Messy altar servers

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My parish has 7 Sunday masses and after every mass some the servers just toss their cassocks and surplices into the closet. The ones that do hang them don’t do a good job at it and they end up on the ground with the others.
Some of the servers also have the nasty habit of trying on several cassocks and just tossing them back in of they don’t fit. So by the end of the day we have a pile of cassocks and surplices that won’t be picked up unless someone notices them.

What are someways to fix this?
Should I print something out and tape it on the closet door?
 
CatholicLife said:
My parish has 7 Sunday masses and after every mass some the servers just toss their cassocks and surplices into the closet. The ones that do hang them don’t do a good job at it and they end up on the ground with the others.
Some of the servers also have the nasty habit of trying on several cassocks and just tossing them back in of they don’t fit. So by the end of the day we have a pile of cassocks and surplices that won’t be picked up unless someone notices them.

What are someways to fix this?
Should I print something out and tape it on the closet door?
Click to expand...
Unless you are going to stand there and monitor, there is no way to fix this. We have the same problem.

I think it’s because many are not expected to treat their own belongings well, and mom does everything for them. I’ve battled this for several years (and others before me) and it doesn’t change. I tried enlisting the parents, but no luck. I’ve tried the stink eye, no luck. I’ve tried throwing a fit, no luck. I’ve tried embarrassing them into social conformity, no luck.
 
Our Altar Servers are responsible for the upkeep of their cassocks & surplices. They are responsible for bringing them home for laundering & ironing. This is an incentive to keep everything in order.
 
How about have a priest tell them to start acting like the responsible altar servers they purport to be?
 
1ke said:
Unless you are going to stand there and monitor, there is no way to fix this. We have the same problem.

I think it’s because many are not expected to treat their own belongings well, and mom does everything for them. I’ve battled this for several years (and others before me) and it doesn’t change. I tried enlisting the parents, but no luck. I’ve tried the stink eye, no luck. I’ve tried throwing a fit, no luck. I’ve tried embarrassing them into social conformity, no luck.
Click to expand...
Keep up the good fight 😃
I don’t know about your parish but at mine its the boys who are the messy ones.
The girls have their own closet because they wear albs and everything is always neat and organized in there. When they get an alb that doesn’t fit they simply put it back the way they found it. The boys on the other hand are a complete mess.
 
on_the_hill said:
How about have a priest tell them to start acting like the responsible altar servers they purport to be?
Click to expand...
Our pastor rarely gets involved with the servers.
As long as they behave in the altar he doesn’t have anything to say
 
CatholicLife said:
Our pastor rarely gets involved with the servers.
As long as they behave in the altar he doesn’t have anything to say
Click to expand...
Yes, a sad reflection of our times. Priests understandably won’t be found anywhere near where servers are alone, dressing, etc. even though they are fully clothed under their albs / cassocks.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Yes, a sad reflection of our times. Priests understandably won’t be found anywhere near where servers are alone, dressing, etc. even though they are fully clothed under their albs / cassocks.
Click to expand...
I don’t think this is the case in my parish. The sacristy is a pretty public place before Mass. Servers are vesting, lectors and song leaders are gathering, along with ushers.
 
We don’t have this problem at all.The Deacon who trains them is really clear. It’s a privilege and we take care of the church’s liturgical garb.
Period.
They fall right in line.
 
It might be more of a problem with cassocks and surplices than it is with albs, which can be adjusted pretty easy with a cincture to fit different sizes.

I can recall as an altar boy trying to find a cassock that fit, and they all had about 30 buttons, sometimes it seemed like they were all the wrong size and Mass was fast approaching. But I didn’t toss any of them on the floor.
 
  1. What is your role in this?
  2. What other persons are involved in their training and supervision?
  3. What ages are they?
  4. Do their parents have any relationship with parish officers and institutions?
Training is always personal.

For this sort of thing motor-eye training is needed. Also spatial awareness. Also training in time awareness. And in relationships.

At one of my old parishes was an “MC” who had a kindly but firm attitude and was looked up to for his constructive role. Those were the days before “facebook” and even “texts” of course.
 
CatholicLife said:
My parish has 7 Sunday masses and after every mass some the servers just toss their cassocks and surplices into the closet. The ones that do hang them don’t do a good job at it and they end up on the ground with the others.
Some of the servers also have the nasty habit of trying on several cassocks and just tossing them back in of they don’t fit. So by the end of the day we have a pile of cassocks and surplices that won’t be picked up unless someone notices them.

What are someways to fix this?
Should I print something out and tape it on the closet door?
Click to expand...
My brother and I spent about 10 minutes cleaning it one Sunday, and by the next it was all messy again.
 
When I was an acolyte (wayyyy before I converted), we each took care of at least our cassocks. sometimes they would fall down in the closet, due to the type of hangers being used, etc. I would pick it up, and usually, it wound up on the floor again. 🙂

I think every so often they made sure the closet was neat. I think it was, because otherwise, I probably would have heard about it from my parents. 😉
 
I just asked my son what the altar servers at our parish do.

He said that no one does that (leaves the place messy) because there are always other people around and the server who did that “would always get caught.” 😛

The “other people” he’s talking about are lectors, the sacristan, other servers, and EMHCs. But personally, I think the most important people there are the older teenage boys who whip the new kids into shape! 😃

In other words, the servers are neat because nothing less would be accepted.👍
 
Vic_Taltrees_UK said:
  1. What is your role in this?
  2. What other persons are involved in their training and supervision?
  3. What ages are they?
  4. Do their parents have any relationship with parish officers and institutions?
Training is always personal.

For this sort of thing motor-eye training is needed. Also spatial awareness. Also training in time awareness. And in relationships.

At one of my old parishes was an “MC” who had a kindly but firm attitude and was looked up to for his constructive role. Those were the days before “facebook” and even “texts” of course.
Click to expand...
  1. I help train the new servers and serve as “MC”. I’ve told them countless times to pick up after themselves but they just don’t care. When I’m not there they go back to their sloppy ways.
  2. We have no sacristan so the servers figure stuff out on their own. Yeah, an adult will tell them if they’ve been mishaving but they can’t get them in trouble or anything. It’s an unwritten rule that we can’t ask a server not to serve.
  3. 7-14.
  4. Some of them have parents who are involved in the parish. They usually don’t go in the sacristy though.
 
How much time do they have to dress before Mass? Are there clear sizes and do they know what size they should be getting out to wear? Is it organized in a way that size is easily spotted? Especially the younger kids (7-9 years), they may truly have a difficult time reaching to hang the items up and also might have a difficult time putting things on hangars without them falling off. As a mom, I have noticed my kids improving with hanging clothes as they get around age 10. If they are needing to get ready quickly that would also contribute to the messiness. I would suggest mandating that they are there 10-15 mins prior (what our current parish does) or another child will take their turn to serve instead. After Mass they can be watched as they clean up the closet and if they need help reaching someone would be there to help with that. I would definetly arrange the closet by size and make a list stating child’s name and size to help them remember which size they need to get out.
 
Could not your parish afford choir dress/alb for each altar servers? It might lessen the clutter of the garb after Mass.

I do not know, but each server here owns his/her garb.
 
If you use those plastic colored hangers that would help. You can find them at the Dollar Store for a minimal investment.

Green for Small
Blue for Medium
Black for Large
Red for X-Large
 
In our parish, each cassock has a number sewn on it, and a list is kept matching number to server. This means it is easy for the children to find the one that fits them, and also it is clear who leaves one lying around.
The list needs updating every so often, but it works well.
 
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