“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
John 3:18
The Church is one family, and we are all invited to play an active role in the life and work of the Church!
Ordinarily, there are many different ways you can contribute to the life of the Church and its parish, here at St Marie’s, such as:
- through its Ministries (e.g. Reading, Music, Serving etc);
- through its Faith Development Programmes (e.g. First Holy Communion, Journey in Faith); and
- through its Evangelisation efforts (e.g. Night Fever)
There are also wider voluntary roles, including:
- Serving the Parish and its Communities
- Fundraising, and
- encouraging visitors and the wider community to engage with the Cathedral’s Heritage
During these COVID times, there are currently two very important ways you can consider contributing to the Church. These are:
- as a Steward, and
- as a regular Reader at Mass
Find Out More About Becoming a Steward.
At St Marie’s, our dedicated team of volunteer Readers currently serve 18 Masses a week. We have 2 Masses per day on Mondays to Saturdays, and 6 Masses each Sunday.
Reading isn’t simply a matter of walking up to the Ambo and reading from the Lectionary.
Readers have to understand the part the Liturgy of the Word plays in the Mass, and prepare by studying all the readings for a particular Mass, including the Gospel, even though that will be read by a Priest or Deacon.
At a basic level, Readers need to be sure they can vocalise difficult words and phrases, making the words of the reading flow and come to life. At a deeper level, Readers need to understand the text and how the different readings relate to each other – the main reason for studying all the readings and not simply focusing on the texts they expect to read.
At St Marie’s, the Cathedral’s Readers’ Group organises training sessions to help new and existing Readers to carry out their ministry to the best of their abilities, and new volunteers are always welcome – and needed!
If you are interested in becoming a Reader at St Marie’s, please contact Bob Rae via e-mail to: bob.rae@stmariecathedral.org,
or contact Cathedral House (0114-2722522) to leave him a message.
Alternatively, you can speak to one of our Readers after Mass.
Did You Know?
- Lay Readers – or Lectors – are mentioned in the earliest record of a Mass, written by Justin Martyr, in around 150 AD.
- Reading became a clerical duty at the time of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604 AD), but returned to being primarily a lay ministry following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965).
