Opportunities to Volunteer
Serving Team
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The Servers' role is to assist the clergy in the celebration of Mass, not only on Saturdays, Sundays and Festivals but also on every day of the week throughout the year.
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We have an enthusiastic, friendly group of people of all ages who not only perform important tasks during the Mass but also help to prepare the church for the service and tidy-up afterwards. At weekends and Festivals we are divided into teams of 4 or 5 which are on duty about once a month.
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Serving is both an interesting and rewarding way to participate in the Mass and new recruits are always welcome, whether experienced members of the congregation or youngsters setting out to Confirmation.
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Come and join us, full training will be provided!
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For further information please contact Alan Seymour via the Parish Office.
Liturgical Ministries
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Reading the Lesson, Leading the Intercessions and Assisting as a Eucharistic Minister are the three Liturgical Ministries performed at each Mass. You should have a commitment to the task and a sense of devotion, with trust in God and in the power of the Holy Spirit to guide you and develop within you a sense of reverence, dignity and privilege in carrying out these sacred tasks.
When Reading the Lesson you will be Proclaiming the Word of God, and you are seeking to inspire the congregation as well as to instruct. You should aim for clarity and simplicity in your presentation to help ensure the understanding of the congregation. It is very helpful if you have a copy of the lesson so that you can practise at home.
The Intercessor leads us all in prayers to God, for His kindness to us, for the needs of the world - especially in troubled areas, thanksgivings for the Church and for the sick and needy as well as the departed.
Eucharistic Ministers assist the Priest at Mass in giving Communion, and special training is provided. Anyone undertaking this office has to be approved by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and is then licensed by the Bishop.
Training is also available for those Reading the Lesson and for Intercessors. It is a great help if you are a regular worshipper as this will enable you to feel at ease for your particular task. There is no particular dress code but it does help if you look smart.
These duties are allocated on a rota basis, covering two or three months at a time, which endeavours to take into account any notified unavailability.
If you feel called to any of these ministries then please speak to any of the clergy.
Sidespeople
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When you go into church for a service, probably the first person you see is one of the Sidesmen or women. The welcome they give you, particularly if you are a visitor, will help to form your impression of St Martin’s.
As well as offering a warm welcome, Sidesmen and women make sure everyone has what they need for the service – hymn book, Mass book, bulletin etc. During the service Sidesmen and women look after the collection and guide people to communion. In short, they are essential to the smooth running of any service.
This role requires no expertise. Anyone can do it. It is a great way of getting to know other members of the congregation and also of making a contribution to the St Martin’s community.
Each rota normally covers about three months, so you get plenty of notice for when you are ‘on duty’. This is a really important role in our church and if you are interested in finding out more, please speak to one of the Churchwardens.
Church Cleaning
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Visitors entering St Martin’s frequently remark about the beauty of the Church and the peaceful atmosphere of prayer which has come down through the ages.
To help keep the Church well cared for, inviting and attractive to visitors, a small team of volunteers perform a number of light cleaning duties to supplement our regular cleaner. New people are always welcome to join this team to help maintain St Martin’s as we all know it. For more information please contact the Parish Office.
About twice a year there is a Work-In organised by the churchwardens, generally on a Saturday morning, when the congregation is invited to undertake additional maintenance tasks such as lime-washing beneath the choir stalls, vacuuming the high window-sills, oiling the external doors, cleaning the votive candle stand, cleaning the brasses and wall monuments, and so on. Dates and details of the Work-In are publicised in the Bulletin at the time.
Refreshments
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9:15 Coffee Rota
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Coffee, tea and squash are served in the hall after the 9:15am Mass on Sundays. This is a wonderful opportunity for members of the congregation to meet with old friends, to make new friends and to welcome new members and visitors.
Drinks are served by a team of volunteers of two or more people on a rota basis. No special skills are required and full instructions are given. We just ask that you bring the milk and everything else is provided.
Each team is on duty approximately seven times a year, but with more volunteers this would be less often, so if you enjoy your cup of coffee or tea with us on Sunday mornings, please think about joining in on the other side of the counter occasionally. This is a great way of meeting other people in the congregation and an enjoyable way of contributing to the social fabric of St Martin’s.
If you would like to get involved then please contact the Parish Office.
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11:15 Wine Rota
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After the 11.15am Sunday Mass wine and soft drinks are served at the back of the church. Those partaking are asked to make an optional donation to church funds.
Volunteers on the wine rota are responsible for setting out the table and glasses, serving the drinks and washing up afterwards. The wine and soft drinks are usually delivered and removed by the cellarer of the Mass. It is usual to have two volunteers (often related!) on duty each Sunday and occasionally volunteers have brought along light snacks (at their own expense) but this is not expected.
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The work is not onerous and there is the opportunity to meet all those who stay behind for pre-lunch drinks in an extremely cordial atmosphere. The frequency of the duties depends on the number of volunteers.
If you would be interested in helping out on the wine rota then we would love to hear from you. Please contact the Parish Office.
