BIDDING PRAYERS
Representative
Pat Mulqueen
Bidding prayers (Prayers of the Faithful) are the prayers which are read out, usually at Sunday Masses. In the Prayers of the Faithful, the assembly is invited to pray for the concerns of Church and the world. The pattern for use at Mass reminds us that the local Church gathered in prayer united with universal Church.
The recommended order for intentions given in the Roman Missal is as follows:
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For the needs of the Church
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For the world
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For those in need
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For the local community
CHILDREN'S LITURGY
Representative
Name to follow
The purpose of the Children’s Liturgy is to provide an adapted Liturgy of the Word during Mass on Sundays for children from Reception to the end of Year 6. It takes place during the 10:15am Sunday Mass in term time, with the exception of the first Sunday of the month, when there is a special children’s service, and on special occasions. There are two Children’s Liturgy groups: the younger group is for children from Reception to the start of Year 3; the older group is for children in Year 3 to Year 6.
An adult must accompany children under the age of 5 years, and a consent form must be completed for all children aged 4 years and above. Although parents are welcome to accompany their children to the younger group, we request that if parents would like to join us, you limit attendance to one adult per family, due to the number of children attending and the size of the room. We are always looking for new helpers and leaders to join the team of volunteers who run the Children’s Liturgy.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF ANY OF THESE GROUPS, PLEASE COMPLETE AND SUBMIT THE FORM BELOW
EUCHARISTIC MINISTRY
Representative
Barbara Habayeb
Eucharistic Ministers are commissioned primarily to assist the Parish Priest with the distribution of Holy Communion at Masses in Church. They also take Holy Communion to the sick and housebound in the Parish. Training is provided for all those new. A Day of Recollection is organized annually for all the Ministers.
GUILD OF ST STEPHEN (ALTAR SERVERS)
Representative
Donie Kearney
Any parishioner can participate in a more meaningful way at Mass by becoming an Altar Server. It is one of the lay ministries of the Church and provides an opportunity to explore a new path for growing closer to God. It involves preparing the altar and sanctuary with all the sacred vessels and accessories and assisting the Priest during the Mass itself.
Many of our servers have also joined The Guild of St Stephen, a group that brings together those who serve at the Altar to help them foster a reverence for all they do and to participate more fully in liturgies. We are always looking for new servers, particularly for feast days and the bigger celebrations such as Easter and Christmas. Children are welcome to become Altar Servers once they have received their First Holy Communion.
READERS MINISTRY
Representative
Pat Lonergan
All readings during the Masses at Our Lady and St Edmund are undertaken by a group of volunteers – usually two readers for each Sunday Mass. New volunteers, especially young people, are always welcome and a guide for new readers is available. For the Readers’ rota, please see the About Us page.
