Below is a description of most of our parish ministries. At the bottom of the page you can sign up to volunteer with our ministries or contact the parish office to learn more about what volunteering entails.
Members are men and women who have time during the day to provide the weekly upkeep of the Church from the Communion Rail to the High Altar. This includes ensuring that the oil lamps on the altars are adequately filled, keeping the votive candle cups filled, keeping the holy water bowls cleaned and filled and dusting of the altars (no vacuuming or mopping). Duties rotate once every six to eight weeks.
Wash, dry, and iron the sacred linens used during mass.
Altar servers are boys or girls who are at least ten years of age who are baptized and have received their First Communion. Servers carry the cross, and the processional candles, hold the Missal for the priest celebrant when he is not at the altar, and assist the priest celebrant and deacon at the altar as necessary. Servers function at the Basilica Sunday Masses of 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. as well as special liturgical functions at Christmas, Holy Week, Easter Vigil, funerals, and weddings.
Members are parishioners who are available during the day to assist at the funeral Mass as hospitality ministers for those attending the funeral Mass. Some members assist in seating, making sure the bereavement book is signed, and tending to the needs of the mourners above and beyond what a Funeral Home provides. Other members of the Guild are readers, sacristans, adult servers, and music support in the form of a funeral choir.
Ministry of the Choir is one means by which joy is expressed through singing and we are reminded of the saying, "One who sings prays twice." The members of the choir at St. Michael seek to celebrate the liturgy in a manner that promotes participation by all with joy and reverence. The choir practices on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 P.M. and sings at the 11:00 Mass on Sundays. During the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sundays the organist is accompanied by a Cantor who is usually a member of the Choir.
Coffee hosts furnish baked goods or other goodies after one Mass approximately once per quarter. Hosts set up the Parish Center before the Mass and prepare coffee, etc., serve the refreshments after the Mass and then clean up. Two families usually host together. Coffee and refreshments are served after each Sunday Basilica Mass and are a way of encouraging parishioners to get to know one another informally.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are baptized and confirmed Catholic men and women who sincerely try to live the Gospel message in their communal and individual lives. If married the Catholic party must be married by a Catholic priest or deacon. Candidates for this specific ministry are properly trained in the parish and receive a mandate from the Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee to function in this ministry at the Basilica parish.
Greeters are the first face of Christ and His Church to visitor and old friend alike. Warm, welcoming persons are needed. A deft approach to personal interaction, always putting others first, helps every person who enters our doors to feel the love of Christ from the first moment they are with of our community. Gregariousness welcome not necessary – just a generous heart.
Knights of Columbus is an international fraternal and beneficent society of Catholic men. Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age and older who are practical (practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See and consists of four different degrees, each exemplifying a different principle of the Order. The St. Michael Council #8589 meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 P.M. at the Parish Center. The Council conducts multiple projects to raise funds and supp
Lectors are men and women who have been baptized and confirmed and at least the age of 16 who possess the skills necessary for an effective proclamation of the Word. The requirements are a desire to proclaim God’s Word at Mass and possess a strong, but pleasant public speaking voice. Lectors function at the Sunday Basilica Masses, funeral Masses, and other liturgical services at the Basilica as required.
Offertory Counters are men or women who possess strong attention to detail, have appropriate math skills, and can operate an adding machine. Counters operate as three-man teams. Time commitment is one Monday morning per month. Diocesan background checks are required.
Palafox Market Guardians are on duty once every seven weeks on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in teams of three. The purpose is to allow the doors of the Basilica to be open during the popular Palafox Open Air Market. Duties are limited to greeting anyone who might like to look around or say a silent prayer. It can also be a time for quiet prayer and spiritual reading for you. And, in addition to fulfilling a parish need, it's a wonderful opportunity for the guardians to come downtown.
The members of the Prison Ministry Team will undergo thorough training in how to interact appropriately with the people to whom they will minister. Through prayerful intercession, letter writing, in-person visits, and serving on retreat teams, the volunteers of this team will be ministering to Jesus hidden in the imprisoned. People who have been cast out from society and locked away, some of them for truly evil deeds, are in dire need of God’s love and mercy. This team is guided by Fr. Fowler.
Sacristan duties are performed under the general direction of Deacon Wulf. In general, the sacristan undertakes the overall preparation for Mass such as opening the Church, arranging the books needed for the celebration, setting up the sacred vessels, and overseeing details of the Mass as outlined by the Rector. The sacristans serve as a coordinator of the Mass for the priest-celebrant. Sacristans may be men or women who are 16 or older and fully initiated in the Catholic Church.
Our Lady's Sodality is an organization whose purpose is to unite and organize the women of the Parish in goals, direction, and action that support the physical, financial, and spiritual needs of the Parish. The Sodality meets on the second Monday of each month at 4:30 P.M. in the Parish Center for social time with a business meeting beginning at 5:00 P.M. (No meetings in June, July, and August.)
Ushers should ensure that worshipers enter into the sanctuary quietly and respectfully without disturbing silent prayer. Ushers are responsible for taking up the collection at the offertory and maintaining safeguards. Ushers also distribute weekly bulletins as the congregation files out. After Mass, ushers tidy up the church, collecting any papers or objects left behind in the pews.
The Veronica Guild provides opportunities to serve Jesus in our neighbors. St. Veronica took the time to comfort Jesus as He carried the Cross by wiping the sweat and blood from his face with her veil. Just as Veronica cared for Jesus as He walked the road to Calvary, we hope to bring joy to the Heart of Christ by caring for our neighbors as He would.
Women's Study Group is a diocesan study group program for women that meets in the Parish Hall on Wednesday mornings from 9:00-11:00 AM. Participants can expect coffee, Catholic Fellowship, and a loving, welcoming environment. All women of the parish are invited to attend and bring a friend.
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