St. Wendelin Parish

More on Mass Ministries

Where Might You Be Called to Serve?

Ushers and Greeters: Four years ago, you may remember hearing about the beatification of Fr. Solanus Casey. A simplex priest in the religious order of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Fr. Casey resided in Detroit at Saint Bonaventure Monastery for over twenty years. (Simplex priests were not able to hear confessions nor were they able to preach doctrinal sermons.) During his time at Saint Bonaventure, he served as the porter—the doorkeeper or receptionist. The office of porter used to be the first of seven orders or steps toward priesthood. A porter’s jobs were to lock and unlock the church, ring the bell tower to call the faithful to worship, and open the doors for their brothers and sisters as they entered. In monastic life, the porter would greet visitors to the monastery and relay messages. Above all, the porter served as the face of the church or monastery and he was to treat each person he encountered as if he was meeting Jesus. The list of canonized or beatified porters continues to grow. It is from the order of porter that we get our ministry of ushers and greeters. Have you ever considered being a greeter or an usher? If you are extroverted and love talking to people, consider this vitally important ministry of our parish. Ushers and greeters are generally the first people, visitors and parishioners alike, encounter. That first impression for a visitor could mean a new member of our parish family! Greeters and ushers arrive approximately 25-30 minutes prior to Mass. If you want to learn more, we are having an Usher and Greeter Enrichment Day on Sunday, October 17 between the 8 & 11 AM Masses. And who knows?—Maybe you will be the next canonized “porter” in the Church!

Parish Choir: Our Parish Choir is always looking to add to our ranks, especially men’s voices! Open to all in the parish of high school age or older, the choir sings at the 8:00 AM Mass on the first, third, and fourth Sundays of the month and at the 11:00 AM Mass on the second Sunday of the month. The choir also sings for most holydays and other special liturgies throughout the liturgical year. Repertoire ranges from Gregorian chant to contemporary choral pieces. Practices are mostly on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 PM in the choir room. As I noted last week with bells, the ability to read music is not required to join. You will never be forced to sing a solo. Please consider giving choir a try!

Instrumentalists: If you play a wind instrument such as flute, clarinet, trumpet, etc., or a string instrument like violin, viola, or cello, it would be wonderful to add some instrumentation with the choir every week (or even an instrument when there is only a cantor). This is a great opportunity for students to get some extra playing time on their instrument!

Contemporary Ensemble: The contemporary ensemble ministers at the 11:00 AM Mass on the first and third Sunday of each month plus some holydays and other special liturgies. Repertoire ranges from chant to contemporary Christian music.  Currently, we have four vocalists, a guitarist, a pianist, and a clarinetist. We can always add more voices or other instrumentation. Practices are on the first Thursday of each month from 5:30-6:15 PM in the choir room. As noted above, reading music is not a necessity and you will never be forced to sing a solo. If this group sounds right for you, please consider giving it a try. Our next practice is on October 7 at 5:30 PM.

Being involved in the Music Ministry is extremely rewarding and it is a wonderful way to give your talent back to our Lord. I hope to see some new faces in our practices soon. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the Music Ministry or any other Liturgical Ministry. May God bless you!