April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
YOUTH MINISTRY
Why do parishes need altar servers?
"I get to listen more and pay attention because I'm right there while the priest is talking," altar server Gaetana Baldwin, 15, told The Evangelist. "Sometimes I have the tendency to sort of zone out. It makes me feel closer to God because I'm serving Him, not only serving the priest. I just feel glad that I'm a part of it."
Her sister, Sofia, who's 13 and also a server, can't understand why her peers don't volunteer.
"Most of my friends don't really go to church, and I'm sad about that," she said. "They usually just come on Christmas. They should try to go to church more. It would make them feel happier. They did when they were little. [Maybe] society got the best of them."
For Sofia, going to church makes her happy, "just knowing and learning more that there's someone protecting me and watching over me."
Adults confirmed that altar servers are a crucial part of parish life.
With and without
"It makes a huge difference" to have them, said Lenora Fiorenza, director of faith formation and parish assistant at St. Cecilia's in Fonda.
St. Cecilia's had about a dozen children serving until recently, when its faith formation program began collaborating with that of Sacred Heart parish in Tribes Hill. Some parents are having a tough time getting used to the new arrangement, Mrs. Fiorenza said, so there can be weeks with no altar servers - and people notice.
Having servers "enhances the whole Mass," Mrs. Fiorenza asserted. It gives what she termed "performance-oriented" families incentive to come to Mass and "just involves the kids to a whole different degree, [and] it's a contagious kind of thing."
The absence of altar servers today is a less of a problem than in the early history of the Church, but that doesn't make the ministry any less important, said Rev. Thomas Berardi, pastor of Sacred Heart in Lake George.
History of serving
Having servers used to be a more practical need, he explained: Parishioners would bring items like loaves of bread or chickens to the altar, so the priest needed help receiving them. And before the reforms of the 1960s' Second Vatican Council made laypeople more involved, a primary role of the altar server was reciting responses during Mass.
After Vatican II, altar serving "evolved into more of a ritual kind of role," Father Berardi noted. "Some places said, 'Do we even need servers?'"
But, for his part, he appreciates the help - priests get slowed down without the assistance of altar servers - and parishioners say the servers' presence enhances the community experience of the Mass.
Servers "even tell me if I forget something," Father Berardi said with a laugh. "They're part of leading the service. People will often compliment a server when they come out of church."
Gaetana told The Evangelist that parishioners express their appreciation "almost every week. Some of them give us compliments, like, 'You look so beautiful up there today.'"
Sacred Heart currently has five adults and up to 10 youth who serve at Mass. The parish can always use more.
New tactic
"Every parish I've been in, it's the same challenge: Kids come and go," Father Berardi said. Some servers don't always show up, or they lose interest or get "self-conscious - like, 'Everybody's looking at me up there.'"
He's thinking about reorganizing the ministry to have faith formation students do the tasks of an altar server more informally: for instance, one child would carry the cross during the procession and then sit with his or her family, another would come up to hold the book for the opening prayer and so on.
Michael Fowler, a 12-year-old altar server at Sacred Heart, likes having all the responsibilities, which include receiving the offertory gifts, setting up the altar and helping the priest cleanse his hands. He was inspired by his five older siblings, who all also served.
"It makes me feel more connected to the Mass," Michael said. "It helps me understand the readings and the Gospel better so I feel like I'm learning more about the Bible. [Parishioners] tell me I did a good job [and] it helps the Mass flow more smoothly.
"It kind of connects to the fact that Jesus loved children," he continued, "and so most of the time they have children do altar serving. I plan on doing it possibly until I'm around 20 years old."
Gaetana, now a high school sophomore, started the ministry in sixth grade when she "saw all the other kids doing it. I wanted to help out the priest. I thought when you get to a certain age, you do it."
Finding youth
She continues because she sees "there are not many kids that go to church, and that includes the altar servers."
There are currently almost 20 altar servers at Transfiguration, with nine preparing to be trained in October. Servers have to be in fourth grade and have made first communion; they're most commonly between the ages of 12 and 15, but some continue through college. The parish is considering taking on adult altar servers, as well.
Summer months can be difficult at the parish because families travel or children work on family farms, said Elizabeth Thayer, coordinator of youth ministry. When there are no youth servers, adults from the funeral ministry step in.
When no one is available, parishioners remark on that.
"It just brings us closer when you see everybody participating," Ms. Thayer said. "Everybody in the community has a role in making the Mass more meaningful. The kids who have gone and been servers seem to be more committed to the overall parish. They have more sense of belonging."
Part of parish
Rev. Anthony Ligato, pastor of St. Jude the Apostle parish in Wynantskill - which has about 35 youth servers - said altar serving is an introduction to lay ministry.
"We're all called to ministry by virtue of our baptism," Father Ligato said. "This is where they are visibly being seen living out their faith." Serving "engages them in the liturgy and says to them, 'You are as vitally important as any adult.'"
Being altar servers also "keeps our young people attached to the Eucharist" and helps them "understand lessons in a more profound way.
"We all learn by what we do," Father Ligato explained. "Words can sometimes go in one ear and out the other."[[In-content Ad]]
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