Number of "Mass Servers"

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ez3714

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Are there too many? Cantors, lectors, choirs, bands, gift bearers, people who hand you hymnals as you walk in the door, EMIC’s? Why?
 
ez3714 said:
Are there too many?
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The fact that a lot of people are willing to serve the church should be seen as a good thing from my perspective. Hence, my answer is no.
ez3714 said:
Cantors
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ez3714 said:
choirs, bands
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Only if they are good at what they do, take the Faith seriously, and understand music’s place in the Mass.
ez3714 said:
lectors
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Again, if they do it well, then it isn’t really a problem that a lot of people volunteer to read the Word of God, day by day, Sunday after Sunday.
ez3714 said:
gift bearers
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In my church, the priest politely asks one of the families to bring the gifts up. There is no set “gift-bearer,” so it’s kind of hard to say.
ez3714 said:
people who hand you hymnals as you walk in the door,
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Okay, in this case, I think I agree. A more convenient option would be to have those small wooden racks in the pews, but where this isn’t possible, there should be 1-5 people doing it, depending on the size of the church.
ez3714 said:
EMIC’s?
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This would depend on the number of people Communion is being brought to.
 
This is for the Pastor to decide based on the customs and needs of his parish.

There is no “one size fits all” solution.
 
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I like getting so many people involved in the mass. Sadly, I’ve heard of parishes where no one shows up for their roles, so we probably shouldn’t complain about too many people showing up.
 
ez3714 said:
Are there too many? Cantors, lectors, choirs, bands, gift bearers, people who hand you hymnals as you walk in the door, EMIC’s? Why?
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Not in my parish. One choir that sings at Sunday morning Mass with two cantors who are also the only musicians; only enough lectors that if one is away I can find myself reading 3 Saturday evenings in a row; hymnals left in the pews,; one EMHC at Saturday evening Mass, two at Sunday morning Mass.
 
ez3714 said:
Are there too many? Cantors, lectors, choirs, bands, gift bearers, people who hand you hymnals as you walk in the door, EMIC’s? Why?
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What’s your opinion?

I haven’t really thought about it before, so I’m thinking, in my opinion it doesn’t bother me.

I think its one of those things we either think is good or bad, but in the end its not a hill worth dying on because it doesn’t make an real difference.
 
I’m waiting for the thread about too many people in the pews. :roll_eyes:
 
If there were too many priests we wouldn’t need all the help. Thankfully people are willing to step up to help. We have five Sunday masses and a vigil mass. We need all the help we can get.
 
ez3714 said:
We can do better.
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Still don’t get it…referring to the title “Number of ‘Mass Servers’”, you said “We can do better”, but I’m still left wonder whether you think there are too many or too few.
 
It really comes down to “why” there are that many people serving.

If it is to make things go smoothly and enrich the liturgy then there isn’t really an issue, but if it is to find a ministry for everyone at mass then that is an issue. I will admit I get a little irked when everything under the sun is called a “ministry” and therefore everyone is a “minister” of something.

In the Mass it is about worshiping God and servers are there to make that possible, not so that they can feel “involved” (whatever that means).
 
In my Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish, only Father distributes Holy Communion under both Species from the Chalice with a golden spoon.
Usually he’s by himself but occasionally we have 1-3 altar boys.
 
At the early Sun Mass that we attend (7:30 am), there are two Eucharistic ministers, a lector, no music, and four ushers who also bring forward the gifts.
 
Some parishes I think there are far too many EMs who distribute. I don’t know what formula they use to determine how many they need but sometimes it seems like overkill.

During the service at the parish I attend, they only have 4-5 EMs. However, I’ve been to others where they consistently numbered over 20 😮. Other similarly sized parishes numbered around 15 or so.
 
So, you want the priest to do eveything-
All the readings, have the gifts already by the altar, no servers helping him, no cantor or music of any kind?
 
No, but I’d rather see this kind of help:

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Instead of this:

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