What's involved in Christmas Volunteering

With the season of Advent beginning this week, Christmas is right around the corner and we need your help! This year we have 9 Christmas Masses across 4 different locations, and as always we are in need of a large team of volunteers to help us pull it off! 

There are a number of different roles involved during the Christmas period, so if you're interested in helping out in any capacity, there's a role that will suit you. 

Below are some more details about what exactly is involved in each role, and what you can expect on the day.

The Roles

Parking Warden - Parking Wardens are responsible for directing the cars on where to park, and managing traffic flow before & after Mass. With a large number of vehicles that enter our premises during Christmas, ensuring traffic flow is efficient and pedestrians are safe is an important role. (Plus, you get a lightsaber!)

COVID Marshal - Our COVID Marshals play a vital role in ensuring the large numbers of guests who visit our churches and Masses are safe and accounted for. Their many responsibilities are checking QR codes, assisting attendees with sign in, and maintaining health & safety practices such as ensuring ventilation, providing santiser. 

Plus, with news that the NSW Government expects to remove capacity restrictions by December 15th, you won't have to count for capacity this year!

Welcomers/Ushers - These volunteers are the first faces people see when visiting our churches, so you're really like the face of our Parish! Your main roles include welcoming and ushering people to our churches and our Parish, especially new guests, directing people to seating and through the aisles during Communion, as well as helping those with mobility issues access the church. If you're a people person, this one's for you!

General Volunteers - There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to help get our Christmas Masses off the ground. If you're a handy person, or like helping with anything and everything, why not be a general volunteer? 

You'll be helping with things like set up and pack up at outdoor Masses particuarly, setting up marquees outside the churches for QR check ins, and assisting elsewhere where needed and a crucial to helping everything flow smoothly. 

First Aid Officer - As a First Aid Officer, you'll be looking after the health and safety of all guests at a certain Mass. This typically involves providing first aid and other assistance to attendees (typically this is water at hot outdoor Masses, or a band-aid here or there). 

If you're a healthcare professional or have similar experience, we'd love you to help out with this role, but that's not essential. All you need is a valid First Aid Certificate. There's still time between now and Christmas to do a course! 

Letterbox Drop Volunteer - If you can only spare an hour or two, but still want to help out, say no more! Our Letterbox Drop volunteer assist with the delivery of our Christmas postcard, which invites members of our local community who might not otherwise be involved to attend our Masses. 

The role involves dropping a couple of bundles of postcards in letterboxes of streets near you, delivered the weekend and week preceding Christmas (19th & 20th Dec onwards), covering suburbs of Ryde, Putney, Gladesville, Tennyson Point and surrounds. This is a great one to walk or to do with kids, and you can even nominate which streets you'd like to do!

Ministers - If you've got a little expertise and would like to be involved in the Liturgical side of Christmas, you're in luck! All ministries needed are needed at our Christmas Masses, including Communion Ministers. 

We are also in desperate need of new AV Operators and Camera Operators, so if you know your way around a computer (you really just need to know how to use a mouse!) then please let the office know and we can arrange training for you. 

How do I sign up?

Have we convinced you? Great! If you'd like to sign up to be a volunteer, please complete the Christmas Volunteer Form, which can also be found on the Parish website, the Volunteers page and in your emails if you're on our mailing list.

If you'd like to be a Minister, all the sign up forms for all Ministries are available on the Rosters website, as well as the Parish website and in your emails.

Most importantly, please complete the forms by Friday 3rd December so our Office Staff can put together the rosters. 

Thank you for considering assisting our Parish at our Christmas Masses this year, and we look forward to celebrating the season with you all once again, in our churches, after the very long two years we've all had.