Blessed be the Lord! Hello, fellow St Tom’s parishioners. My name is Duane Sellers, and I am one of the members of the Liturgical Advisory Team (LAT) that was formed as a part of the diocesan Uniting in Hearts Pastoral Plan. I am writing today to provide an update on our work so far for St. Tom’s parish.
As many of you know, we started our work by distributing a parish-wide survey in April. The team is happy to report that participation was great. We got a wider insight into how our parishioners (resident and student) feel about our liturgies and how we need to respond to those needs and desires. Some responses were polar opposites on various topics, and many were closer in agreement with each other. But rest assured, all responses have been “heard” and taken very seriously.
The makeup of our team is a diverse mix of Residents and Students; each has their own area of participation in St. Tom’s liturgy ministry. We have been working well together, listening to each other intently, and melding our thoughts and your responses into our recommendations.
Our first “project” was one that people had spoken extensively about in the survey. We “heard” through the survey that the training of our lay Liturgical Ministers needs to happen more often and in more depth. These past months, we have spent considerable time revising the training documents and procedures for Lectors, Sacristans, Altar Servers, and EMHC’s. We hope that this effort will result in more consistent and prayerful ministries without adding any burden to the practice of these very important callings. In the coming weeks and months, we hope you will see the fruits of our labor as we welcome more to the callings of these ministries. Please watch the bulletin and announcements for opportunities to train and serve in these ministries! We would love more participation from all residents of St. Tom’s!
We look forward to moving on to other topics in the survey that are important to our St. Tom’s community and will provide updates as we work towards our goals.
Thank you for your support and your prayers.
In Christ,
Members of the Liturgy Advisory Team