Music Ministry

Ministers of Music serve our parish by assisting and encouraging the singing of all assembled believers. Music helps us express, share and nourish our gifts of faith. It also unveils a dimension of feeling that words alone cannot communicate. Cantors lead our community in sung prayer, while choirs and instrumentalists enhance our liturgies with musical elaboration. Accompanists provide the musical foundation that permits our parish to sing with confidence, and help to create an acoustic atmosphere of elegant reverence. No experience is necessary to join one of Blessed Sacrament’s choirs – we gladly provide “on-the-job-training”.  Singers high-school age or older are welcome to join our Missa Cantores. This “adult” choir rehearses once a week and sings at the 10 am Sunday Mass, September to June. Our Funeral Choir comes together year-round for parish funeral Masses. We are always looking for gifted accompanists, instrumentalists and cantors. The time commitment for music ministry is approximately three hours per week.

Church Decorating

We decorate the church for special events and celebrations, including Easter and Christmas. It takes between 3-4 hours before major holidays and / or feast days. Several hands make for light lifting.

Order of Martha

This group was established to offer Catholic women an opportunity to take an active role in mission work. We provide the sewing and preparing of altar linens, Baptismal bibs, and other supplies. We have a short meeting that takes about one hour and attendance is not mandatory. We do the sewing in our own homes at our convenience, with supplies that are provided.

Greeters and Gift Bearers

The Greeter extends the greeting of Christ to one another and expresses a welcome greeting of basic Christian hospitality. The Gift Bearer stands for all present at the Eucharistic assembly in offering spiritual sacrifices represented by the bread and wine in the Offertory. Families and individuals are asked to serve as greeters or gift bearers (or both) at Saturday evening and Sunday Masses. Time commitment: approximately one Mass every 2-3 months.

Ushers

Ushers assist in the Liturgy by greeting people, assist in finding an open seat, conduct the collection at Mass, and distribute bulletins after each Mass. Ushers are assigned a Mass time for one continuous month. Based on the number of Ushers, the rotation is usually once every 3 months. Ushers host a Lenten Soup Supper each year and help with the spring and fall cleanup of the parish grounds. We are also looking for parishioners that would like to be substitutes or be willing to usher at a Mass if they notice there are not enough ushers at that particular Mass. Ushers can be identified during Mass by their red blazers. There are blazers available for use, so there is no need to purchase one. No experience required.

Altar Society The Altar Society provides funds for the purchase of Altar supplies, such as bread, wine, candles, linens and flowers for special occasions. They also promote the religious welfare of the parish through and with the Council of Catholic Women. Time commitment: monthly meetings, plus work on numerous activities through the year.

Preparing Meals for Priests As a parish, we provide meals for our priests 3 days/week so they can attend to church and parish matters. To do this, we have individuals who prepare and deliver one meal per month on an assigned day, every month of the year. Substitutes are always needed to fill in for cooks as necessary.

Knights of Columbus The Knights are a fraternal benefits organization for men age 18 and older. They stand in solidarity with our Priests, serve the Church and our community. The Knights support family and pro-life causes by our service and financial support. At Blessed Sacrament, we host Fish Fries during Lent, sell seatbacks at Husker foot-ball games, and provide Bibles to all graduating 8th graders. The Knights also hosts several breakfasts for the parishioners and support our church and school with service and monetary donations. We ask that our members provide 12 hours of service a month, but we would be happy to discuss limitations that you may have. Our members can help with projects, serve as officers in our council, or become involved at the State level of the Knights of Columbus.

Table for Ten (Endowment Fundraiser) Held in Late January/Early February of each year, this is an elegant parish meal with entertainment to raise funds for our parish endowment. Time commitment: monthly meetings for committee chairs six months prior to event. Most work is done the weekend of the event, except for committee heads.

Husker Home Football Games Parish Fundraiser Exciting Opportunity to Raise Funds for our Church/School/Groups. Help Blessed Sacrament sell backrests at the Husker home football games. Volunteers get FREE admission to the game. You arrive 3 hours before kickoff. Once the game starts, you are able to watch the entire game. After the game it takes about 1.5 hours to collect the backrests. Participants do not have to be members of Blessed Sacrament, but all funds earned stay in our Parish. You must be at least 14 years old and physically able to do the work. High school students who are currently lettering in a sport are not eligible.

Donating food for Funeral Dinners Are you able to donate food (usually a cake or a salad) for a funeral dinner? The time involved is the time it takes to prepare and deliver the food to the school prior to the funeral.

Working the day of the Funeral Dinner Are you able to work the day of a funeral dinner? The typical time commitment could be from 4-6 hours to serve the dinner and clean up afterwards.

Fest Quest (Parish Fall Festival) Fest Quest raises funds for the church and school based on the current needs of the Parish. Each year a specific project is identified to benefit from this event, the largest parish fundraiser. The festival is typical-ly held the second week of October each year. There are numerous levels of time commitment needed by many in the planning and executing of this event. Opportunities include: Event Volunteers (1-4 hr shifts), Committee Members (2-3 hrs per month, 3 months prior), Committee Chairs (3-6 hrs per month, 3 months prior), Event Co-Chair (Coordinates and oversees entire event) 10 hrs per month, 4 months prior. Not sure where your talents would best fit? If so, list the talent/skill you would like to share and we will follow up with you. If you express interest in being involved with Fest Quest, someone from the planning team will contact you as the event gets closer to confirm availability. Thank you!

