LITURGY

What better way to praise the Lord than to lift your voice in song?  And what a beautiful time to sing of God’s glory, especially during the Christmas and Easter seasons!

 A special way to share the gift of song and your talent for music is by joining the Saint Ann Choir. It’s a wonderful time to become a Steward of Song.

In addition, master some of the “beautiful music, memorable melodies and rich lyrics” from the hymnal.  Add your voice to our expanding Sunday chorus and help our new music director, Peter DeMarco, meet his ambitious goal of a 60-voice choir.

The choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7 until 8:30 PM.  If you have questions or if you’d like to know more about the choir, see Peter after Mass or simply come to the next choir rehearsal.  The warm welcome you receive will put a song in your heart!

Anniversary Celebration

Every year, on the Sunday after Easter, Saint Ann’s honors couples who will celebrate 50, 40, 25 and 10 years of marriage during the calendar year.  This well-loved tradition, begun in 1984, has become an event that the entire parish anticipates with delight.  The couples renew their vows during the 11 o’clock Mass.  Festivities continue for the honorees and their guests at a small reception in the Parish Center.

The Anniversary Celebration honors parishioners who were married in the requisite years and couples who were married at Saint Ann Church, even if they no longer live in the parish.

People who sign on for this ministry are asked to serve as research assistants, hospitality assistants, catering assistants and set-up specialists. We also need greeters, corsage and boutonniere pinners, escorts, hosts and hostesses and people to serve on the rather mundane but vital kitchen and clean-up crews.  Working together we create a marvelous, uplifting celebration, a tribute to the inspiration of enduring love.

 

Instrumentalist

Musicians, guitarists, flautists, drummers who are willing to share their talent of music at our liturgies and services offer a special gift of themselves. They may be asked to play at Christmas Masses and Easter Masses and should be available for rehearsals and weekend Masses. Instrumentalists should be able to read music, have good playing skills and be able to work with other musicians.

If you have a special instrument talent and would like to share it with our church community, consider auditioning with our music director.

 

Even before you enter the front doors of Saint Ann Church you notice the work of the parish’s Liturgy Committee.  Look for the colorful bunting that committee members have draped above the doors.  The colors mark the changing seasons of the Church year.

The Liturgy Committee assists with planning and decorating through all the seasons:  Advent, Christmastime, Lent, the Triduum, Eastertime, Ordinary Time and any special feasts or festivals.  They order and arrange the flowers for Christmas and Easter (maintaining a subtle balance between the sanctuary’s glorious display and parishioners' allergies).

Members of the Liturgy Committee coordinate the scheduling and presentation of other seasonal worship services, including Stations of the Cross during Lent, communal penitential and anointing services and November’s annual Memorial Mass for the deceased of the parish.

Devotions

Confraternity of Saint Ann

A ministry of prayer, the Confraternity of Saint Ann meets every Tuesday morning from 8:00 to 8:30, following the 7:30 morning Mass. 

According to a long-held tradition, Saint Ann was born on a Tuesday and died on a Tuesday, and so it became the custom to set aside Tuesday to honor Mary’s mother, the grandmother of Jesus.

Members of the Confraternity invoke the intercession of Saint Ann through hymns, prayers and petitions for all our needs.  With deep faith and complete confidence members of the Confraternity lift their voices in prayer to the good and powerful patroness of our parish.

Everyone is welcome to be a part of this special prayer group.  Come once, twice, or as frequently as you like.  Pray to good Saint Ann that she may enrich you, those you love and those you find hard to love with many graces.  You will be richly blessed.

Rosary/Prayer Line

Stewardship means responding to Jesus’ simple and profound invitation:  “Come, follow me.”  (Matthew 19:21)  If we follow him, if we live according to Jesus’ example, ours will be lives of service and of prayer.

Over and over in the gospels we find Jesus in prayer.  Luke tells us that “He often retired to deserted places and prayed.”  (5:16) He “went up to the mountain to pray,” he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross; he taught us to pray the Our Father.

Prayer, then, is a beautiful expression of Stewardship, and our Rosary/Prayer Line provides a wonderful opportunity to pray and to give honor and praise to Mary, Christ’s Blessed Mother.

Consider joining us as we pray the rosary every morning before daily Mass.  Mass begins at 7:30; rosary recitation usually begins at 7:10.  We also pray the rosary on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM in the church.

During October, traditionally the month of the rosary, we honor Our Lady with an International Rosary in five languages, one for each decade.  We have, at various times, prayed in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Irish Gaelic and Polish.  The evening closes with refreshments in the Children’s Chapel.

We pray the rosary to honor Our Lady of Fatima on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, from October through February.

Parishioners called to this special devotion are part of the parish’s Prayer Line.  As they raise their voices in praise and petition, these stewards are praying for all the intentions recorded in a special book.  The Prayer Line is open to anyone who needs help.  Countless parishioners can attest to the amazing power of prayer.

The earliest Christians met in their homes in small groups to celebrate Eucharist.  Perhaps they were people who already knew each other or, like us, were brought together by their faith in Jesus.

As the host of such a small Christian group, it was a simple task to greet each guest and make sure he or she felt at home – to create a spirit of community.  Our challenge is to create a similar spirit of community in an environment where four Masses occur over a weekend.

If you would like to assist our Saint Ann guests during weekend and special Masses, please consider joining our ushers.