Fr Wilfred with 14 new Extraordinary Communion Ministers (ECM)
By JJ (Soccom Penampang)
May 23 2022
PENAMPANG – St Michael’s parish appointed 14 new Extraordinary Communion Ministers (ECM) to assist the church in serving the 11 zones in areas with bigger congregation.
Commissioning of the newly appointed ministers was officiated during the evening Mass at St Michael’s Church May 8, presided by parish priest Fr Wilfred Atin.
Prior to their appointment, the potential candidates went through several stages of qualifying processes including the initial recommendation from their respective local Catholic community (KKD). The proposals were further shortlisted by the parish liturgy committee before submitting to the parish priest.
The shortlisted candidates have one more final hurdle to overcome with their names being published in a parish notice. The purpose of the parish notice is to enable anyone to raise any objection to the appointment within a period of not less than three weeks before the chosen candidates were sent for their formation.
The need of recruiting new members of ECM is a normal practice where there will be retirement of long time serving and aging ministers from various churches and chapels within the parish, besides grooming new generation to take over and ensuring continuous substantial availability to serve one of the most important components of the church body.
The appointees are Richard Jomiji (Kolopis zone), Caroline Motijol, Cassianus Peter John, Felix Jolinu, Emelda Matayun, Johannes Jimmy (Penampang zone), Jovita Komuji (Limbanak zone ), Elizabeth Bisuil (Maang zone), Fedilis Roger, Stella Mansatil, Matheus Jimmy,Valilia @Lea Valerie J. Malating, Nemesius Valentine (Kinarut zone) and Diana Doluvi (Labak zone). They will add on to the current over 60 active ECM serving throughout the parish.
The function of the extraordinary minister is to distribute Holy Communion in the Mass, as well as taking the Holy Communion to a homebound sick person.
The general qualifications of the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are namely, a) they should manifest a devotion to the Eucharist in both their public and private lives of prayer; b) they manifest a sense of presence and self-confidence in their liturgical decorum and in their relationships with others; c) they be exemplary in their living out the Christian life, faith and morals – i) they be aware of and responsive to the Church’s view of the importance of lay ministries; ii) they be in good standing with the local Church community; and d) they be fully initiated into the Catholic Church (have received the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation).
Fr Atin stressed the importance of nourishing and adapting a lifestyle that requires one’s responsibility to live a holy life, which in turn protects and preserves the sanctity of the body of Christ, when in association with performing church duties.
“I take this opportunity to remind our newly appointed extraordinary communion ministers to take up this ministry seriously especially to try our best to live a holy live because what we are giving to the people is the sacred Body of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Fr Atin underlined.
