Serving at the Altar is open to all boys and girls of the parish. 3rd & 4th Graders represent our Junior Servers, who commonly carry the processional candles at Mass and continue to learn how to server. Those in 5th grade and beyond represent our Senior Servers who competently assist the priest at daily and weekend Mass with all aspects of serving. Those in 7th grade or older wear the surplus with red piping recognizing their years of service. They also help train the Jr. Servers and assist with special needs like incense, holy water and special events. All servers in 3rd grade through 7th grade will be expected to attend at least two training sessions annually.

Sign up to become an Altar Sever

It is a great privilege to serve at the Altar of our God. Accordingly, Servers have a solemn responsibility to do their assigned duties with dignity and reverence. Our parish has Altar Servers (boys and girls), who have received the sacrament of First Holy Communion.

Server Information

  • Servers must arrive 15 minutes prior to mass starting

  • Servers must wear nice shoes (no slides, crocks, flipflops or heels)

  • Servers must find a sub if he/she cannot serve at their assigned mass time

  • Servers will fill in at mass, if we are short servers (pulled from pews)

Links

Altar Server Scheduler
Altar Server Procedures

More Information

For more information about altar servers please contact Mrs. Lisette Shields at St-Raphael-Altar-Server@outlook.com

Altar Server F.A.Q.

How do we sign up to be an altar server?

To sign up as an altar server, please contact the coordinator at St-Raphael-Altar-Server@outlook.com. You will be asked for your contact information and your mass preferences. Once your child has gone through an official training session which are offered four times during the school year, then they will be added to the group email list and to the schedule.

At least once a month at a regular weekend mass.

For a regular weekend mass, we assign 4 to 6 servers. A regular weekday mass usually has 2. The weekly school mass usually has 4 to 6 servers.

Yes! This would be considered a “Fill In”. Please let the assigned servers have first choice on the roles.

Then you will need to find a server to take their place. We call this a “sub” or “substitute”. To request a sub, please find the latest email that was sent to the group, click “respond to all”, and then simply state the date, time, role, and server name. We need a sub for Johnny at the 8:00 am mass on 06/12/2017. He was assigned the Acolyte/Cross role. Who can substitute? No need to go into too much detail. Please let the community know asap that you need a sub.

Please reply to the substitute request email by “respond to all”. Simply state who can substitute. Example: “Patricia can substitute for Johnny” This will inform the community that a sub has been found and also give an opportunity for us to update the signup sheets in the server room.

 

Yes! Simply have your server dress in the uniform and then reverently join the other servers on the side of the altar.

Servers should arrive 15 minutes before a regular weekend or weekday mass. For special liturgical events and funerals, servers should arrive 30 minutes before mass. During this time, the servers will get into the uniform, help the Sacristan, to setup the altar, and recite the team prayer. For special events, the sacristan, deacon, or priest might review the procedures with the servers.

The school manages the weekday server schedule during the regular school year. The altar server coordinator will create the schedule when the school is not in session, which include the summer schedule.

Please notify the altar server coordinator. They need to know what masses you cannot make and which masses you prefer. Also, please indicate if a family member has a regular shift as a Eucharistic minister, lector, or usher. Although we do our best to accommodate your preferences, sometimes you will be assigned to masses that are not your first preference. We have 26 opportunities to fill every weekend and some masses are more popular than others.

The goal is to show reverence and respect for God and not be a distraction. We are not going to tell the parents explicitly how to dress your children for mass. But will make recommendations. Clothing Boys – Dark slacks, shoes, tall socks, nice collar shirt. Girls – Skirt or slacks, blouse, nice flat shoes ballet or dress style.

The goal is to show reverence and respect for God and not be a distraction. We are not going to tell the parents explicitly how to dress your children for mass. But will make recommendations. NO SANDALS, NO FLIP FLOPS, NO CROCS, NO LIGHTS, NO NEON, and NO BRIGHT COLORS. Shoes should not be distracting and be safe. Shoes can be a bigger distraction than clothes. Also, some shoes can be dangerous on the altar stairs, like Flip Flops and Sandals. Other shoes, like Flip Flops and Crocs can be noisy.

If you have long hair, please tie it back into a pony tail with a plain hair tie (no bright colors). This is very important for servers in the torch bearer role. Remember – The goal is still to show reverence and respect for God and not be a distraction.

Arrive 15 min before mass Gather servers, start prayer before & after mass Assign roles to servers Review roles with new servers Help servers get dressed before mass and make sure vestments are put away properly Help set up altar Encourage servers to participate in mass, be respectful, prayer hands, not talking & not using the bathroom during the consecration of the host Attend & help with 2 required training If not able to serve seek out other book trainer to replace your spot.

A book trainer is are current altar servers grade 7 & up, who underwent special required training to facilitate the altar servers at each mass. They can be identified by gold vestments they will wear during Mass.