What is the average depth of liturgical knowledge by EMsHC in your parish?

[Reuben_J]

Reuben_J:

I can see that. Not in our parish where EHMC’s tenure of service is not permanent but renewed yearly. They really have to want to serve to be bothered to go for the yearly EHMC retreat and to agree to make the pledge to serve for another year. They have to come for the commissioning and if they can’t for some reason, then they have to write personal letter to the Bishop explaining why.

That really is fascinating. I noted that EMsHC are commissioned by the local bishop here as well and really got attacked on this forum. We don’t have the level of training/retreat that you enjoy however. I have to ask – what is the linkage between your pastor and the EMsHC? Are there others in the chain? Paid staff, volunteers? This is where the real liturgical cancer lies in my parish in my opinion. We have lay coordinators who viciously hold onto their positions and they have done so for years. The effects are now gravely evident.

In years past there was always an abundance of EMsHC – both for Mass and home visits. Now there is a great shortage, largely due to the aforementioned lay coordinators. EMsHC who attend one Mass are now scheduled to minister at other Masses. It’s really a sad mess. The consequences of a complete dearth of leadership.

As I said different parishes do this differently and it may be due to many factors. Manpower and administration can be some of them.

Do you have elected parish councils to oversee various aspects of the parish? With election, nobody is permanent.

To answer you other question, we have both salaried staff (permanent) and unpaid volunteers. The former help to administer the parish which has quite a big office. The rest are volunteers/non-permanent, their roles according to the divisions by the parish councillors. For example, liturgy would be headed by a councillor and he/she can co-opt people under him. He has to report to the bishop or the rector (in our case, the archbishop).

If a person does a bad job or isn’t popular, he would be probably be replaced by another after his two year tenure of office when there will be another election.

 

[Duesenberg]

Do you have elected parish councils to oversee various aspects of the parish? With election, nobody is permanent.

We have a parish financial council and that’s it. I just looked at a copy of my parish’s bulletin. On the first page there are 28 names – from the pastor down to the volunteer “coordinators.” Each liturgy coordinator (there are 7) range from “environment” to “altar servers” to “readers & Eucharistic ministers.” Of the 7, one is superb – the music director. The rest are cancerous to good, orthodox, joyous Masses. They’ve also been in place (to a person) for at least a decade.

To answer you other question, we have both salaried staff (permanent) and unpaid volunteers. The former help to administer the parish which has quite a big office. The rest are volunteers/non-permanent, their roles according to the divisions by the parish councillors. For example, liturgy would be headed by a councillor and he/she can co-opt people under him. He has to report to the bishop or the rector (in our case, the archbishop).

That sure sounds a lot better than the bureaucratic mess that my parish is saddled with.

If a person does a bad job or isn’t popular, he would be probably be replaced by another after his two year tenure of office when there will be another election.

That really sounds wonderful. It really does.

 

[Reuben_J]

Hehe. Support them anyway. If you have genuine concern maybe bring it up to the priest. Better still, be active yourself. You can contribute more tangibly and meaningfully from the inside.

 

[Duesenberg]

Hehe. Support them anyway.

I remain at arm’s length from most of them.

If you have genuine concern maybe bring it up to the priest.

The pastor has proven to be effete.

Better still, be active yourself.

I am active liturgically, but I stay brutally clear of politics.

You can contribute more tangibly and meaningfully from the inside.

That would be true for certain if the pastor was a true shepherd and they was a real chance for renewal. Unfortunately he is not.

 

[Gorgias]

That should be axiomatic – in order to carry out the ministry well.

If I hire you as a bus driver, I don’t require that you know how to build an engine from scratch, nor do you need that knowledge in order to drive the bus.

 

[Gorgias]

I’ve seen a number of EMsHC react inappropriately when problems arose – the dropping of a host, the dropping of MANY hosts, dealing with mentally-impaired people, the spilling of Precious Blood, a parent presenting their infant for communion and the EMHC being completely clueless when the parent said “Eastern Catholic”, etc., etc.

None of these – nor your other examples (i.e., insufficient catechesis in basic Catholic sacramental theology) – require “liturgical knowledge”. Rather, simple training in the tasks to be performed is sufficient.

 

[Gorgias]

You can contribute more tangibly and meaningfully from the inside.

That would be true for certain if the pastor was a true shepherd and they was a real chance for renewal. Unfortunately he is not.

Pastors aren’t appointed for life (anymore, anyway). The one sure way to be effete at helping to effect change is to stay on the ‘outside’, and not be able to be present when leadership changes.

 

[casslean]

Those aren’t curve balls or problems. Those are just part of the standard training. We also operate as part of a team, so if something like that occurred during the Mass, there are four other EMsHC and the priest all standing in fairly close proximity who can intervene if it appeared the EMHC needed assistance.

 

[Duesenberg]

Those aren’t curve balls or problems.

Sure they are. I cringe to ponder what the typical EMHC would do if an elderly communicant or child communicant regurgitated a host. It would be problem – just as the other things I noted earlier. Most wouldn’t react too well – “team” or no “team.” Finis.

 

[Reuben_J]

casslean:

Those aren’t curve balls or problems.

Sure they are. I cringe to ponder what the typical EMHC would do if an elderly communicant or child communicant regurgitated a host. It would be problem – just as the other things I noted earlier. Most wouldn’t react too well – “team” or no “team.” Finis.

This kind of thing is not uncommon. Why is it a problem? Any host that falls on the floor one way or the other would be picked up - by the EHMC/priest and the communicant would be given a fresh one. The host would be disposed in the proper manner or eaten, if a priest wants to. We had an old EHMC who caused the whole ciborium to fall down and the hosts scattered on the floor. Accident like that do happen as long as humans do it.

 

[casslean]

I’m sorry, but your making a very gross generalization. In our parish, we would just address the issue. The first order of business would be to deal with the sick elderly person or child, and then if the particular EMHC didn’t know exactly how to deal with the regurgitated host (which, we do, because it’s part of the training) they would seek guidance from the priest.

 

[casslean]

Of course, maybe one of the reasons we have a team of EMsHC who function so well and serve so willingly is because we have both a pastor and a team of lay leaders who have inculcated a culture where such things aren’t problems or catastrophes or disasters. They are just situations to calmly deal with and then move on.