Music:

Cantors have the very important ministry of leading our congregation in song at most weekend Masses. From the sheer number of Masses at St. Mary’s, more cantors are always needed. This is a rewarding ministry for anyone gifted by our Lord with a singing voice and the need to sing God’s praises. If you are interested in this ministry, please contact LeAnn Wiederholt (St. Mary’s HS, 786-1433, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Training is available. High school students are welcomed and encouraged to be cantors.

Organists/pianists/guitarists/instrumentalists are the second “pillar” of our music ministry – along with cantors – in that they are needed at nearly every weekend Mass. If you have been gifted with the ability and opportunity to play an instrument, perhaps you’d consider accompanying our cantors. Our organ is a rare instrument – one of the few remaining “pneumatic-action” organs in the United States and an instrument worthy of our historic and artistic church. To join this ministry, please contact LeAnn Wiederholt (St. Mary’s HS, 786-1433, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). High school students are welcomed and encouraged to be instrumentalists.

THEE Choir…the Twisted Halos, Evangelically Empowered…or “Twisted Haloes” for short, has been our contemporary adult choir in the parish since 1998, founded by director Wendy Wavernack Roder. THEE Choir currently includes electric guitar, drums, flute, and piano, but would love to consider other instrumentalists. THEE sings at Masses approximately every other weekend during the academic year and has performed Christmas cantatas. The choir sings in four-part harmony, yet includes those who cannot read sheet music...as our t-shirts say, “If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can SING!” THEE Choir is often called upon to sing at special Masses while in-season. You should feel very welcome to join this fun-loving and talented group, which consists of about 20 men and women. High school students are welcome to join and can achieve service hours toward their Confirmation requirements. To join, please contact director Wendy Roder (786-2015, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Practices are Wednesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 at the St. Mary’s High School music room (west-side entrance). Attire is normal church clothing with red, white and/or black colors. Gentlemen wear white shirts and black trousers. Mission statement: “To promote a sense of community through the ministry of music.”

Angels of God Choir (for children) sings at several Saturday evening Masses during the school year. This is a great opportunity for students to serve their parish, while praising enthusiastically in song. Practices are held on most Fridays at 3:45 in the St. Mary’s Grade School music room. Children from grades 2 and up are welcomed to join. For more information, please contact director Cari Higgins ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 786-2744).

Our Everlasting Choir sings at funeral Masses whenever requested by the family of the deceased. This is a vital ministry of consolation for parish families in their loss. Masses of Resurrection occur during the work week, normally beginning at 10:30. The choir consists of men and women and sings in unison, normally accompanied on the organ by Patrice Bottjen. Members are informed by phone or email whenever a family requests the assistance of the Everlasting Choir. Please contact Patrice Bottjen for information or to join this ministry ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , C- 712-540-7938, H- 786-1464).

Oktoberfest Men’s Choir consists of about 20 men and several instrumentalists (brass, drums, and accordion desired) who participate in St. Mary’s polka Masses in the fall of the year. This is in keeping with the German and Luxembourger background of our congregation. The men dress up in white shirts, red Oktoberfest vest, and black trousers; vests can be found or made for new members. Songs are sung in unison (choir does not harmonize). In the past this choir has traveled a bit for communities that want to offer a polka Mass. For more information or to join, contact LeAnn Wiederholt (St. Mary’s HS, 786-1433, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Regular “gigs” include:

v Oktoberfest (last Saturday in October): this is the Remsen community’s big annual festival, featuring German/Luxembourger/American food, polka bands and dancing, craft fair, and other attractions. The Men’s Choir assists at 10:00 Mass the day after Oktoberfest, and performs at the Happy Siesta nursing home immediately after the Mass. Click here to link to the Oktoberfest page at RemsenIowa.net.

v On the Sunday morning before Oktoberfest, the choir sings at 7:30 Mass at St. Mary’s, 9:00 service at St. Paul’s Lutheran, and about 10:30 – after services – at Christ Lutheran.

v St. Mary’s Parish Auction (second Sunday of August): choir sings at 10:00 a.m. Mass.

Prayer Opportunities

Liturgy of the Hours (often known as the "breviary") is prayed every Monday morning in the church at 7:45 a.m. This is the church's official response to the Lord's command to "pray always." Lauds (Morning Prayer) is a great way to begin the week. Lauds and sometimes Vespers (Evening Prayer) are also offered during the holy seasons of Advent, Lent, the Easter Triduum, and at other times in the liturgical life of the parish. Included within Lauds every Monday are special prayers for the needs of our parish.

