Our purpose is to promote true Christian charity,the love of God, the love of our neighbor and our love to our Christian Family.  For more information or for what Altar society’s duties are please contact Heather Lopez @ [email protected].  Meetings occur second Tuesday of every month!!

Altar society is a group of faith-filled Catholic men and women both young and old, that furnish the liturgical necessities for our parish. The main purpose of the Altar Society is to provide for the adornment of the altar, sanctuary, and chapel. And we are currently experiencing an acute shortage of members. We are asking that you prayerfully consider whether God is calling you to serve our parish by volunteering and perhaps volunteering with the Altar Society. We meet the second Tuesday of each month in the Parish Hall at 6:30 pm but you'd prefer not to have a vote in the things we do and just want to volunteer PLEASE LET US KNOW that we can call on you to volunteer when we need it. We need a variety of talents and skills and we'd love to have you join this extraordinary group of people.

President: Sharon Ramos
Vice President of Altar Flowers: Rose Kolenc
Secretary: Gloria Rinche
Treasurer: Mary Edwards
Community Outreach: Belinda Guerrero
CCSF & ACCW Representative: Jan Hughes

St.  Mary’s Altar Society has been around for long time.  

The jobs that we have performed for our church throughout the years are numerous to say the least.

Our main duty is to keep our church as clean and ready for Daily, weekly mass and funerals, wedding and social events throughout the year.  

Special attention is given before Easter and Advent (Christmas). This is when we give the church a thorough cleaning and polishing. We usually ask for volunteers to help us clean on Saturday morning, a week before Easter / Christmas to get ready our church with decorations and  flowers for these Beautiful liturgical events.

Our membership team is getting smaller. We would like to invite/recruit any lady in our parish who would like to learn what we do to answer this call, AND to join us. It is very rewarding to look at our church shine and be the most beautiful church.... and that you/we had a hand in it.  

We have fellowship and meetings during the year on 2nd TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH, except during Summer (JUNE thru AUGUST).  We meet in Rosary Hall at 6:30 pm and meetings start at 7 pm.  

The Altar Society also is responsible for laundering some of the altar cloths,

(Including the purificators (this is the linen cloths that used to wipe the chalice)

And the corporals (these cloths are placed on the altar, where the priest consecrate the Eucharist).

We launder the altar boys albs, make sure they are clean for our Altar servers. 

Father/Deacon albs we laundered, the other elaborate seasonal Vestments are sent to the laundry for dry cleaning,  

We have collections for flowers at Easter and Christmas to make our church Look beautiful.   We have fundraising from Bingo or bake sales etc to help pay for the votive candles, oil candles and Eucharist candles in church and chapel. 

We buy the vestments needed for the priest and Deacons and altar servers from our funds through votive candle collection and masses, offered for our loved ones (birthday, anniversary,  graduation, wedding, memorials etc). These Masses can be arranged thru the office staff.

You may book for weekly flower arrangements for weekend masses that can be arranged through our flower chairman or church office.

We also buy cleaning supplies and purchase decorations for Christmas (wreaths, trees, garland whatever is needed.)

The way we organize our cleaning and laundry schedule, is to have two ladies take a month of their choice to clean once day a week.
Both Priest and Altar Servers Sacristy will need to be dusted and any wood that is dusty.

* Our duty would be to wash and change the holy water vessels for all the

  door entrances each week.

* Clean and dust the confessional.

*  Dust and polish (Pledge ) the Podium (stand where the sermon is given)

   And any wooden surfaces, priest’s chair, side table etc.

*  The back Altar ( where the Tabernacle is and flowers are placed weekly)

   Dust and polish or wiped down, removing any dust or flowers on altar.

*.  The Front Altar, needs to be checked for stains, from wine, etc and  a 

   clean altar cloth, topper,  and Corporals replaced each week ready for 

   weekend masses.

* The altar candles will need to be checked and glass covering washed and     

   black suet removed and any wax residue removed on weekly basis. 

   The brass snuffers, need to be polished to shine with the metal cleaner 

   cream.

*. Both priest and altar servers sacristy will need to be dusted, and any wood is dusted

 on weekly basis.   This sounds like alot but once you do it, it is like cleaning your own home. 

Laundry Duty:

Each week the laundry needs to be picked up either last mass on Sunday or Monday morning to keep the altar cloths (Purificators and corporal and finger towels) from sitting in basket because they can mildew.  There are laundry procedures to follow.  Those can be explained to you and you will have someone to show you how and how to iron and fold them and return to office during working hours and office staff can return to the church.

Also, the person on laundry duty for a month, should check in Altar servers closet to make sure their albs are clean and not on the closet floor.  If at any time you find something that needs repair or stain that can’t be removed, bring back to office and they will see that the problem is taken care.

We recently spent lots of money on having new hand made purificators and corporals and altar cloths made and we would like them to last.  They are so beautiful, and we thank Tracy Avallone  and her sewing team, 

Ladies from the parish who have contributed with their sewing talents.

May God bless you all.  Also if you would be interested in sewing and doing hand work on any of the upcoming projects planned for our church, join

The 2nd Saturday of each month sewing club “THE CONSECRATED NEEDLE SEWING “ club, leader 

ALTAR SOCIETY : Is affiliated with  Bay Area Deanery ACCW

Please think about becoming part of our much needed ministry at St. Mary’s .  We are one of the few churches still around that have this rewarding ministry.  Remember we do this for our church and for the many blessings we receive from our Lord daily.     

May God bless you all,
Sharon Ramos
Altar Society President