Flower Arranging
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The flowers in St.Martin’s church have for many years been arranged by ladies (and occasionally by gentlemen) of the Parish on a voluntary rotational basis. Flowers are bought, arranged and cared for every week except during Lent and Advent.
Arrangements are placed at the Pulpit and in the Porch, together with a posy at the Aumbry, the statue of St. Martin and the Statue of Our Lady in the Lady Chapel. At Christmas, Easter and Harvest, flowers are also arranged at the Altar and the window-sills are decorated.
Flowers are provided in Church for other special occasions such as Ordinations and for weddings, for which the couples pay a fee to cover the costs incurred. The flower team respond to requests for flower arrangements to commemorate anniversaries, funerals and other personal events, for which a fee is paid.
The flowers are usually purchased (using church funds) on Thursdays, mostly from Uxbridge Market but sometimes locally in Ruislip, and they are placed in buckets of water for a good drink before they are arranged on Friday ready for the weekend. One person is normally in charge each week and they will buy the flowers, placing them into water (with help from others on the week’s rota), ready for that week's team to arrange the flowers. Team members normally make one arrangement each.
We shall always be glad if other ladies or gentlemen join the team. None of us is a professional but we have learned by taking part. If anyone is interested in having a go, working in our beautiful Church with lovely flowers, please contact the Parish Office to be put in touch with a member of the team.
Prayer Support Group
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The Prayer Support Group has been in existence since the late 1990s and provides a means of supporting the parish, its people and its activities through prayer.
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The Group - those who are able - meet to pray together in the Church on every third Tuesday of the month at 2pm for up to an hour. However, one of the features of this ministry is that it can be undertaken by those who are unable to serve the Church in a physically active way, or who may be housebound or frail.
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Members of the Group commit to:
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- pray for those who have asked for our prayers on the intercessions board in the Church, in the bulletin, and in personal requests;
- pray for the work of the parish - people, events and projects;
- pray for those with whom St Martin’s has special links;
- pray for issues of local, national or international urgency and importance;
- pray daily at home from a prayer sheet prepared each month;
- maintain confidentiality.
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If you feel called to the ‘quiet ministry’ of prayer support you will be most welcome. To find out more please speak to the Parish Office.
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Prayer is powerful!
Church Welcome
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The Church Welcome volunteers help to keep the church open on Monday to Friday from 10.00am to 3.00pm.
Many people come into the church during the week to sit quietly, to pray, light a candle or to explore the church’s history. The church offers a haven of peace and quiet after the noise and bustle of everyday life in the High Street.
Volunteers usually give an hour at a time on a weekly rota basis and new volunteers are always welcome. Being part of the Church Welcome team provides an opportunity for us to spend quiet time with God and to offer a friendly face to those who visit our beautiful church.
If you can spare an hour a week and are interested in joining the Church Welcome team then please contact the Parish Office.
Friends of St Martin’s
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Our Story
Domesday's reference to a priest holding forty to sixty acres of land in Ruislip implies that a church, perhaps wooden, existed here from at least the eleventh century. Love and care over the centuries has enabled the community of Ruislip to have access to the marvellous building we have today and, by joining Friends of St Martin’s, you can help ensure that tradition continues.
Friends of St Martin's was originally formed in 1971 to bring together all those who love this historic church and who wish to help with its care by contributing to the cost of maintenance and restoration of the building. Friends re-launched in 2012, and one of our first fund-raising events, the summer festival weekend, raised over £5000.
St Martin's church is full of history and has so many stories to tell. It is however increasingly difficult for the congregation alone to meet the cost of the work needed to preserve the fabric of the church.
Friends regularly organise fundraising events such as quiz nights, talks, musical evenings and garden open days.
Details of the projects Friends supports, and how funds are spent, are provided in newsletters that are regularly sent to all Friends of St Martin’s members, many of whom come from outside the present congregation.
We would love to welcome you as a member. By joining Friends, you can help to preserve the church, and its historic importance to Ruislip, so that it can be enjoyed by all for generations to come. The level of involvement you have is entirely up to you: some members work on the committee, others help through their financial support, and others help by attending our fund-raising events.
For further information, please contact Jacqueline Alderton via the Parish Office.
Thursday Lunches
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Thursday Lunches offers homemade soup, filled rolls, tea, coffee, and homemade cakes at very reasonable prices. We are open from 10.30am to 1.30pm each week in the small hall in the Church Hall.
We have been running since 2002 and our aim is to provide somewhere where people can come along and sit and read the paper over a hot drink (newspapers are available), or chat to friends over lunch, in a comfortable atmosphere. Our customers are mainly people who do not normally attend St Martin’s and it has proved to be very valuable outreach.
All our helpers are volunteers. We always welcome new volunteers willing to make soup, cakes or to help out serving. All our helpers really enjoy helping, but we can always do with more!
Most of our volunteers help on a rota basis – approximately once every 5 or 6 weeks - but if you are only available on an occasional basis or on certain dates then we would still very much like to hear from you.
To find out more please contact the Parish Office for further information.
