MINISTRIES Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

We’d love to have more volunteers!!

ALTAR SERVERS

Altar Servers form an important function and every parish is enriched through their dedication and service.  Children who have made their First Communion are encouraged to contact Joey or Cynthia Bordelon for more information. They would be happy to hear from you.

Did you know that St. John Berchmans is the patron saint of altar servers? This saint once miraculously appeared (about 20 miles from here) in Grand Coteau, LA! A religious sister asked for his prayers for her healing and she was miraculously cured. St. John Berchmans, Patron Saint of Altar Servers, pray for us.

ALTAR LINENS

Clara Darbonne purifies the altar cloths, irons them, and mends torn vestments and the altar server cassocks and surplices. She also makes sure the vestments are clean. If you’re interested in sewing and washing, please contact her or the office.

ALTAR SOCIETY

Our Altar Society is under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Immaculate Conception. We seek to imitate the Mother of God by serving God and His Church. We work to promote true love of God and neighbor, and foster reverence for the holy House of God. We help with its proper adornment, caring for the altar, linens, candles, and flowers. We clean the entire body of the church with the help of other volunteers to enhance the atmosphere for divine worship. We provide various parish receptions and render assistance to the priest whenever necessary. We occasionally take field trips to learn about our faith. The Altar Society is open to any woman of the parish who wishes to participate.

BAPTISMAL PREPARATION

Fr. Jared instructs couples on the theology of Baptism and Karen Ducote follows up the theological portion with a practical application of raising children in the practice of the Catholic faith. Parents and godparents make a serious promise to raise their children in the faith and we seek to help them fulfill this rewarding privilege and important obligation.

BEREAVEMENT COMMITTEE

In April of 2014 a Bereavement Committee was formed. The group is subdivided into different rotations that prepare food and deliver it to the local funeral homes to support parishioners in the grief process. If you are interested in joining this ministry of comforting families during the grieving process, please contact the office, Clara Darbonne or Annetta Lee. A follow up mail out is sent with care materials and a visit is scheduled with Father.

BOOK CLUB

This is a wish list ministry for Father Jared. He would like to eventually have annual parish book clubs going on in people’s homes. The hope would be to have 5 to 7 groups meeting and each group consist of about 7 people each.

One possibility could be to do so in the summer time when people have more leisure or perhaps during the spiritual seasons of Advent and Lent.

Hosts and hostesses would be needed who would be willing to invite friends and neighbors to discuss various spiritual reading, for example, a book about a saint, or about the Catholic faith.

There are many great books out there and this would be a great way to help build church community, invite others to join our community, and grow in faith. Many spiritual books are available for discount at only $3 a book!

Did I mention it would also be enjoyable? If you’re interested in evangelizing in this way, Fr. Jared can provide you with more

information.

CCD TEACHERS AND AIDES CCD is the religious teaching program of the

Catholic Church. It provides religious formation for students in public schools and other private non-Catholic schools. Sacramental preparation for children (Penance, Communion, and Confirmation) is provided at the church parish not the Catholic school for students who do attend Catholic school.

CCD classes are taught to school age children to learn the basic doctrines of their faith. Teachers are assigned a grade level to instruct. Aides are

used to assist the teachers as well as helping with clerical duties. Confirmation classes are held on Tuesday evenings. All classes are held in the church

hall. The religious education coordinator is Betty Sparks. Please contact Betty or the church office if you are interested in helping to foster the lifelong religious formation of the youth of our parish.

Father Jared says, “We could use a few more teachers.”

CHURCH CLEANERS Visitors are often impressed with the interior of our church – the

fact that it smells “new” and is in such pristine condition! Thank you to all the church cleaners, who volunteer behind the

scenes on Friday mornings. They make our church a welcome place for parishioners and visitors.

If you are interested in being on a monthly rotation of cleaners and are not part of the Altar Society, please contact the office or Ethel Landreneau.

