While many parishes experience an exodus of eighth- graders after they receive the seal of the Holy Spirit, St. Stanislaus Kostka parish in Maspeth is reversing that trend by getting Spirit-filled youth involved in parish ministry through the Junior Lector Program.

“We’re always supposed to spread the Word of God in our lives,” explains Carolina Mlynarczyk, one of five eighth-graders at St. Stan’s School who became a junior lector this spring.

Marie Elena Giossi Photo 

Father Joseph Palackal, C.M.I., welcomes St. Stan Kostka’s new junior lectors, from left, Travis Verbil, Tara Ivers, Cady Bihun, Carolina Mlynarczyk and Dominik Medrzycki.

Mlynarczyk and her classmates Cady Bihun, Tara Ivers, Travis Verbil and Dominik Medrzycki, who received the sacrament of Confirmation in March, can’t think of a better way to spread the Word than by literally stepping behind the lectern and using their voices to reveal God in Sacred Scripture to their peers, parents and neighbors.

“I really am very proud of them,” said Father Joseph Palackal, C.M.I., St. Stan’s parochial vicar, who recruited and trained these three girls and two boys as lectors.

He began this program several years ago to show parish teens they’re valued members of the community, help them stay connected to Church and show them how to use their gifts in service to God and others.

Today, St. Stan’s Junior Lector Program has 21 young adult Ministers of the Word who regularly read at daily and weekend Masses, making this “one of the most successful programs at the parish,” according to Father Palackal. Youth have also infused new life into this vital parish ministry, previously served by adults whose average age was about 65.

“Now the average age of lectors is about 20,” Father Palackal said, noting that longtime lectors have welcomed the younger faces, as have parishioners. “People enjoy seeing the young lectors. It gives them hope for the future,” he said.

Father Palackal finds new candidates for this ministry when he visits St. Stan’s eighth-grade Confirmation class each fall. He explains what a lector is and does, and then asks students to consider whether or not they feel a calling to this ministry. Those who do embark with Father Palackal on what he describes as “a seven-week training program during which we read the Bible, have voice training and go over the duties of being a lector.”

Lessons take place over seven Mondays for 45 minutes after school in the rectory and church. Dominik Medrzycki enjoyed the first two weeks during which he learned more about the arrangement of and readings from the 66 books comprising the Old and New Testaments. He discovered that “The Bible is a pretty cool book. You think you know the story – Jesus suffered and died for us, but then there’s so much more.” He developed a new appreciation for the Old Testament, particularly passages about the Israelites’ struggle in the desert.

As Father Palackal prepares students to speak before the congregation, he imparts his number one rule for success, “Don’t read the text. Read the meaning of the text.”

That’s what Cady Bihun keeps in mind as she approaches the lectern. “When people read in church, it looks so easy but it’s a lot harder than it looks,” she said. While lectoring is a challenge, she’s determined to stick with it because, she says, she wants “to be an active member of my Church, to improve my relationship with God and set an example for younger kids in the parish.”

Students put their speaking skills into practice and worked on the ministry’s technical aspects during weekday morning Masses “so they would work up enough confidence to eventually read at weekend Masses,” Father Palackal said.

“He taught us we can’t be soft spoken,” Mlynarczyk said. “We have to speak in different tones. We need to speak loudly and enunciate correctly.”

“We have to pause for periods, colons and semicolons, too. Trying to remember all of the steps is hard,” Travis Verbil added.

“We have to remember so much,” Tara Ivers said. “We have to speak slowly, enunciate the words and speak loud enough for everyone to hear.”

Fear almost kept Ivers from joining this ministry. “I was really afraid because I stutter a lot and I want to get over that. I’m learning,” she said, looking over at Father Palackal.

He acknowledged the “courageous step” she takes every time she serves. He offers encouragement to all young lectors who volunteer for this ministry, not in response to his invitation, but in response to a deeper call they feel to serve others.

While students may initially sign up to fulfill their service requirement for Confirmation or boost their speaking ability, Father Palackal said nearly 90% continue this ministry in high school and college.

Nineteen-year-old junior lector Jaclyn Verbil, whose brother Travis is among the new lectors, has served 8 a.m. Mass at least one Sunday every month for almost five years. A freshman at St. Joseph’s College, Clinton Hill, Verbil says she joined this ministry because “I always wanted to help out at church... to be involved rather than be a spectator.

“Initially, I was scared but the people are so welcoming. They like seeing young faces. And if you make a little blunder, it’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes,” she said.