Liturgical Ministry

Update 4.1.26: If you are new to St. Ignatius and would like to get started on Liturgical Ministry, we encourage you to become a greeter today,  as we are currently renewing and revitalizing this important ministry!

The celebration of the Eucharist is the heartbeat of our parish life together, the source and the summit of our lives as Catholic Christians. Will you join your gifts in the work of the Liturgy? We hope so!

• Altar Servers
• Eucharistic Ministers
• Greeters and Ushers
• Lectors
• Liturgical Environment Committee
• Music Ministers

Altar Servers

Altar Servers are key liturgical ministers who help ensure that each Mass is seamlessly smooth. They work with priests and other ministers to prepare the altar, before and during Mass, and ultimately help serve the priests, congregation and ministers in setting the Banquet of the Lord. The duties of an Altar Server include carrying the Cross and candles in processions; holding the Missal for the priest; preparing the altar; and purifying and caring for vessels and other liturgical objects before and after Mass.

• Our youngest Altar Servers must have made their First Communion.‍
• Being an Altar Server requires a monthly time commitment.
• Altar Servers must arrive 15 minutes before scheduled Mass time.
• Training is required to be an Altar Server and training will be scheduled individually based on your schedule.
  
  

Eucharistic Ministers

Eucharistic Ministers, also known as "Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion," are parishioners delegated to administer the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and help the priest distribute the Body and Blood of Christ. If you find yourself inspired and connected to God at the Eucharistic Feast, or love to host friends and family for meals this could be a good fit for your gifts.

• Eucharistic Ministers must be Catholics who have completed the Sacrament of Confirmation.
• Being a Eucharistic Minister requires a monthly time commitment.
• Eucharistic Ministers arrive 20 minutes before Mass to sign-in in the Sacristy and join the other Lectors for prayer and procession.
• Training is required and will be scheduled individually based on your schedule.

To request training or express interest in being a Eucharistic Minister please sign up on the Become a Liturgical Minister form.

If you are would like specifically to volunteer to bring the Eucharist to homebound parishioners living in San Francisco, please sign up on the Volunteer to be a Eucharistic Minister for the Homebound form.

Greeters and Ushers

Greeters and Ushers provide an atmosphere of hospitality by welcoming and assisting worshippers before Mass begins. Greeters distribute Orders of Worship and Parish Bulletins at the entrances and answer questions visitors might have. They are also responsible for selecting gift bearers and assisting with the offertory as needed. If you have gifts of welcome and hospitality this ministry could be a good fit.

• There are no special requirements to being a Greeter or an Usher, other than a commitment to being part of a welcoming and hospitable community.
• Being a Greeter or an Usher requires a minimum of a once-a-month time commitment.
• Greeters and Ushers arrive 20 minutes before scheduled Mass time.
• Training is required and will be scheduled individually based on your schedule.
  
  

To request training or express interest in being an Greeter or Usher please sign up on the Become a Liturgical Minister form.

Lectors

Lectors nourish the faith of believers by proclaiming the Liturgy of the Word during Mass. If you are enriched by reading Scripture and sharing its mystery and revelation with others this could be a good fit for your gifts. 

• There are no special requirements to be a Lector, other than literacy and a love of the Word of God. 
• Being a Lector requires a monthly time commitment.
• Lectors arrive 20 minutes before Mass to sign-in in the Sacristy and join the other Lectors for prayer and procession.
• Training is available and is scheduled individually.

Lectors Guide Lectors Workbook

To request training or express interest in being a Lector, please sign up on the Become a Liturgical Minister form.

Liturgical Environment Committee

The Liturgical Environment Committee is a ministry that works to identify the needs of each seasonal environment transition and directly provides sewing, carpentry, design, as well as clean-up and the storage of seasonal decorations. The Liturgical Environment Committee also works with volunteers who assist in the decoration for Christmas and Easter. These volunteers volunteer for one to three-hour slots.

• Are you handy with Christmas lights?
• Do you need some "steps" in your weekend?
• Do you have a gift for organizing and cleaning?

If any of the above describe you, the Liturgical Environment needs your help! Watch the bulletin for these volunteer opportunities! 

To request training or express interest in being a part of the Liturgical Environment Committee, please sign up on the Become a Liturgical Minister form.

Music Ministers

Our Music Ministers use their voices, instruments and sacred text to accompany the prayer and liturgical action of St. Ignatius's worshipping assembly. Enlivened by a call to full conscious and active participation, this group of ministers is passionate about the voice of the assembly, and ensuring that a variety of musical styles from the church's canon help create an inculturated liturgy.

Our musical tradition complements our religious practices, ceremonies, and rituals, supporting our prayers and offerings with hymns, psalms and acclamations. In keeping with the Vatican proclamation that church music reflect a “full, conscious and active participation in the liturgy,” we attempt to include a variety of musical styles. Our liturgical music and concerts include traditional and contemporary styles.

• Music Ministry requires a time commitment of Wednesday rehearsals from 6:30 to 7:30pm, and Sunday mornings 8:45 am to 11 am.
• Ability to match pitch and ability to sing parts independently is required.

Music Ministers Resource Doc

To express interest in this ministry, please sign up on the Become a Liturgical Minister form.

Learn About Our Reconstructed Pipe Organ

Pipe organs have always played an important part in the musical life of St. Ignatius. The Market Street church contained an instrument built by the Hook Brothers of Boston, a major builder of the 19th century. This organ was moved to the “new” church on Van Ness Avenue when that church opened in 1880, but was replaced in 1896 with an organ built by Farrand & Votey of Detroit (builders of the organ for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair). The 1896 instrument had four manuals (keyboards) and was the largest instrument on the west coast at the time.... [more]

Learn More