Liturgy of the Word for Children

liturgy for children

Liturgy of the Word for Children is offered at the 9:30am Sunday mass every week.

Top Ten Reasons to Join LWC

10. The best way to LEARN is to teach. If your own faith education ended years ago, the resources and materials you are exposed to will surely refresh and expand your own knowledge.

9. Children don’t know when we make mistakes, nor do you have to be a religion genius. We are human; the good news is the children don’t recognize our errors. They just look into our eyes and soak up our attempt to make the word of our Lord come alive at their level.

8. Sharing the faith is an HONOR. It is estimated that fewer than one percent of Catholics teach religion.

7. Your own faith will come alive. As an LWC member you will discover that prayer, liturgy, and your own relationship with God will become more vibrant.

6. COMMITMENT TIME IS DETERMINED BY YOU. The commitment is flexible to meet your needs and availability. Helper, homilist, once every three weeks … YOU TELL US.

5. You become a ROLE MODEL. As an LWC member, you get to model behaviors young people might not learn anywhere else. In fact, my own children helped me and later became LWC volunteers.

4. You will be practicing stewardship. Being an assistant or homilist is a way of being a good steward by giving a bit of your most precious resource – your time.

3. You SHOW your own family and OTHERS that you VALUE RELIGION. Walk the walk. Taking time out of your life to teach faith shows your own children, grandchildren, siblings, and family members that you put a high priority on religious education. This goes for both genders. They need role models from males and females.

2. It’s FUN. Kids remind adults to live and laugh in the moment; they get enthused about things like holy days and stories of saints.

1. It’s what we are CALLED TO DO. At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”

Liturgy of the Word for Children ("LWC") :

is a special ministry at St. Edna that provides the children (aged 5 years and older) at the 9:30 Mass with the opportunity to:
Experience God’s Word (readings, Responsorial Psalm, Gospel) proclaimed from the Children’s Lectionary;
Hear a homily/reflection which opens the children to the Good News of Jesus Christ and the mystery of God’s redeeming, saving, and forgiving love; and
Respond to the proclamation of the word with a spoken Profession of Faith and Prayer of the Faithful.

Formation of the Team

Members of the LWC team are people of faith and prayer. They are Virtus trained and have completed all of the requirements of the Archdiocese “Protecting God’s Children” program. New members begin their training by observing LWC for several weeks. They are then paired with a veteran team member to experience the planning and preparation process.

The LWC team uses the annual LTP resource CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD, A WEEKLY RESOURCE book as well as the past 14 years’ worth of notes from previous Sundays in the liturgical year. The Coordinator of LWC sends out additional resources to the scheduled team weekly to assist in the formation and for preparing that week’s liturgy.

Retreat opportunities and team meetings are offered throughout the year. And, an annual Evening of Renewal is provided for all liturgical ministers to reflect on their role as a minister and a member of St. Edna’s Catholic community.

Details about LWC structure

There is a schedule of team members for every week of the liturgical year with the exception of Christmas and Easter. The scheduled team members are responsible for the following planning and preparation process:

All – To arrive at Church at least twenty minutes before the scheduled start of their assigned liturgy. Shepherd the children to the designated worship space and lead them back to the main assembly at the appointed time.
Team Leader – To set up the children’s liturgy space, cue the homilist on timing and oversee all functions of the celebration of Liturgy of the Word with the children gathered.
Homilist – To plan and execute the presentation to the children. This may include gathering assistants, as needed, in advance for the presentation. This varies, depending on the style of presentation, e.g., puppet show, dramatization, etc.
Music Minister – To welcome the children into the prayer space with song and lead the responsorial psalm and Gospel acclamation, as well as any additional songs of praise after prayers are completed.

Join Us

New team members are welcome to join this amazing, prayerful, dedicated, and fun loving LWC team at any time during the year. Parents are especially encouraged to attend LWC along with their children for the first few times and are invited to discern their involvement with this important ministry. This ministry has been so fruitful and life-giving to those who have been called. Are you being called? Orientation for new team members can be arranged at your convenience.