Catechetical Ministry
Youth Ministry
Adult Faith Formation Ministry
Liturgical Ministries
Pastoral Care Ministries
Baptism Ministry
Marriage Ministry
Singles Ministry

The following sections explain the ministries in our parish. Contact points are identified for those of you who are called to a particular ministry or who wish to support a ministry in other ways. But first, it is important to define ministry and distinguish it from volunteerism.

What is a minister?
According to the dictionary, a minister is a person officially charged to perform spiritual functions in the Church. Ministers go beyond volunteering.

First of all, they are called in some way to the service they perform.

Second, they are confirmed in their ministry by the Church community. The Church determines if what a potential minister wishes to do meets a need of the community and enhances its well being. The Church also decides whether that person is qualified for the role to be undertaken.

Qualifications include not only ability, but also experience, the willingness to learn and grow, a talent for working with others, and the capacity for being to strangers what one is to close friends.

Ultimately, a minister represents God’s care and compassion to the members of the community. A minister needs to care about people and to be able to express this through the actions specific to his or her ministry.

The third and final step is commitment, the response to the original call. It means service, being available when needed, and surrendering personal convenience to the needs of the larger community.

In return, the community provides the support, education, training, and encouragement to assist the minister to do the best in what he or she has been called to do.

Ministers are “amateurs.” The root of this word is “amat,” which means “to love.” This means that ministers do what they do out of love. Love for God and for God’s people energizes them to serve. It provides the reason and the means.

Are you called to be a minister?