Acolyting
Acolytes are children in fifth and sixth grade who participate in worship by assisting ministers with various worship elements such as Holy Communion and the lighting of the candles. Training for acolytes is held during the summer to help children become familiar with the various aspects of our traditional worship services. Below you'll find some frequently asked questions about acolyting as well as information about our training sessions
What is an acolyte and how can it benefit my child?
Acolytes are a select group of young people who desire to serve their church by assisting the ministers in divine worship. At AUMC our acolyte program provides Christian education as well as an opportunity for service to the church, stimulation for possible church-related occupations later on, and the opportunity for pastor and youth to relate to each other. It is an ideal vehicle for the faith development of our youth and a good opportunity to positively affect the lives of these children during their most impressionable years. Finally, the acolyte program gives dignity and meaning to the service of worship and inspires our young people to dedicate their lives to the service of Christ and the Church.
What happens at the upcoming Acolyte training?
The training program at AUMC are taught in the summer. There will be four sessions taking place during a one week period, with each session lasting three hours. The sessions are taught by our pastoral staff which may include George Mathison, Charles Cummings, John Fox, Sally Granberry, Sarah Goolsby, Gary Klarenbeek, or Sue Rodger. Each day sessions will be broken down into specific lessons. For example children will learn some valuable information about acolyting from one of the church staff, then there will be a snack break, and then actual practice/rehearsal time in the Sanctuary or Chapel to learn acolyte duties during a worship service. Each acolyte will receive his/her own Acolyte Training Binder. The binder will be used everyday during the training and will be his/her to keep. Each night there will be information to read from the binder that will be discussed the following day during training.
How are Acolytes scheduled?
At AUMC Acolytes serve on a rotating schedule. Each Acolyte receives a schedule showing which Sundays and worship services they are expected to serve over a three month period. Depending on how many acolytes are in the program each acolyte will serve at least once a month or 3-4 times per schedule. For new Acolytes in the Fall there will be a brief practice time on Thursday afternoons, usually at 5:00 pm, before a child acolytes at a Sunday service.
Acolyte Training
Monday, July 23 - Thursday, July 26, 2012
9:00am - 12:00pm
We are looking forward to teaching and training another new group of Acolytes at Auburn United Methodist Church. Children invited to join this next session are those who will be fifth, sixth or seventh graders in the Fall of 2012.
For more information, please contact Jill Perry at 887-8816 or jill.perry@aumc.net, Patti Robinson at 821-7382 or robinson97000@att.net, Ed Saidla at 821-8311 or edsaidla@msn.com.