{"id":14437,"date":"2026-07-28T13:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/?p=14437"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:38:08","slug":"becoming-an-adult-altar-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/becoming-an-adult-altar-server\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming an Adult Altar Server"},"content":{"rendered":"

Becoming an Adult Altar Server<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

After retiring from teaching, sixteen years ago, I started to attend weekday Mass. After a time I was asked to consider serving at the altar.\u00a0 I declined the request.\u00a0 I was asked twice more and rejected the overtures three times in total.\u00a0 The main reason that I said no was that I did not feel good enough to serve at the altar, although as a boy I had been an altar server while at primary school.\u00a0 I thought I had \u2018done my bit\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, after further thought I decided to give it a go and see if I felt that it was something I could do.\u00a0 Fifteen years later I am still actively participating and enjoying it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why I agreed to assist the Church in this role came down to my belief in community, that we are all part of a greater purpose and if we all do a little something it makes it better for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a young boy I learnt that in my family we all helped laying the table and clearing away plus washing and drying the dishes.\u00a0 Essentially that is what altar servers do, and, on occasion, a little more is required – nothing that cannot be done with simple organisation.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, we need more people to participate, to lighten the load – adults who can also guide our younger servers.\u00a0 From my previous comment about when I retired you might realise that I am aware that I am now at an age when I need to pass on what knowledge I have.\u00a0 That is my next task, it is not too urgent (I trust!) but needs doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

I serve every Friday at 10.00 am Mass and would welcome anybody who wished to join me and learn all I know – it will not take long!\u00a0 Similarly, I serve at the Vigil Mass on Saturday and the same offer holds.\u00a0 If you wish to assist at another Sunday Mass, I will turn up and show you what is done.<\/span><\/p>\n

This role is most certainly open to men and women; there is a train of thought (mine) that women would probably perform the role better than men.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, on a personal note, I would say that being on the sanctuary close to the altar at the moment of consecration is fantastic and to be able to assist in a small way is a great gift to receive.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you would like to join me and contribute to the liturgical life of the church please come and see me at the Masses I serve at, or, alternatively, leave a message via the Church Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Becoming an Adult Altar Server After retiring from teaching, sixteen years ago, I started to attend weekday Mass. After a time I was asked to consider serving at the altar.\u00a0 I declined the request.\u00a0 I was asked twice more and rejected the overtures three times in total.\u00a0 The main reason that I said no was that I did not feel good enough to serve at the altar, although as a boy I had been an altar server while at primary school.\u00a0 I thought I had \u2018done my bit\u2019. However, after further thought I decided to give it a go and see if I felt that it was something I could do.\u00a0 Fifteen years later I am still actively participating and enjoying it. Why I agreed to assist the Church in this role came down to my belief in community, that we are all part of a greater purpose and if we all do a little something it makes it better for all. As a young boy I learnt that in my family we all helped laying the table and clearing away plus washing and drying the dishes.\u00a0 Essentially that is what altar servers do, and, on occasion, a little more is required – nothing that cannot be done with simple organisation. However, we need more people to participate, to lighten the load – adults who can also guide our younger servers.\u00a0 From my previous comment about when I retired you might realise that I am aware that I am now at an age when I need to pass on what knowledge I have.\u00a0 That is my next task, it is not too urgent (I trust!) but needs doing. I serve every Friday at 10.00 am Mass and would welcome anybody who wished to join me and learn all I know – it will not take long!\u00a0 Similarly, I serve at the Vigil Mass on Saturday and the same offer holds.\u00a0 If you wish to assist at another Sunday Mass, I will turn up and show you what is done. This role is most certainly open to men and women; there is a train of thought (mine) that women would probably perform the role better than men. Finally, on a personal note, I would say that being on the sanctuary close to the altar at the moment of consecration is fantastic and to be able to assist in a small way is a great gift to receive. If you would like to join me and contribute to the liturgical life of the church please come and see me at the Masses I serve at, or, alternatively, leave a message via the Church Office. Peter  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14438,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14437\/revisions\/14438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}