Saint Philip's acolytes

The Order of Saint Mary Magdalene is a guild of children, youth, and adult acolytes who serve God in the church and share in all the ceremonial aspects of Holy Communion on Sundays and Holy Days.

Since every liturgy of the church is the work of the community–not only the priests–acolytes serve in essential ways at every worship service. Members of the Order prepare for and assist in the rituals of worship as cross-bearers (crucifers), torch-bearers (lucifers), incense-bearers (thurifer), chalice-bearers (Eucharistic Ministers), and subdeacons.

Here are some details:

Do acolytes work alone or as a team?
Acolytes serve alongside others on teams of three to four, developing meaningful relationships with other acolytes.

What kind of training is provided?
Acolytes learn how to lead all facets of worship by first shadowing acolyte mentors, and then growing into confident leaders in weekly liturgies.

What’s the time commitment?
There is great flexibility in how often acolytes serve, with no minimum time commitment. We always accommodate schedules and extracurricular commitments. Each acolyte is scheduled quarterly at either 9:00am or 11:15am on Sundays and Holy Days.

Are acolytes expected to volunteer for more than one service on a Sunday?
Acolytes are welcome to serve as often as they wish on Sundays and Holy Days, but there is no expectation that they volunteer for multiple services on any day.

The Order also serves to encourage the devotional life of its members who hold in common a simple rule of life: to seek the grace of God through regular attendance at worship, careful service to God at the altar, prayer for fellow members and the ministry of Saint Philip’s, and faithful service to the community.  

We invite you to prayerfully consider joining the Order. For more information, please contact Fr Peter Helman (peter.helman@stphilipstucson.org; 520-299-6421, ext. 133).