Nazareth Catholic Parish

Grovedale, Torquay and Anglesea

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Serve Our Worship

Learning about liturgy, one will inevitably come across the latin phrase " Lex orandi, Lex credendi, Lex Vivendi" which can be translated as 'how we worship reflects what we believe and determines how we live.'  
 
How we worship not only reveals and guards what we believe but guides us in how we live our Christian faith and fulfill our Christian mission in the world. 

Worship is never an "add on" for a Catholic Christian. It is the foundation of our Catholic identity; it expressses our highest purpose.  Vatican II refers to liturgy as the 'source and summit' of the Church's activity, for worship reveals what we truly believe and how we view ourselves in relationship to God, one another and the world into which we are sent to carry forward the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ.  Worship informs and transforms both the person, and the faith community which participates in it.

Our suday worship is presided over and led by the priest. It is celebrated not by the priest alone but by all of the people assembled in the church and we are called to be active participants in our seats
  •        by understanding the words we pray;
  •        by praying with the silences of the celebration;
  •        by processing prayerfully and
  •        by singing the hymns with strong voices.
And, we can also take up some of the various lliturgical ministries outlined below, as a way of expressing our baptismal call to serve.  If you would like more information about what is involved in any of the ministries below, please don't hesitate to Contact Us.  We are very willing to let you have a try before you commit to a ministry.
 

Liturgical Ministries

PREPARATION OF THE CHURCHES: All three churches need to be cleaned and dusted, floors swept or vacuumed, and flowers arranged; and all need to be opened well in advance of the celebration of Mass or other liturgies. In addition all the sacred vessels and vestments etc need to be prepared, placed ready for use and cleaned and put away after liturgies.
 
DATA PROJECTION & AUDIO OPERATORS:  to assist our assemblies to be active in their participation, all responses and hymn words are displayed through Powerpoint presentatioins, and when necessary (in the absence of live music) hymns need to be played from CD's. Some computer knowledge certainly helps but the most important aspect of this role is attention to the flow of the liturgy.
 
LEADERS OF CHILDREN'S LITURGY:  take the children out and help them, through activities and prayer, to understand the scripture of the day at  a level appropriate with their capacity to understand.  A little preparation is required prior to sunday and this is supported by th parish staff.
 
READERS:  lend their voices to God, so that He may proclaim His word to His people. A heart and mind willing to prepare the scripture readings during the week prior to mass is all that is needed.
 
COMMENTATORS: have much the same role in that they proclaim the Psalm and the General Intercessions.  At times they might also make announcements of upcoming events.
 
COLLECTORS: hand out the collection basketsthat invite us to make financial offerings to God for the good of our parish, our priest and our diocese and their needs.
  
GIFT BEARERS: act on behalf of the assembly and carry the bread and wine, and financial offerings, to the table of sacrifice.
 
EXTRAORDINARY  MINISTERS OF COMMUNION: share with the priest (the ordinary minister of communion),  the distribution to the assembly of both species of communion, the Body and Blood of Christ.

Liturgy Team

The Liturgy Team bears responsibility with Fr Linh to oversee the preparation of our liturgies .  By planning the actions we will make, the music we will sing, the environmment of the space we worship in and the prayers we will offer, the team seeks to encourage and support the active participation of all in such a way that allows each to experience God in some way.
 

Sacramental Ministries

BAPTISM PREPARATION: All parents wishing to have their children baptised are invited and supported to prepare well for this first Sacrament of Initiation. The preparation sessions are run by parishioners, who work with Fr Linh, to ensure that parents are given every opportunity to ask questions and to come to a deeper undertanding of thier role  as primary educators if faith.  Further information can be found here.
 
HOME BASED RELIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMME: This is a very successful programme for those children attending other schools and already baptised, who wish to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation,(in Year 3), Eucharist (in Year 4) and Confirmation (in Year 6).  This programme is run by catechists with the admnistration support of the Parish Office. Please Contact Us for more information.
 
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION (RCIA): Many adults seek to know more about the Catholic Religioin or ask about becoming Cathlolic. Our parish has an active RCIA process that supports these enquirers. We also support older children with the same yearnings through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Children (RCIC).  The parishioners involved in this minitry are people who take delight in sharing their faith and their understanding of that faith.  More information can be found here, or you might like to Contact Us.
MINISTRY TO THE SICK and SACRAMENT OF THE SICK : As our communities age this ministry is growing rapidly!  However this ministry is not confined to our elders but encompasses anyone at all who is ill or suffering, and we encourage all to consider accessing this sacrment as needed. We  need an ever growing number of parishioners willing to take communion to the sick on both Sundays and other days of the week. See more about this ministry here.
 

Music Ministry

 Music can 'unveil a dimension of meaning and feeling, a communication of ideas and intuitions that words alone cannot yield' (MCW24). In fact music speaks to the whole person rather than just to the mind - it allows a sense of the transcendental to occurr as we experience God in some new way through. In other words, music is both integral and essential to good celebration of liturgy.  Our music ministry covers the breadth of skills from a simple enjoyment of singing to the specialised skills of playing particular instruments, and all are welcome to join in.