Does every parish have rankings for their altar boys?

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When I was a kid and an altar boy we would be scheduled in groups of 2 or 3–one would be assigned chair 1, one would be assigned chair 2, and the third was the trainee and they were assigned by experience. I forget the exact breakdown of duties, but Chair 1, the most experienced of the group, did the most important things, Chair 2 did other things, and the trainee basically just carried the processional cross and otherwise just watched (standing and kneeling alongside the other two when appropriate). You knew exactly what your duties were based on the position you were assigned.

Being assigned to Confirmations when the bishop came was basically like being named to the All-Star team haha.

Looking back, it was a great little system.
 
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Maxwell03 said:
Compliments? Never heard of that before except from the MBG and lectors and priests!
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The adults who help with the program get them from parishioners to pass on all the time, and they do pass them on. The parish also puts on an annual appreciation party for the altar servers. They have pizza and fun stuff to do but also some recognition awards for servers who serve a lot, who have not missed a scheduled time slot without finding a substitute, who check in to see if they are needed, and so on.
Maxwell03 said:
On dress code we’re only permitted to wear leather black shoes, black socks, slacks and white T-shirt or white polo or if you want o sweat while wearing your vestments white long-sleeves.
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That is a good dress code, but our parish allows neutral colors other than black for slacks, socks and shoes. (And remember this is Oregon, which is not exactly Formalwear Central, LOL.) Female servers may wear skirts or dresses, provided they are modest. It would not do to have short skirts and spaghetti straps going in and out of the sacristy. The other children and young adults in the parish do take their cues from the altar servers. The organizers encourage shirts with collars when the weather isn’t hot, if nothing else because it keeps the albs cleaner, but solid-colored T-shirts are allowed. Solid colors are prefered; contrasting stripes or other designs that could show through the alb are not allowed.

Since we have female lectors, extraordinary ministers of the eucharist and sacristans at our parish, the pastors have allowed female altar servers, too. As one pastor explained it to me, a priest who cannot work alongside women is going to have a rough time with modern parish life, so it is just as well that the altar servers who are destined to become seminarians have had some experience coping with being around females. I thought that was a reasonable explanation for the policy.
Genesis315 said:
Being assigned to Confirmations when the bishop came was basically like being named to the All-Star team haha.
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I think it is that way everywhere!
 
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Hahaha… We are lucky if the kids scheduled for a given mass even show up. We are lucky enough to have instituted acolytes that also act a little like MCs, but there have been times one of my sons and I are the only people to serve despite neither of us being on the schedule. After serving for maybe 4 months he is likely one of the 4 most experienced servers.

The closest we come to rankings is “shows up regularly”, “pays attention”, “remembers what to do”. Maybe 2 or 3 servers in our parish have ascended to all three ranks. It’s part of the reason our pastor like it when he has adult servers instead of kids.
 
I’m in the same positon as you. I’m the only altar sever in college, whereas the rest are in high school, middle, school, or elementary school. So I guess my rank would be leader, and I have 2 vice-leaders (high school aged servers). There is no distinction between the remainder of the servers, but the older servers tend to get the “better” jobs than the younger servers. When we are all usually serving at solemn Masses (like the Triduum, Midnight Mass on Christmas, or when we have a procession), I make all the job assignments. I’m likewise responsible for organizing trainings. Usually when there are enough boys at a particular Mass, I refrain from doing any jobs. I only end up doing jobs when there is less than 3 servers, or when I’m serving at a solemn Mass.
 
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Usige said:
Hahaha… We are lucky if the kids scheduled for a given mass even show up. We are lucky enough to have instituted acolytes that also act a little like MCs, but there have been times one of my sons and I are the only people to serve despite neither of us being on the schedule. After serving for maybe 4 months he is likely one of the 4 most experienced servers.

The closest we come to rankings is “shows up regularly”, “pays attention”, “remembers what to do”. Maybe 2 or 3 servers in our parish have ascended to all three ranks. It’s part of the reason our pastor like it when he has adult servers instead of kids.
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Our parish scheduler actually calls parents when servers fail to show up for their scheduled time more than once–after all, most of them cannot drive and don’t keep their own schedule! If their track record is too bad, the family and the server is asked to reconsider whether their other commitments haven’t grown to the point that they cannot do justice to altar serving. Usually the servers and their families either make an effort to be dependable or else decide to do something else in the parish. There is no shame in that; sometimes a family just needs more flexibility in what Mass they attend or even which parish they attend each weekend. (The ones with children on sports travel teams come to mind…)

The scheduler also sells the program at the parish school, at religious ed (for the public school students) and taps other regular Mass attendees and asks if they would like to be altar servers, if servers are needed and there isn’t a waiting list. (There are other volunteers, but that woman works really hard on that program.)

We have a lot of men who volunteer to sing in the choir, to be lectors and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and so on, too. I would guess it is far easier to get boys to volunteer to help at Mass if they see it is something the men other than only Father do. Then those who do become altar servers are given the same respect as everyone else helping at Mass. I think that is why servers keep going into high school; it isn’t seen as a “little kid” thing to do.
 
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You could call them
  • Altar boy-- Deacon
  • Altar boy–Priest
  • Altar boy–Bishop
🤣

hawk
 
I’ve never heard of such organization of altar boys. You guys are organized far better than we are!
 
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