
first person others encounter when entering the church; your actions and
attitude can set the tone of their experience with us.
·
Welcome everyone who enters as if you are welcoming your own
brothers and sisters—in reality, that is exactly what you are doing.
·
Hand each person a Breaking Bread hymnal and a
bulletin.
·
Look at the person, not the hymnal! It is vitally important that you greet each
person by making eye contact, offering a friendly word and an open, welcoming
demeanor.
·
Be sensitive to the needs of others. Be ready to assist anyone who may require help finding
a suitable, comfortable seat. This could
include the infirm, someone in a wheelchair or families with baby
carriages.
·
Make an effort each week to learn and use the names of
fellow parishioners. Try to learn the
names of at least one or two regulars every week and in time, you will know who
all of them are.
·
As people enter the church, look for a family or 3 to 4
individuals willing to bring the gifts forward at the the
offertory. Briefly explain how the gifts
are to be presented and ask them to come to the back of the church after the
collection.
When you see the celebrant enter the
church, join him and the other ministers for a short prayer
·
One minister should remain at the door but the others who
are serving can join in the group prayer.
DURING MASS
Positioning and duties
· One minister
should remain near the missals and serves that half of the church; another
minister is positioned at the right side of the church and serves that half of
the church. If there are other
ministers available, they can be positioned at the far sides.
· Pay attention
to any situations which may require your assistance.
· Do not allow
visitors to tour the church during
Seating
· If the church
is crowded, ministers should look for available spaces in the pews and politely
ask those seated to make room for new arrivals.
· Ministers
should escort or direct those standing to available seats.
· Movement up
or down the main aisles during the readings and homily should be discouraged as
that can be very distracting for other parishioners.
Counting attendees
· Ministers of
Welcoming are responsible for counting the number of attendees at each
· This is most
easily done during the homily since most people will be seated at that
time. Each minister should stand at the
back of the church and count the people in their section.
· The total is
to be recorded on the collection envelope.
Collection
· During the
prayers of the faithful, the ministers should stand at the back of the church
with the appropriate number of baskets.
· After the presider says the closing prayer, the ministers should
proceed down the aisle after everyone is seated.
· The baskets
should be handed to the first person in front pew of each section.
· While the
baskets are circulating, the ministers should be available in order to assist
in case of any discontinuity in the circulation of the baskets.
· A minister
should take up the collection along the back of the church also.
· After the
collection is completed, the money should be consolidated into one basket with
another basket on top.
Presentation of the gifts
· If there is a
children's group bringing up food donations, they should go first directly
behind the altar servers.
· The
collection basket would be next in line followed by the gift bearers presenting
the bread and wine.
· After the
gifts are presented, the gift bearers bow to the altar and tabernacle and
return to their seats.
· In the very
rare event that there are no gift bearers available, the ministers should bring
the gifts forward.
Communion
· As the priest
and the ministers of communion take their stations, the communicants are
invited to come forward.
· If there are
only 2 communion stations, the ministers should begin at the first pew and
invite the attendees, one pew at a time, to proceed to communion.
· The
communicants along the back wall would be invited next.
· The attendees
on the side aisles would then be directed.
· If there are
4 communion stations, then the side aisles would be directed forward to the
alcoves.
· The ministers
should take communion last.
AFTER MASS
· During the
recessional hymn, both sets of exit doors should be opened.
· One minister
is to take up a position at the bottom of the steps and be prepared to assist anyone needing help. Pay particular attention to the elderly,
small children, anyone with crutches or in a wheelchair or mothers with baby
carriages.
· Another
minister or two should help place the books back in the carts.
· Ensure that
someone takes care of the collection. It
should be put into the envelope and given to the designated person or the mass
coordinator.
· A minister
should check the pews for any lost or left articles or hymnbooks.
· Be sure to
say goodbye to the departing. Putting
the books away is not the most important task at this time. A friendly farewell and a reminder to join
the other parishioners for the social gathering is. Smile and make eye contact!
· On Saturdays,
the missal carts can remain in place unless there is another service
afterwards.
· On Sundays,
the missal carts need to be returned to the far corner.
GENERAL
INFORMATION AND REMINDERS
· Pick up your
schedule from the back of the church every month.
· The schedule
is also available on line at: www.stleonhards.org
· A contact
list is at the back of this handbook.
The list is also available on the St.Leonhard
website and is updated regularly; therefore, over the course of time, it will
be more up-to-date than the one included here.
· If you have
any questions regarding procedure or you are unclear about your duties,
contact one of the ministry coordinators.
The 2 coordinators for the Ministry of Welcoming are:
Rolly Oliva, contact information:
069-311486/email:rollyoliva2004@hotmail.com
Jude Fernando, contact
information:
069-63153594/email: 776299fernando@online.de
· The monthly
schedule is prepared well in advance.
Therefore, if you know that you have a vacation or business trip planned
or that you will be unavailable for other reasons, please notify the person
responsible for the scheduling and contact information.
Nancy Clements Contact information: (email is best, if possible)
telephone: 06102-81 27 38
email: nancy.clements@t-online.de
· A couple of
weeks before the schedule is written, you will receive an email asking when you
can and cannot serve for the following month.
It is important to answer as soon as possible with this
information. That way, you will be
scheduled for a day when you are available.
· Situations
can change. If some unforeseen event
prevents you from serving your scheduled day, please contact
· Any changes
or additions to your contact information should also be sent to