One of my favorite spiritual leaders growing up was a priest named Father Jim. I believe he came to our small-town parish in the mid- to late 90s – I remember being about 12 years of age. I didn’t realize what a big deal it was at the time, but mine was the first CCD class where both the boys and the girls were trained to be altar attendants.*

My sister, brother, and I all served at mass dozens of times – probably hundreds if you were to tally up the instances between the three of us. As a child and even as a teenager, I probably didn’t fully appreciate the role I played as an altar attendant. Regardless, I think it was important as a young person for me to understand that a religious community – just like any other community – has jobs that need done and members of that community have a responsibility to fulfill those roles when needed.

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