Matt Talbot Kitchen (MTKO)

Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach is a community kitchen and outreach kitchen located at 2121 N. 27th St. Lunch and dinner are served every day of the year by “teams” of volunteers who provide, prepare and serve food generally once a month for approximately 100-125 working poor and homeless individuals and families. Each month’s day of serving takes approximately three hours at the kitchen – less if food is prepared at home. The ultimate goal of MTKO is to prevent homelessness in Lincoln, through its outreach services, such as life skills classes, vision program, foot clinic, transition house for homeless men and women, referrals to other appropriate agencies and by providing nutritious meals for those in need when their food stamps or income is gone. If you are interested in helping Jesus “feed the hungry” please call the MTKO Volunteer Coordinator at 447-4116 or Mary Jo Bousek at 475-1449 may be able to answer your questions.

St. Vincent de Paul

An international Catholic organization of lay persons who wish to live their faith by loving and serving as Jesus did. No work of charity is foreign to the Society. Its ministry, through person-to-person contact, encompasses every form of aid that alleviates suffering and promotes the dignity and integrity of mankind. It serves everyone regardless of creed, religion, color or origin. We meet every Saturday morning at 9:15 am at Blessed Sacrament School. Our meetings typically last 60-90 minutes. The members of our group spend one to three hours each week helping those who benefit from this society.

Angel Tree

Angel Tree is a non-profit organization that facilitates gifts to be distributed to children whose parents are in prison during Christmas. The program typically provides 160 Christmas gifts. We need volunteers to call families and get gift ideas and to deliver the gifts.

Rides for the Elderly

Transportation is provided to and from Mass for those in need.

Finance Committee

The finance committee assesses the overall financial condition of the parish and school. Assistance is provided in accounting procedure with making the most economical use of the funds provided for each. A monthly meeting is typically scheduled with some additional meetings required around the end of the fiscal year (June 30).

SCRIP Program

SCRIP is a program that was created to help churches and schools in their fundraising efforts. At Blessed Sacrament, we sell SCRIP gift certificates to over 80 stores in the Lincoln area including local and national stores. When you shop with SCRIP, businesses donate a portion of your gift certificate (up to 30%) directly to Blessed Sacrament, all at no additional charge to you, the customer. So, just make your regular household purchases that you would make anyway with SCRIP and help Blessed Sacrament in the process. The SCRIP committee is tasked with overseeing the SCRIP program at Blessed Sacrament. The program is one of the largest fundraisers for the parish, raising funds for the parish and school projects. You can participate in the SCRIP program by being part of the committee and helping promote the program, sell gift cards, or by purchasing them.

CSA Workers / Coordinators

This group helps prepare our Parish for the annual diocesan charity and stewardship appeal. We only work during the appeal period, which is in the spring. Our work includes follow-up phone calls.

Office Work & Phone Calling

Day or evening hours available to help with rectory administrative tasks i.e. bulletin stuffing, preparing mailings, data entry and answering phones. Training provided. Time commitment varies according to the task. Occasionally people are needed who are willing to call parishioners on behalf of the pastor or parish minis-tries. Calls can be made from home or parish office.

Stewardship Committee

Our Stewardship Committee strives to create a sense of belonging for all members of our parish family. By sharing the gifts the Lord blessed you with, you too can help develop an atmosphere of a Christian community at Blessed Sacrament. Members of this committee coordinate the annual Stewardship of Treasure and the Time and Talent campaign. We also publish the quarterly newsletter, Our Blessed Voices. The newsletter celebrates the activities of the Parish, educational articles, and information about upcoming events. We are always looking for newsletter ideas and welcome any suggestions. We hold one hour monthly meetings on the 3rd Sunday of each month. Our meetings are open to anyone wishing to share an idea and there are no requirements of our members.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a religious formation program based on the Bible and the Liturgy. Children work in an ‘atrium’, an environment prepared especially for them with simple, yet beautiful materials. These materials enable the child to encounter the living God. For more information and class times please contact Theresa Johnson.

RCIA – Participants & Sponsors

Doctrine class for people wishing to become Catholic or Catholics interested in learning more about their faith. Classes follow the school year and are about 2 hours long.

Totus Tuus Bible School Helpers

Our team helps plan, coordinate and/or volunteer during a one-week summer Vacation Bible School session.

Godparents/Godteens

Shape the future by mentoring teens of the parish via the Godparent/Godteen program. As a couple, give just one hour of your time (plus some prep time) each week making a difference in the lives of our parish teens in a unique opportunity to share your life experiences, wisdom, humor, and Catholic faith in a small group setting. Godparents open their homes to the teens of their group on Wednesday evenings for an hour. Godparents meet and bond with their group as freshman and continue with them until high school graduation. Watching them grow, mature, and learn makes for a very special ministry experience. How you spend the weekly hour is up to you.

Facilities Maintenance, Usage & Planning, Landscaping, Church Cleaning, Rental Property Management

We coordinate efforts to maintain our parish properties. Some projects are simple while other projects require specific talents. If you are handy around your home you might consider sharing your talents with Blessed Sacrament. During the summer months, we typically handle bigger projects in the school. There are many simple tasks that can be completed by almost anyone – changing light bulbs, washing windows, painting, and the list goes on. There is typically someone there to provide direction. Regardless of your handyman skills, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Mowing

Crews are assigned a week to tend to the parish lawn. Based on the number of crews you will typically mow every 5-6 weeks. You can mow on either Friday evening or Saturday morning of your assigned week. Depending on the number of people that help an hour is about all it takes. Even if you are alone, an hour of mowing is appreciated. Equipment is provided. Current sign up is for 2018