Sacristans

Any public event or celebration requires much behind the scenes activity. If the event is to have dignity and meaning there must be care and preparation. Planned events which involve a great number of people do not just “happen;” they only become an event and give inspiration when they have been well prepared, when the setting and surroundings of the event have been carefully arranged, and when the people involved in the event are aware of their responsibilities.

The parish liturgy forms the very heart of the whole parish life. Everything that we do and are as a parish leads to and flows from the celebration of Mass.The liturgy proclaims what we are as a parish and at the same time provides the foundations and the impetus for our working together and growing as a community of worship, of witness and of service. Because of its crucial role in parish life, the liturgy is a public celebration requiring considerable behind the scenes preparation.

A large part of this preparations belongs to the sacristan. In a sense, you are responsible for everything that is used in the parish liturgy. Because the parish liturgy is our communal worship of God, and because this service of worship draws us closer together as a holy people, the environment and materials used in the liturgy must all be conducive toward worship and community.