Since we returned to worshipping on site together, and the restrictions required for social distancing have been relaxed, we have been re-building our serving team at St Peter’s. The “servers” are volunteers who robe and participate in our services – in ways that help the rest of us to worship.

We asked Pam Czerepaniak, who has joined our church family in the last two years and is now a regular member of our serving team, to share with all of us something of her experience.

So, how it all started…

I put my name down to volunteer to be on the serving team at Huddersfield Parish Church – imagining serving tea, coffee and biscuits. But it wasn’t that kind of serving!!!

Huddersfield Parish Church was a new church for me, a new beginning. I have always worshipped at an Anglican Church locally in Huddersfield but never seen a “Serving Team” in action.

I went to the first meeting and was a bit surprised when Revd Rachel said you wilI need to wear a robe and suggested we needed to go into the vestry to check our sizes to ensure we got a robe which fitted.

I looked at my friend and he looked back at me with a puzzled look on both our faces. Little did I realise then I had volunteered to be part of the “Serving Team“, the ones you see every Sunday in the white robes carrying the cross and candles.

God works in mysterious ways.

Due to the Covid restrictions that were in place we began serving the following week doing just the basics of procession.

On the 11th of June 2022, Tanya, Sandie and I went to St Margarets Church in Ilkley for Eucharist and to be admitted into the Company of Server’s, Leeds Chapter. The Eucharist service was great and we had a lovely morning together which was followed by lunch. The other members of the Company of Servers were very welcoming. We received a “welcome pack” with a small badge in to wear on our robes.

I’ve never looked back and I feel it is an enormous privilege and honour to be a server at Huddersfield Parish Church, serving God, our church and our community.

On 5 November 2022 there is an opportunity for our other Server’s to attend Eucharist at St Andrew’s Church, Knottingley and to be admitted to the Company of Servers.

Watch this space ….

We will be hosting a special service for the Company of Servers in 2023. More to follow in a further blog post.