CHOIR

Music Ministry is one of the most important areas of service to the liturgical life of a parish.  St. Paul advises Christians to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”  That is the calling of every member of the worshiping assembly.  But it is the special calling of music ministers to teach, encourage, inspire, and lead by example.  We are extremely blessed to have a talented mix of adults and children in our choir. Practices are usually held on an evening during the week. For more information, contact Amanda Bertrand or call the office.

COME LORD JESUS COME, LORD

JESUS! is a program committed to forming small Catholic faith communities. Members follow a well-defined, balanced structure for spiritual formation based on the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council. The Scripture study portion of the meeting uses the selections of Scripture to be read at the upcoming Sunday Mass, with the results of not only greatly enhancing appreciation of the word of God, but also enriching the entire Sunday Eucharistic celebration.

Immaculate Conception Church has two Come Lord Jesus groups. They meet every Tuesday - one at 3:30 and one at 5:00 pm in the Parish Hall. They welcome new members, for more information please contact Agnes LeBlanc or the office.

DÉCOR COMMITTEE

A group of volunteers have fun decorating for religious holidays, particularly for Easter and Christmas. This group purchases and makes floral arrangements, either with real or artificial flowers. They also try to rotate arrangements during Ordinary Time and for special events. Volunteers are welcome. For more information, contact Karen Ducote or the office.

DRE

Our Director of Religious Education, Betty Sparks, serves under the direction of the pastor. She has taken on the responsibility of overseeing and coordinating the CCD program for the parish. She makes disciplinary decisions and shapes the CCD policies and curriculum with Father Jared.

EVANGELIZATION COMMITTEE

The Evangelization Committee aka Outreach Committee consists of volunteers who have various interests and backgrounds. They meet to discuss possible methods of outreach and to implement them. Each church parish in the Diocese of Lafayette is to have a Director of Evangelization as well as an Outreach Committee to make recommendations to the pastor concerning outreach to

those in need of invitation to be more active and faithful in the life of the church. An Evangelization Committee has been formed but we still need a Director of Evangelization. In recent months we discussed “What is the new evangelization?” and Pope Francis’ “Joy of the Gospel.” We’re still in need of an initiative to begin reaching the un-churched and those who don’t regularly attend Mass. Creative ideas are

welcome. Father Jared would like to see the Evangelization Committee implement the parish book study program, the movie program, and invite newcomers to join Come Lord Jesus. Please speak to Toby Bertrand or Father Jared if you’re interested in learning more or have helpful ideas.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS

The extraordinary minister's function is to distribute Holy Communion, either within Mass or by taking it to a sick person, when an ordained minister (bishop, priest or deacon) is absent or impeded. In order to serve, you need to be mature in your faith and undergo a brief instruction/ training with Father Jared on the dos and don’ts of being a minister of Communion. Contact Father if you’re interested.

HOMEBOUND MINISTRY

Thankfully, we have a few parishioners who serve the needs of the shut-ins from our parish. This is an important ministry for we want them to know they are in our prayers and that they are worth visiting. If you know someone who can’t make it to church, because of illness, please speak with Fr. Jared or Shirlene “Beansie” Matte to have them added to our homebound list. This is one of those ministries where people

often say they received more than they gave.

LANDSCAPING

A group of men and women from our parish volunteer their ideas, energy, and tools to keep our church campus beautiful. They rotate weeks of watering and weeding. The monies collected from the Father’s Day novena were earmarked to offset the cost of landscaping. In July 2014 our parish received the Garden of the Month award. To volunteer, contact Norma Plattsmier or the office.

MARRIAGE MENTORS

Our pastor prepares couples for marriage through private meetings, but would be open to a mentor couple helping with the practical application of how to live out one’s marriage vows. If you’re interested in being a mentor couple for those planning on having a church wedding here, please speak with Fr. Jared. This is a wish list ministry for Father Jared.

