Staff
Ministries
Our Lady of the Valley offers a number of ministries to share your God given gifts of time and talents with the Church and the community. I earnestly encourage all of you to give to God in return by engaging in one or more ministries in the Church. Please prayerfully consider whether God is calling you to be part of any of these ministries and contact the office for further information.
Eucharistic Ministers
The Ordinary Ministers of the Eucharist are the Bishops, Priests and Deacons. The Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist are those who help in the distribution of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ during the Eucharist and those who take the Eucharist to the sick and home bound.
Readers
Readers are those who proclaim the Word of God during the Eucharist and other liturgical services. It is a very important ministry as you become the voice of God Proclaiming His Word.
Altar Servers
This is a ministry closely connected to liturgy. The altar servers help the priest in all liturgical functions. They are an essential part of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist. They help in the smooth performance of liturgy and help everyone to pray and worship better. Their role in liturgy is indispensable. Any child who has received first Holy Communion is eligible to be an altar server. Altar servers come 15 minutes prior to Mass, vest themselves with altar server robes, light the candles and join for prayer before Mass.
It is not hard to be an altar server. We do have regular training for altar servers. Parents, please encourage your children to serve at the altar. Help children to do their share of service to the Church. Everyone who serves at the altar should be properly disposed to things of God and their conduct at the altar should be proper to the sacred liturgical action helping the congregation to focus and participate better.
Acolytes
Any adult Catholic man in good standing with the Church can be an acolyte. It is a minor Order conferred by the Bishop. All priests receive this order during the years of theological studies. Their proper function is to serve at the altar helping the priest at all liturgical functions. They set the altar for the liturgy of the Eucharist, assist the priest in distributing communion and take communion to the sick. They can also expose the Blessed Sacrament for Eucharistic adoration and bring communion from the tabernacle and take it back.
Music and Singing
This is a wonderful ministry that is closely connected to liturgy. “Singing is praying twice,” says St. Augustine. “Liturgy without music is like a body without soul,” remarks St. John Bosco. The role of a choir is to help the congregation to sing, and the effect a good choir can have on the rest of the congregation is huge. A good choir attracts people from all over. Our Church community has a lot of talents.
We need more members to join our choir. Remember, you don’t have to be an American Idol to be part of the choir. Young or old, all are welcome. It is God who has given you the voice and talents. God only expects us to sing his praises with the voice He has given us. Please use your God-given voice to give praise to Him and also to help raise the minds and hearts of others to God.
We also need the talents of those who can play musical instruments. We love to see a lovely choir with instruments that lead everyone to a deeper experience of the liturgy. We appreciate very much those musicians and choir members who already share their talents with the Church.
Faith Formation
By our baptism we have accepted the responsibility to spread the faith. Faith formation related ministries are a direct exercise of that responsibility. Parents are the first teachers of faith. To supplement their efforts the Church provides opportunities for faith formation for a range of ages (1st – 5th grade religious education, 6th-12th grade youth group, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, and additional adult faith formation programs). Many volunteers are needed for the success of these programs and initiatives. See the faith formation page for more information and to consider what might be a good fit for your interests and strengths.
RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)
RCIA is the process by which those who wish to join the Catholic faith community are welcomed and introduced to the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church. For those not yet baptized, this process leads to the Easter Vigil where they receive the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Those who have been previously baptized in another Christian tradition are invited to participate fully in the Church through the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist.
Classes begin in September until the feast of Pentecost every year. If you or anyone you know would like to become a Catholic, please ask them to call the Church to register for RCIA. You could participate in this ministry by encouraging those adults you know show interest in Catholic faith and would like to be part of our Catholic Community. If you have your spouse, kids, grandkids, relatives or friends who are not Catholics but would like to know more about Catholic faith, please encourage them to attend RCIA. Those of you who are Catholics but wish to know more about our faith are also welcome to attend RCIA. You can be part of this ministry by helping with the classes/instruction as well.
Parish Council & Finance Council
The Parish Council and Finance Council are volunteer advisory councils to the pastor. The Parish Council meets every first Monday of the month at 5:30 p.m. It is the task of the parish council to care for the physical and spiritual needs of the church, to plan for the future and to take good care of the material property of the Church. The parish council is the responsible body that represents the people and makes their wishes known to the pastor. They plan and execute every activity of the Church. They are elected for a term of two years with the possibility of being reelected for another term. Once they have completed two terms they need to wait for at least a year before they can be elected again.
It is the task of the finance council to advise the pastor on administering the finances of the Church judiciously and responsibly. They prepare the budget, monitor the income and expenses regularly, and prepare and present quarterly financial report to the congregation. They meet once a month on the second Monday of the month.
Eucharistic Adoration
We have adoration every Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The time of adoration is a powerful time. Please consider spending time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Those of you who can make it as a family or as couple, please do so. Please bring along your children as well and help them cultivate a special devotion to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
Women of Our Lady of the Valley
The Women of Our Lady of the Valley is a wonderful organization for all the women of our parish. The Church depends so much on the hard work of these women. All the women of our parish are encouraged to be part of the altar society. Church is your second home. What about spending some time to take care of it?
The altar society women take great care of the altar and supply the bread, wine and candles for the Church. They clean the sanctuary and change the altar cloths. They make sure that the vestments and the linens for the liturgical celebrations are washed and made available. They provide the luncheons for funerals. We are very thankful to all those who are already members of the altar society. You do an amazing job. We pray that more women of our parish become part of it. The members of the altar society meet on the second Wednesday of every month at 6.00 p.m.
Knights of Columbus
There are no words to thank the Knights for all the wonderful work they do for the Church. The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Columbus. There are more than 1.7 million members in 14,000 councils, with nearly 200 councils on college campuses. Membership is limited to “practicing Catholic” men aged 18 or older.
Thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney, who founded it on the principles of charity, unity and fraternity. The Knights of Columbus was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.
For their support for the Church and local communities, as well as for their philanthropic efforts, the Order often refers to itself as the “strong right arm of the Church.” All Catholic men are encouraged to be part of this amazing organization. Please consider prayerfully to be part of this ministry. Please contact Tony Faro, Grand Knight, at 541-910-6013 for more information.
Hispanic Ministry
Hispanic Ministry is an opportunity for faith formation and fellowship in Spanish. There are monthly meetings centered on prayer, learning more about the faith, and opportunities to grow as a community. Hispanic Ministry also facilitates the annual Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a novena, mañanitas, Mass and a dinner in December.
Prayer Line
The prayer line ministry is dedicated to praying for the requests of our parishioners without having to come together in a group. Those in this ministry receive prayer requests via text messages. If you like to pray for others, this is the ministry for you. The coordinator of this ministry is Kathy McGee. If you like to be a prayer warrior, call Kathy at 541-910-0434 to be added to the prayer line list. If you have a prayer intention that you would like to be shared with those on the list, please notify Kathy or Theresa Beery at 541-963-2372.
Maintenance Committee
This ministry is about the general upkeep of the properties of the Church. As called to be part of the Church, we all have a responsibility to take care of the Church. We would really like to have a team who would take care of general maintenance. If you are an electrician, plumber, carpenter, painter, a handy man, or someone of good will who wants to help, please consider being part of this ministry.