Recently I celebrated the funeral of Morris Burton. By the time I arrived at Resurrection Parish, Morris was already homebound, but whenever his name came up, one of the first things I would hear was how he was a lector at the 8 AM Sunday Mass for many years. During my visits with Morris, he would often talk about how much he enjoyed proclaiming God’s Word, that it drew him closer to Jesus.

Around the same time as Morris’ funeral, I was called to the hospital to visit another long time parishioner, Connie. Now, I did get to know Connie before she became ill. She was a dedicated Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. Her face radiated such joy when she gave out Holy Communion. Sadly, about six months after I arrived Connie suffered a serious medical condition. For over a year her family took turns caring for her. People gasped for joy when they saw Connie, with the aid of her daughter, come into church Easter morning two years ago. Yet Connie still had setbacks in her health. Six months ago, she seemed to be making steady progress, and one of the things she would regularly talk with her family about is wanting to serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion again. Even is her daughter needed to stand next to her for stability, Connie had the goal of distributing Jesus to people. Unfortunately, Connie recently had another medical setback, so she might not achieve her goal of serving at Mass for awhile.

I share these two stories not merely to point out that we need more volunteers for our various ministries – of course we do need the help. Rather I share them because of the witness they provide. Both Morris and Connie experienced tremendous joy from their ministry in the parish. Their ministries helped each of them to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Their service to their fellow parishioners also assisted others to walk closer with Christ. And it led to many wonderful friendships through the years.

And they are not alone. As we prepared for our Ministries Fair, which is this weekend after the Masses at Holy Name, and next weekend after the Masses at St. Casimir, I have heard from a number of our volunteers about the friendships that they have formed through their ministries; friendships that have helped in many different ways. Jesus never wanted us to take up our cross and follow Him by ourselves. Rather He wants us to do so as a community of faith, a community in which we all share our time, talents and treasure for the benefits of the community.

I am sure that are many of you who have a good, strong speaking voice who would do an excellent job proclaiming God’s Word. Others who have a profound devotion to the Blessed Sacrament who could help distribute Christ’s Body and Blood. Recently a woman approached Rosemary offering to play her flute with the Folk Group. I am sure that there others in the parish who play the guitar, keyboards, bass, brass, or some other instrument. Just ask any member of the Folk Group or Adult Choir – they form good friendships and have a lot of fun. Do you knit? The prayer shawl ministry would happily welcome you. Do you have a green thumb? Our new gardening club will welcome you.

The point is there is something for everyone to get involved, and by getting involved not only will you grow in your faith, but you are likely to make a group of new friends. Please stop by the Ministries Fair after Mass.