the other experiment!

I forgot to add my other experiment to that last post!

This is one that I'm cautiously very excited about. Ever since I had my daughter, and had to quit the altar guild (no use trying to clean a chalice with a baby in a sling - the baby will swipe it!), I've been looking for another ministry to do at church. What I've been doing is working in the nursery. And that's great, but I've been hoping to do a bit more. The problem is that, realistically, it needs to be something I can do with my kids.

So when I heard that our church needed more LEM's (Lay Eucharistic Ministers), I decided to check it out. LEM's go to mass, and after they've recieved themselves, they're given extra bread and wine, and they take it to those who can't make it to mass because of sickness or disability. I talked to my priest after church yesterday, and he said that he used to take his toddler along when he took the Eucharist to the shut-in (though of course, he could just perform a whole private mass), and that I should come to the training.

So, I'm going to! I don't know if it'll work. It's going to be hard to juggle two nap schedules with the weekday mass schedules, and our church is a bit of a drive from our home. And, honestly, I need to learn a bit more about what it involves. But I'm going to at least go to the training and find out. If it works, it'll be really cool. I even think that being a mom with little kids will make it easier for me, and more fun for the people I visit, 'cause the squirts will give us something to talk about. (It's funny, when I talked to my priest, who knows I'm an introvert, he pointed this out too.)


I'm going to try to be honest about it though, and decline to take the position if I can't do it. I have a feeling, though, that the only way I'll be able to find out if I can do it is to try.

Have any of you tried this, or a similar ministry, with or without kids? How'd it work? Any tips? I'd love any advice or stories anyone could offer me.


peace of Christ to you,
Jessica