PORTLAND, OR | Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:31pm EST
(ROTO REUTERS) – Parishioners at Prince of Peace Catholic Church are looking for new members. This vibrant inclusive parish is looking to expand in the community and to bring its brand of active participation to everybody.
This Sunday it was rather awkward when they realized there was nobody in the pews to receive Communion and that everybody there was a Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (EMHC). Normally there were a couple of people available to receive Communion since they had not yet finished training to become a EMHC. Unfortunately they were out with the flu this week.
Ms. Eve Rewon remarked “Usually each week we have fun trying to entice those couple of people in the pews to come up to us to receive. It is such an honor when out of all the EMHCs available they come to you to receive our Lord!” Another EMHC Mr Juan Per preferred the days when only half of the parishioners were EMHCs and liked each person having their own EMHC to serve them. “This was real customer service where you could come to have a personal relationship with your EMHC. Although it took quite a while for Father to give us all Communion, it was really fast afterwards when each person came up to their designated
EMHC.”
Prince of Peace Catholic Church is also currently creating plans for building a new church building. Fr. Git Along said “We have outgrown our parish since the sanctuary is super-crowded with no room for expansion. Some have suggested removing some rows of pews and expanding the sanctuary that way and perhaps that might work for now. Ultimately though we have to expand the sanctuary to accomodate EMHCs and have enough lanes of traffic along with room to grow.”
Emergency plans were drawn up after Mass to find new ways to evangelize in the Community and to find people to receive Communion. To go out into the whole world and spread the good news and to become part of the track to becoming a parishioner and ultimately also an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. One anonymous parishioner told us “We are going to have to go all Mormon and JW out there going door to door to make sure this happens.”
Notes:
- Inspired by a Mass I went to this week with over a dozen EMHCs.
- The photo was cobbled together from a couple of images on the internet. No disrespect intended for the priest in the photo or the people in the group shot of actual EMHCs.
13 comments
Unfortunately, the platoons of EMHC’s swarming the sanctuary these days is too true to be funny.
I’m trying to understand what you’re trying to say Jeff and if “IT” is that maybe “EMHC” should be checked by “The Vatican” to make sure that the wrong kind of people don’t start taking charge of our Catholic Church, well that might make sense NOW!
I hear ya! Let’s not get sinner vic started, ok Victor!
You’re right so I’ll just say that maybe there are too many chiefs and not enough indians? Is that safe NOW?
Go Figure! 🙂
Peace
What a hoot 🙂
When our parish got to 11 or 12 EMHCs, I got nervous – that’s practically Last Supper numbers, one of them could be a rotten apple! Now that we regularly hit 14+ I just don’t know what to think. The ludicrousness of it makes me root for 25 more. EM(H)C^2!!
this is funny- sort of the opposite would be a Byzantine Catholic church- one priest with two acolytes holding the cloth (to catch any particles- we don’t use the plate) and then a few altar servers standing around the priest with candles…can’t I just receive sort of alone? 😉
(((we don’t use the plate) )))
They should bring that back cause when we was serving High Mass, a LOT of cells of Jesus were caught before they hit the floor and saved our priest, (God Bless His Soul) from doing all that extra prayers and stuff that they did back then.
Relax Victor! Some of U>S alien gods are working on “IT” as we speak so ya sure ya don’t want to join our new religion?
Let me think about “IT” sinner vic. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M-zwE33zHA
Peace
Thanks for sharing the link! Beautiful rendition of a beautiful song. Great way to start the day.
My small parish usually has 8, which doesn’t seem TOO bad until you consider… SO DOES OUR CATHEDRAL.
[…] Catholic Parish Forced to Evangelize – Jeffrey Miller, The Curt Jester […]
I noticed the by-line was Portland, OR… No kidding. As a Portlander, I’ve recently given up on the Sunday Novus Ordo experience and have returned to the TLM. I gave it three years, but the lack of beauty, reverence and sense of the sacred was slowly parching my soul. Sad.
My parents’ parish uses 15-20 every Sunday…
Seriously though, since I dont see Communion rails coming back anytime soon (sniff sniff), what is an appropriate ratio of EMHC to parishoners? We usually have 8-10 EHMC’s but that is for about 1000 in attendance at all 4 of our Masses on Sunday. Sat evening vigil is roughly the same. Your thoughts?
One parish I attend uses but one EHMC and sometimes none at all if the Deacon is present.
I think in almost all cases they could be greatly reduced for the simple fact that saving a couple of minutes is not really all that important. Even if 5 or 10 ten minutes is added I can only see this as a bonus both in preparing for Communion and then reflecting afterwards. We don’t need a fast food drive through mentality when it comes to receiving Our Lord.
[…] I already mentioned that the church was about half-full, so of course they had 20 Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC). Yes I counted them since it was rather easy since they were in a double row of people. I could jest that it almost took longer for the EMHCs to receive Communion as it was for them to distribute it. Still it did remind me of a parody I did on the subject. […]