Have you noticed a drop in altar servers in your parish?

[NewUlm1976_2000]

I recently took over the job of training of new altar servers for our parish. This year when trying to recruit new servers from the upcoming class of children at our parish school…I got 2 kids, who cannot make a complete committment. Not only that, the current servers have dramatically stopped serving at their appointed times. They just don’t show up. And most of it is due to the lack of parental support. However, even the kids who could get out of class to serve the daily morning mass do not come unless its for a funeral where they know they will receive a monetary stipend for their service. it is so sad!

My spouse and I wonder if there is a link to the drop in priestly vocations to the drop in children becoming involved with the church? In our diocese, next week when our Cardinal ordains 14 men…13 are from foreign countries, not American born!

My heart just cries!

No, not up around here. The number seems to be stable. There are enough boys and girls to fill mass time slots. It is like adult ministry, where 20% do 80% of the work, so we have the same 20% of the same children who end up being altar servers.

 

[una_ecclesia]

A big trend in my parish is a HUGE increase in girls serving and a HUGE decrease in boys serving. I’m not sure why that is, but you’d be hardpressed to find a boy serving mass at any of the Sunday masses now.

The same thing is happening in my parish, and even though I am a girl I wish more guys would step up and volunteer since the role was originally for boys( it happens mostly in the English masses though… the Spanish masses always have deacons and most of the servers are still boys). In addition to that, most of the servers are young and as soon as they hit high school they no longer want to do it anymore (I am only 16 and I am already one of the oldest servers there).