LAY MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST
At St Bridget’s there are two active groups of lay Ministers of the Eucharist, those who assist the parish priest at the Sunday Masses and those who visit house bound parishioners on Sunday mornings.
Extraordinary Ministers to the Eucharist are those assisting with the distribution of Communion at Sunday Masses on a rostered basis.
Extraordinary Ministers to the Sick take the Eucharist to the sick and house bound parishioners on Sunday mornings, the one day beyond all others when many of those who cannot get to Mass desire to receive Communion. This also provides them with an opportunity to have a chat with someone new each Sunday. To these people a special thank you!
ST VINCENT DE PAUL
St Bridget’s has a strong St Vincent De Paul conference, with about a dozen regular members and about a fifteen more who are involved but do not typically attend meetings. We have several ways in which we serve.
Our primary role is visitation. We respond to calls to the SVDP call center for material assistance. We visit the poor in their homes, and are able to give food vouchers, assistance with bills and material aid such as clothing and furniture. We always visit in pairs, and generally this takes a morning per month for those who visit. We are always looking for people to visit, or to accompany experienced visitors. Most of the people we visit are in North Fitzroy but we have also seen calls from the Balwyn and Mont Albert area.
We also conduct “bread runs” where we collect unsold bread from local bakeries and deliver them to organizations (particularly St Mary’s House of Welcome in Fitzroy) who serve meals and make up food parcels for the hungry. Some people are rostered once a month, some once a week, and some standby
We have the piety store in the Narthex, which raises money for the society’s works.
We run two appeals every year, in winter and at Christmas. Many people choose to join us in delivering hampers to people at Christmas.
Members also participate in SVDP activity outside the parish, in particular “twinning” with very poor SVDP conferences in other countries.
There are a range of ways to participate and different levels of commitment.
We meet every 1st Sunday in the Narthex, please tap us on the shoulder. If you’d like to ask a question about participating but do not want to feel obligated, please call Peter Adkins on 9899 7226
GREETERS
A warm welcome as parishioners enter the Church is a very pleasant experience and encourages all to feel a part of the celebrating community. The Parish Notices are also given to each person.
PRAYER GROUP
Meets each fortnight for prayer and reflection on the following Sunday’s scripture.
Details of time, date and location of the meetings can be found in the weekly bulletin.
ALTAR SOCIETY
A small but dedicated group who care for the flower decorations of the church and the cleaning of the various other parts of the building.
CHOIRS/MUSIC MINISTRY
Practice is on advertised Monday’s of the month at 7.45pm. The choir sings at one mass each month and welcomes new members at its practices. Our youth enthusiastically provide music at the Youth Mass on Sunday nights at 5.30pm.
LECTORS
A dedicated group of parishioners who read at Mass on a weekly basis.
CHILDRENS LITURGY OF THE WORD
Classes are taken at the 10.00am mass for children from 5-12 years old. These classes are based upon the Sunday Scripture and presented in a way suitable for children.
ALTAR SERVERS
When children have completed the Sacrament of First Eucharist they are able to help out in a responsible way by becoming an altar server. All 3 Masses on a weekend are supported by altar servers.