Service in the Church

"Lord Jesus Christ, I receive the gift of eternal life you have won for me on the cross. I pledge to you my life, my love and my loyalty now and forever. Amen.

~ Prayer of Commitment to Jesus Christ

Altar Guild

The Altar Guild is a small group of men and women dedicated to the care of all things pertaining to Christ’s Holy Altar. They take special care of the church and chapel, their sanctuaries, and the sacristy. The guild reverently prepares for all masses and special ceremonies. Prior to the Pandemic the Altar Guild was composed of five teams, with two to three members per team, serving for one month on a rotation basis every 5 months. During the pandemic many guild members did not feel safe attending church so we switched to a volunteer schedule for setting up for and cleaning up after services. We hope to be able to return to our normal schedule in the near future. The Sunday altar flowers, Christmas poinsettias, and Easter lilies, hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips along with a service bulletin, are delivered by altar guild members to our parishioners who are ill, lost a loved one, or are a shut-in. Whether it is a delivery to a parishioner’s home, the hospital, rehab. or nursing homes, we lovingly bring this reminder that they are in the thoughts and prayers of their St. Luke’s family.
 
If you are interested in joining the altar guild, please email Ruth Mooney at rmoone66@jmooney.us.

Digital Disciples

St. Luke's Church is seeking Digital Disciples to participate in our new A/V program of live-streaming the Sunday 10 a.m. masses. Disciples will be fully trained on the A/V system, but should have a general basic knowledge of computers and technology. Parish teenagers are particularly encouraged to apply. If you are interested in being a Digital Disciple, please email Jennifer Loessy at jloessy@princeton.edu.

Lay Readers

Our lay readers give of their time to serve God and His church at the Holy Altar. They are a visible witness of lay participation in worship and assist the priest so that our worship may be done decently and in order to the praise and glory of Almighty God. They serve on a rotation basis every Sunday at the 8 AM and 10 AM services and at special liturgy services such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Thanksgiving and Christmas. During each Mass, Lay Readers read the Old Testament lesson, the Epistle, and the Intercessions. Prior to the pandemic, they administered the chalice of wine. 

If you are interested in being a lay reader, please email Ruth Mooney at rmoone66@jmooney.us.

Ushers

Ushers at St. Luke's greet people as they enter the church, distribute worship bulletins and answer questions. They offer oblations during the services, collect financial contributions, and direct parishioners during communion and the blessing. Two ushers are assigned per mass. If you would like to be an usher at St. Luke's, please email Susan Bello at stlukeschurchpa@verizon.net.

Acolytes  & Sub-Deacons

Acolytes

Acolytes participate in the liturgical life of the church by assisting during masses. Any child may begin training after they have received their First Holy Communion. Acolytes may serve through the 12th grade. All who have received their First Holy Communion are welcome and encouraged to serve. For more information on the acolyte program, please email Father Radzik at stlukesnewtownrector@gmail.com.

Sub-Deacons

When acolytes enter High School we give them the choice to become sub-Deacons of the Mass. There is a special ceremony where they are commissioned to serve at the altar and to read the lessons, administer the chalice and offer the incense. Sub-deacons wear a tunicle, and their names are inscribed on the sub-Deacon plaque on the wall next to the altar. The Plan of Salvation:

  1. God is love
  2. God the Father created our species by the power of God the Holy Spirit to be the forever friends of God the Son.
  3. Our species chose to separate from God in order to seize God’s power of command and control.
  4. The result of separation is a deeply seated existential pain that brings sin and death.
  5. God chose a single family (Israel) to grow in his love in order to share his love with our entire species.
  6. God sent patriarchs, prophets, priests and kings to prepare the way for the Messiah- God’s solution to separation.
  7. Jesus is the Messiah who unites our humanity with God’s divinity.
  8. Jesus died on the cross to embrace human separation and death and in that embrace to transform death back into new life.
  9. Jesus offers this new life-eternal life- to everyone as a gift.
  10. We can receive the gift of eternal life by grace (saying “yes” to God in Jesus Christ) by faith (placing our trust and loyalty in Jesus Christ) through love. God offers himself to everyone but imposes himself on no one.

Previous Sub-Deacons

Dean Kardas | Elise Palatine | Jesse Randolph | Michael Stollsteimer | Alison Zhu