On Saturday 20th September at Holy Rood, Barnsley, the diocese celebrated a Jubilee of Altar Servers at a Mass with Bishop Ralph presiding, and attended by Paul Briers, Honorary President of the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen.
Up to one hundred altar servers gathered, with Masters of Ceremony, from across the diocese for this celebration of service. The Mass commenced with a solemn procession from the Hall into the Church. During the Mass the altar servers present recommitted themselves to serving Christ, his priests, and all his people in ministry at the altar.
The Archconfraternity recognises the generous and loyal service of its members with various awards due based on the length of service and merit. At the Jubilee Mass the Guild’s Gold Medal was awarded by Honorary President Paul Briers to Edward Hawley, the longstanding MC at Holy Rood, for his over 50 years serving at the Lord’s Altar. It was the altar servers of Holy Rood parish who served in the Sanctuary at the Jubilee Mass, and they were sufficient testimony to the dedication of their highly respected MC. Edward was serving when Cardinal Arthur Roche, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, was an assistant priest in Holy Rood – and trained some of our current priests when they were altar servers themselves.
The Guild of St Stephen is the international organisation of Altar Servers, recognised by the Holy See. It was established in Westminster in 1905. The Holy Rood parish church foundation stone was laid in 1903 with the opening of the Church coming two years later in1905. Not only do the Guild and the Church share a birthday, but Holy Rood was the first parish in the diocese to affiliate to the Guild in 1946. Fr Damian Humpries and the parishioners of Holy Rood provided the orders of service, catering and hospitality to help make the day a great success and a blessing for all involved.
The Guild is committed to bringing servers together, encouraging high standards of serving and providing servers with a greater understanding of what they do, so they may come to better understand their vocation in life. The Diocesan Director of the Guild of St Stephen is Reverend Deacon Tony Strike, who assists MCs and clergy in growing and managing the Guild in their parish. He can be contacted at [email protected] Rev. Dr. Tony Strike
