Altar servers have always been a very important feature of parish life at both Our Lady’s and St Edmunds. Traditionally altar servers were boys but now girls are very welcome. Our servers are led and inspired by Ken De Broize, who celebrated fifty years as an altar server in 2003 and was awarded the Gold Medal of the Guild of St Stephen. He was appointed to the National Committee of the Archconfraternity of St Stephen and is the Diocesan Chairman. Deacon Peter Griffin is the Diocesan Director. Under Ken’s dedicated work, our parish altar servers have grown to become one of the largest and most respected in the Diocese with 42 members ranging in age from 6 to 73.
Under Ken’s leadership, the servers have been involved in a number of special events that have taken place within and outside the Diocese. These include the Cardinal’s Servers Mass at Westminster Cathedral, the Guild Pilgrimage to Walsingham, Bishop Peter’s Installation at Northampton Cathedral, and the Catholic Women’s League Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
Our altar servers have achieved an amazing amount and we are all very proud of them and of all the hard work that goes into preparing them for the faultless way they assist the priest at Mass. The older servers have been commissioned as MC’s and several have now attained the Guild Silver Medal for 10 years service. We are very privileged to have one of the best groups of altar servers in the Diocese, and if you would like to join them, then please contact Ken de Broize on 01933 674138.
Stephen's name means, "crown," and he was the first disciple of Jesus to receive the martyr's crown. Stephen was a deacon in the early Christian Church. The apostles had found that they needed helpers to look after the care of the widows and the poor. So they ordained seven deacons, and Stephen is the most famous of these.
God worked many miracles through Stephen and he spoke with such wisdom and grace that many of his hearers became followers of Jesus. The enemies of the Church of Jesus were furious to see how successful Stephen's preaching was. At last, they laid a plot for him. They could not answer his wise argument, so they got men to lie about him, saying that he had spoken sinfully against God. Stephen faced that great assembly of enemies without fear. In fact, the Holy Bible says that his face looked like the face of an angel.
Stephen spoke about Jesus, showing that He is the Saviour, God had promised to send. He scolded his enemies for not having believed in Jesus. At that, they rose up in great anger and shouted at him. But Stephen looked up to Heaven and said that he saw the heavens opening and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
His hearers plugged their ears and refused to listen to another word. They dragged Stephen outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned him to death. Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell to his knees and begged God not to punish his enemies for killing him.
After such an expression of love, the holy martyr went to his heavenly reward. St Stephen's feastday is on 26 December.
I offer myself to God almighty, to blessed Mary, Our Mother and to our holy patron, Saint Stephen. And I promise to do my best to serve regularly with reverence and understanding, for the glory of God, the service of his Church, and my own eternal salvation.