Important Updates to SMAA Acolyte Corps

I am excited to share some significant developments in our Acolyte Corps particularly for those that were unable to attend our recent town hall meetings. We have implemented structural changes to strengthen the Acolyte Corps and create new opportunities for involvement. If you want to hear the full presentation, please watch it here.

New Acolyte Steering Committee & Leadership

We have established an Acolyte Corps Steering Committee to oversee the strategic direction and operations of our ministry. The committee includes both Executive Committee roles and Committee Chairs, bringing together volunteers from across our Corps to guide us forward. Our new Steering Committee members are:

• Acolyte Steering Committee Chair (Tony Briggle): Senior lay leader overseeing strategic direction, budget, and church leadership liaison.

• Acolyte Steering Committee Chair-Elect (Michael Blachly): Supporting program leadership and future transition.

• Head Master of Ceremonies (J.C. Snead): Leading the MC team and maintaining service customaries.

• Head Verger (Katherine Blachly): Leading the Verger Corps and overseeing verger training.

• Communications Committee Chair (Van Sheets): Developing our digital presence and communications.

• Training & Advancement Co-Chairs (Rachael Jones & Haley Dettra): Creating advancement pathways and comprehensive training materials.

• Scheduling & Membership Chair (David Thompson): Managing the Acolyte Corps roster, Ministry Scheduler Pro and service assignments.

• Vestments & Equipment Chair (Jeanne Snead): Overseeing liturgical resources and space

• Special Services Chair (Julie Allen): Creating and managing weddings and funerals guilds within the Corps.

• Recruiting Chair (TBD): Identify and lead efforts to recruit more acolytes to our great ministry. If anyone is interested in serving in this role, please let us know. 

Key Initiatives for 2025

• Digital Resource Hub: We're developing a dedicated Acolyte Corps website to centralize our training materials, service customaries, and communications.

• Structured Advancement Program: We're designing a formal progression pathway for both adult and youth members, providing clear opportunities for growth and increased responsibility.

• Enhanced Training Resources: We're creating comprehensive materials for all service positions and documenting customaries to ensure consistency in our liturgical practice. All of these would also be housed on our new website. 

• Improved Scheduling System: We're auditing our membership roster and optimizing our Ministry Scheduler Pro system to better serve our active membership and streamline the scheduling process.

• Weddings and Funeral Teams: We are identifying acolytes that wish to regularly participate in weddings and/or funerals and creating a sub-ministry of those members so we have go-to volunteers and can better utilize Ministry Scheduler Pro to volunteer for those special services. 

• Preparing for the New Building: We are working with parish leadership on our needs relating to the new building. 

• Membership Growth: The Steering Committee will be organizing a recruiting campaign in 2025. But we encourage all members to help identify potential new acolytes who would value serving in this ministry.

Get Involved

As mentioned earlier, a primary goal of the creation of the Steering Committee and these Committees is to increase the number of people involved in leadership and operations of the Acolyte Corps ministry. If you're interested in serving on any of these committees or have questions about these changes, please reach out to the respective committee chairs or any member of the Steering Committee. Your participation will help shape the future of our ministry.

A Special Thanks

I want to give a special thanks to the Acolyte Corps Strategic Planning Committee which was formed in April to help determine how we create a leadership structure for tomorrow as well as any challenges and opportunities we need to address. A special thanks to the following members for their efforts on this committee: Katherine Blachly, Michael Blachly, Dianne Boyd, Bob Buchanan, Kelly Reddell, Van Sheets, J.C. Snead, Jeanne Snead, David Thompson, Haley Dettra, Andrew Grosso and myself.

Thank you to all of you for your continued dedication to the Acolyte Corps. These changes will help ensure we maintain our standard of liturgical excellence while creating more meaningful opportunities for growth and involvement.

Faithfully yours, 

Tony Briggle 

Acolyte Steering Committee Chair