MONEY COUNTERS

Volunteers count the collection each week and prepare our bank statements. Because of diocesan policy this cannot be done by parish staff or the pastor. Confidentiality about individual contributions is a must. If you would be interested in helping count money, please speak to Father Jared.

MOVIE HOSTS

This is a wish list ministry for Father Jared. He owns a number of great Christian DVDs and would like to eventually have some sort of periodic movie night to Matinee features.

One possibility could be to do so in the summer time when people have more leisure or perhaps during the spiritual seasons of Advent and Lent.

Hosts and hostesses would be needed to promote the event, pop popcorn, and set up in the church hall.

This is an inexpensive way to enjoy and learn about our faith. If you’re interested in evangelizing in this way, Fr. Jared has more

information. NURSING HOME MINISTRY

Denise Doucet leads a rosary on Monday and Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Heritage Manor Nursing Home off of Interstate 49. She would be happy to have others join her in praying with our local neighbors.

Susan Simoneaux visits Our Lady of Prompt Succor with her dog, Dixie! Dixie is a registered therapy dog. Susan discusses scripture verses with the residents. Susan writes, “It's amazing how quickly Dixie has learned which residents like certain things and who does not. We meet new friends every time we visit. She knows which rooms to go too and who to stop and greet in the hallway. One resident likes Dixie to put her front paws on her lap which she does and another does not like to be licked and she doesn't lick her. They say that the residents get a lot of enjoyment and happiness from our visits but Dixie and I get equal amounts of enjoyment. Love our volunteering.”

PARISH COUNCIL

Catholic pastors consult pastoral councils in order to be better leaders. The work of the pastoral council is pastoral planning. Pastoral councils were first recommended at Vatican II. Currently, we have enough Parish Council members; however, if you have concerns about anything in the parish, please speak to one of these representatives about it.

PICTORIAL DIRECTORY

This is possible future goal for our parish. No firm decision has been made on it.

PROLIFE MINISTRY

June Inhern chairs the prolife ministry. If you’re interested in defending human dignity and protecting life from womb to tomb, speak with her or Father Jared about ways to help.

PROPERTY INSPECTOR

Two heads are better than one and so are two opinions and two set of eyes. From time to time Father Jared needs someone with experience maintaining property to advise him on roofing, plumbing, electrical, or anything else on our campus.

READERS

Readers proclaim the Word of God during the Mass. They also make announcements before Mass and read the petitions. Readers should be mature, speak loudly and clearly, and also understand the words they are proclaiming. They are ministers and as such should be in good standing with the Catholic Church and weekly recipients of Holy Communion.

ROSARY GROUPS

Our parish has a number of groups devoted to praying the rosary weekly. For information on local rosary groups, contact Karen Ducote, Lee Valin, or speak with Fr. Jared.

SACRISTANS

The sacristan, always under the general direction of the clergy, undertakes the overall preparation of liturgical celebrations. The sacristan arranges the books, sets up for Mass, changes the altar cloths, makes sure the AC/heat are on, and picks up after Mass. Currently, we are blessed with enough sacristans.

SAFE ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR

The Safe Environment Coordinator works closely with pastor and DRE to ensure that anyone in the parish having regular contact with minors (i.e., anyone under 18 years of age) has completed all required training and attained necessary clearances. Lace Thibodeaux is our Safe Environment Coordinator.

RCIA

The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program at Immaculate Conception offers an opportunity to learn more about our Church teachings and prepare individuals to celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.  Contact Father Jared and let him know your individual situation and sacramental needs.   He looks forward to working with you.

USHERS

Our ushers greet people as they enter church, designate gift bearers, take up the collection, and hand out bulletins. In a sense they are ministers of hospitality. If you’re interested in being an usher, speak with Fr. Jared

WEBDESIGNER

If you’ve got techie skills, we can use them. Father Jared would like to get a Widget counter on the webpage. Also, we need access to a youtube or vimeo account to post videos. If you have an account, talk to Fr. Jared.