LITURGY TEAM
The Parish Liturgy Team (PLT) is a team that consists of 15 heads of different groups that work together towards the smooth functioning of the Liturgy / paraliturgy and other services that take place in the church. Liturgy being the work of the people, they assist the priests in various functions of the church. The different groups are noted below.
The Cantors sing for all the daily masses as per the monthly schedule, also on Sundays, Wednesday Novena Services, feast days and other services. At present, the cantors group has 18 active participants and 3 organists.
Senior choir sings at the 6.30pm Mass on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month and also on Feast days in rotation with the other choirs. This choir is represented by Lidwina Silveira. They also sing at funerals, whenever requested. There are about 17-20 members on any given Sunday with a happy mix of varied voices, from a prim falsetto to a high contralto! We just love to sing.
Youth Choir came into existence in 1998 and currently has approx. 30 active members. The current representatives are Marilyn D’Cruz & Faye D’Cruz. This choir has seen multiple generations of youth come and go, each batch bringing with it, its own unique vigour and style of music. What has stayed common is a passion to praise the Lord’s name in music and song and to lead His people in prayerful praise during the Eucharist, Sunday after Sunday. This Choir meets twice a week for practice and sings for the 08:30a.m. Mass every Sunday.
Konkani Choir is currently represented by Fatima Quinny and consists of nine dedicated members; three are instrumentalists. This Choir was formed many years ago, and today stand proud to have placed the language on a pedestal with the pomp and glory it deserves. They are glad to have the opportunity to praise God in their very own mother tongue and it a source of tremendous pride and happiness. It’s a pleasure for the members of this Choir to gather every week and sing God’s praises. This Choir sings every Sunday at the 07:30 a.m. Mass.
Children’s Choir commenced in 1985 and currently has 35 active members under the guidance of Christie Azavedo. The objective is to galvanize the congregation with song and add a lively dimension to the Eucharist. The children meet for practice every Saturday at 5pm and sings at the Children's Mass on Sundays at 9:30a.m. It is so wonderful and heartening to see many children join the choir this new academic year.
The Young Adult Choir (YAC) was established in September 2015 under the direction of its conductor, Adrian Pereira. This group of soulful singers and accompanists come together to praise the Lord in song at Eucharistic celebrations and prayer services.
Over the past two years, the choir has introduced Taizé, a unique style of worship that is becoming popular in churches and seminaries throughout the world. The 30-member choir sings on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday of the month at the 6:30p.m. mass.
Regular rehearsals are on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday of the month (5:30p.m. – 6:30p.m.) and every 3rd Saturday of the month (8:00p.m. – 10:00p.m.).
Lectors is one of the oldest groups in our Parish with 80 active members currently. Over the years, the team met monthly in order to train the lectors to meet the objective which is to proclaim the word of God effectively. The current heads are Nirmala D’Mello, Sandra Lobo and Joel Furtado. For the last 3 years, meetings are held bi-monthly.
Confirmation: Fr. Ashwin Castellino is the Spiritual Director and currently represented by Maria Kavita and 4 other dedicated teachers. The purpose of confirmation is faith formation to walk in the light of Christ with the Holy Spirit. The confirmands are encouraged to get involved in various aspects of the church. The thrust is to develop involvement and service as the way of being church which in turn, trains them in living a committed Christian life. Some of the areas of service are the lectors, cantors, ushers, youth groups, Small Christian Communities and choirs.
Eucharistic Ministers are currently represented by Conrad D’Souza with 26 lay ministers and 11 Religious Sisters. The Eucharistic Ministers mainly dispense the Eucharist to the sick and the homebound once a week, either on Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings.
The Eucharist is also dispensed on special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and important feasts which may not fall on a Sunday such as Christmas.
Sacristians: This team consists of Paul Fernandes, Gregory and Sr. Philomena Gonsalves. They are responsible for arranging the Altar and keeping the Chalice, Cruet, Wine, Host (big and small), Corporal, Paten and Lavabo ready as well as keeping the microphones ready for the Eucharist and also for the Cantors and Lectors. On Wednesdays and other Adoration days, they keep the Monstrance, Incense, Thruble, Numural, Novena Book, List of Petitions and Thanksgivings in place.
Ushers: With a total strength of 54 Ushers under the direction of John Dias, they guide and direct those who attend services during Christmas, New Year, Holy Week, Easter, all Feasts and various Parish programmes in the Church. They play an important role in ensuring discipline during processions from or to the church like Rosary processions, Christ the King, Get-A-Cross, Walking Pilgrimage to the Mount, etc. They are present every Wednesday and all days of the Novena including the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour from 6:00am to 10:00pm to guide and direct the hundreds of devotees who attend the Novenas. They also assist with collections at weekend and Feast Day Masses.