“As
each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good
stewards of God’s varied grace.” (I Peter
4:`10)
Ministry Sign-Up
Dear Friends,
Ministry Sign-up Sunday is just around
the corner and it is time to begin discerning which ministries
we will participate in during the coming ministry year (2011-2012).
It is well known throughout the diocese
that CCOP parishioners have a strong sense of what it means to
be good stewards of not only treasure, but also of our time and
talent. This is a particular characteristic of this parish of
which I am very proud! One of the primary ways that we express
our sense of stewardship is on Ministry Sign-up Sunday. This year,
Ministry Sign-up Sunday will take place at all Masses on August
27th and 28th. The late-summer date should allow everyone to have
their school and sport schedules in-place before committing to
a ministry.
We are keeping with last year’s decision
to offer you a shorter, more streamlined and less complicated
sign-up sheet. However, in order to accomplish this, we had to
remove much of the additional information explaining each of the
parish ministries.
Please note that the diocese requires that
ALL parishioners who participate in a ministry attend one of the
Safe Environment Workshops this year. Once you attend, you will
receive a certificate of completion that is good for three-years.
We plan on offering several (weeknight and weekend) sessions sometime
during the fall and will notify you of the dates. These sessions
last approximately one-hour, are very informative and offer us
a great opportunity to learn how to keep our children safe.
By our baptism, we are ALL called to ministry,
but discerning which ministry is best for you and the parish can
sometimes be a daunting task. I deliberately used the word, “discerning”
rather than “selecting” or “choosing”,
because the process of discernment is not an individualistic one,
but one that requires prayerfully including God in this process.
A process that forces us to ask the difficult questions, “Am
I being called to this particular ministry?” and, if so,
“Why?” It also requires of us an evaluation of our
Gifts – Gifts given to each of us by God to use in ministering
to His people “What Gifts do I bring to this particular
ministry?” Discerning a ministry is much more difficult
than either selecting or choosing one – but it is also so
much more rewarding!
There are no words that can adequately
thank you for your commitment to making CCOP a Spirit-filled parish.
Rest assured that this is a direct result of your love for our
faith, for our Church, and for the people of the Catholic Community
of Pleasanton!
Peace, God Bless and Happy Discerning,
Deacon Gary
Director of Liturgical Ministries
Please remember:
All volunteers will need to be Safe
Environment trained and screened before they can begin their ministry
(Some ministries involving children will require the participant
to undergo LiveScan fingerprinting).
If you are not a registered parishioner,
please fill out a Parish
Registration form first.
Use the
fill-in form, attach it to an email and send to liturgy@catholicsofpleasanton.org.
You can also use the form distributed on Sign-up Sunday. Please
print clearly. Use only one name for each sheet.