Note:If you are unavailable on the date that you are MC please find someone to cover for you.

Guidance Notes.

1. The Master of Ceremonies is a very important job at Mass. He or she is there to ensure that the Mass runs as smoothly as possible and is effectively the eyes of the priest.

2. To ensure that there is plenty of notice in advance who is going to be MC at what Mass the above rota (also displayed in the sacristy) has been prepared. If you are unavailable on the date shown please can you find someone to cover for you.

3. The nominated MC is the only one who is to give out the jobs to the other servers and to lead the servers in the guild prayer before Mass starts. He or she should not treat the Mass as a training session, by giving a job to someone who has never done it before, as this will make the person nervous and it is a recipe for disaster. Likewise he or she should not give the same job to the same person all the time. If you feel there is someone who is competent enough to be an MC at Mass then there is no reason why you cannot delegate them to be MC as long as you stand by them to give them direction and prompts.

4. The MC should approach the priest, especially if it is a visiting priest who is covering for Fr. Johnl and introduce themselves, and ask if there is anything extra happening during the Mass at which they are MC.

5. The MC should know how many verses there are for the entrance hymn so that as soon as the hymn has finished the book bearer is standing in front of Fr. Paul before he makes the Sign of the Cross and greets the people.

6. During Holy Communion the MC should be concentrating on what is happening after he or she has cleared the altar. He or she should keep an eye on the front benches of the church that have been reserved for aged people. This is to ensure that if the person has come to Communion themselves, or, if the priest or deacon has not seen them he or she can approach the priest or deacon and point out that they need to receive Holy Communion.

7. This is a big thank you to all the MCs for the service that you give to us. There are not many parishes that have a team of MCs who are in their teenage years. If we can just iron out these few little things then the Mass will be even more special.

8. We will continue to have training sessions so if there are any points that you need to clarify we can do so then.