St. Mark's Church invites all students, 3^rd grade and higher (after receiving First Communion), to become ALTAR SERVERS. This ministry is a special opportunity to participate in the Mass in a unique way and grow closer to God and the parish community through service. As a parish family, we are pleased to have many devoted young people who serve at the altar. 

 The role of the Altar Server is to assist the Priest, who leads the worship of the Church. It is the Altar Server’s job to assist the Priest so that worship is performed in a reverent, efficient, and beautiful manner. This means that the altar server must be trained properly so that he/she can perform these duties with dignity and devotion as deserving of Our Lord. The Server’s first responsibility is to pray. Serving at the altar is not our main purpose – we are first at Mass to worship Almighty God. The second purpose is to assist the Priest. Both of these goals must work together. We must never just serve the Mass; our service of the Mass must be guided by prayer and the love of God.

 To be an Altar Server is both an honor and a privilege. Pope St. John Paul II once said to Altar Servers: “Your commitment to the altar is not only a duty but a great honor, a genuine holy service… The Altar Server occupies a privileged place in the liturgical celebration… Therefore, in the liturgy, you are much more than simple ‘helpers of the parish priest.’ Above all, you are servers of Jesus Christ, of the eternal High Priest. Thus, you, Altar Servers, are called in particular to be young friends of Jesus.”