St. Boniface church has always utilized Extraordinary Ministers of Communion (EMOC) volunteers to give Holy Communion and many assist with the preparation for Holy Communion, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Confirmation etc.. Before the pandemic there were 45 EMOCs who were scheduled on a rotational basis to assist with the Saturday and Sunday masses. Following the provincial restrictions another 20 or 30 volunteers were conscripted to assist with the various duties that came with this change as we now needed volunteers to do a count of the people who could attend mass at the same time and other related duties, e.g. ensure hand sanitizing was done, ushers, cleaners and someone to deploy the fogger machine to sanitize the pews after the masses.
There have been many changes since the start of the pandemic and the volunteers have given their time and talents freely to assist with the services St. Boniface was permitted to offer. After the first total lockdown, there came the easing of the restrictions in June, 2020 when our church opened to serve mass to 90 people. This was followed by the second lockdown and currently by the Communion Services which allows only 10 people to be at a service at any one time. This includes 8 parishioners, one volunteer and one priest.
In an environment that has been far from stable because of the pandemic, our volunteers have risen to the task. They have accepted that until the pandemic is over, that there will be changes in the way we serve, that they may be scheduled for a service which may be cancelled and rescheduled. With God’s grace, help and guidance, St. Boniface has continued to serve its parish and the volunteers are a large part of this process.