St. Mary’s Prayer Chain consists of parishioners (presently about 50) who join in prayer for any intentions submitted to them. Members are contacted via a phone tree or email with the requests of those in need. Each member then prays in his or her own way for the intention. Those who wish to submit intentions (names are welcome but not required) or to join the Prayer Chain are invited to contact Prayer Chain leaders Jeanette Koch (786-1473), Ann Beck (786-2221), or Rick Roder ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Parish prayer cards with specific prayers for the suffering of the parish – and featuring artistic aspects of St. Mary’s Church – are available from Rick Roder upon request.

Eucharistic Adoration is available every Friday following 7:45 a.m. Mass and until 4:00 p.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a life-changing type of prayer. We believe that in Eucharistic Adoration, Jesus Christ is present in body, blood, soul and divinity to those who come to be present to Him in return. Pray-ers taking advantage of this opportunity can do some sacred reading, recite prayers such as the rosary, or perhaps just sit silently in the presence of our Lord, surrounded by the majesty of St. Mary’s Church. Arrangements are made to have someone present at all times during the adoration. If you would like to be included on the official list for adoration, we invite you to contact Clarice Schmit (786-2520).

Our Prayer Writing Team writes the Call to Worship and Prayers of the Faithful for all weekend Masses. This is an awesome opportunity to actively participate in the prayer life of our congregation, and leads to a dramatic increase in attention to prayers at Mass. Team writers ponder and pray about ideas for meaningful prayers, write them down, and submit to Fr. Bill for review and to Julie Brazil for preparation. We currently are in need of Prayer Writers to assist Fr. Bill, who writes the prayers for weekends when we have no volunteers. If you would like to join the team, contact Julie Brazil (786-3261, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Ideally, we would like to have at least five Prayer Writers so that each writer is responsible for only one weekend per month.

The Rosary is prayed beginning about 20 minutes before most every Mass held at St. Mary’s Church. If you are interested in joining those who lead the rosary, please contact Norma Tentinger (786-1581).

Ushers/Greeters/Funeral Greeters are the front line of our parish’s ministry of fellowship and hospitality. Six ushers are needed for every weekend Mass. For more information or to join this ministry, please contact the rectory (786-1437).

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have the obviously important ministry of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ in Mass. Certain EMHCs also take Communion to residents of the nursing home and to shut-ins at their homes. One St. Mary’s EMHC, Mike Klein, has the distinction of participating in this ministry since its implementation over 30 years ago! His longevity is great, but also indicates the need we have for new members in this vital role. This is one way of fulfilling the invocation of Christ, “I was sick and you visited me.” Training is required. For more information, please contact the rectory (786-1437).

Lectors proclaim the living Word of God at Mass. They read the first and second readings and the prayers of the faithful. This ministry takes a special degree of prayerful preparation. It is a joyful way to live out your love of scripture and a unique way to deepen its impact in your life. We have a very gifted group of lectors who would love to welcome new members. For more information, contact Rick Roder (786-2015, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Gift Bearers carry the bread and wine to the priest during the presentation of the gifts in the Mass. One family is assigned this important task at each Mass. If you would like your family to have the honor and blessing of presenting the bread and wine for consecration, please contact the rectory (786-1437). Your Mass preference will be noted and you will then be scheduled in. Assignments for this ministry are noted in the parish bulletin.

Mass servers have the very distinct honor to assist Father in the Mass processions and at the presider’s chair and altar. Many a seed for a vocation to the priesthood or religious life was planted in the ministry of acolyte. One of the blessings of this ministry and a fruit of our Catholic Pre K to 12 school system is that we have servers for daily Mass. For daily communicants, this is a profound reminder of the bright future of our parish. All parish children who attend St. Mary’s or Religious Education will be informed of the opportunity to become servers and training begins in the fifth grade. More information is available by contacting the rectory or Rick Roder ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 786-2015).

Sacristans have the largely “invisible” job of assisting the priest with preparation of altar items before Mass and purifying the sacred vessels after Mass. Many parishioners probably do not even realize that this ministry exists! Thus this may be an attractive ministry if you need to give without apparent reward. It is also a great way to learn about everything that is necessary to feed the faithful with the Body and Blood of Christ. For more information on this ministry, please contact the rectory (786-1437).

The Liturgy Committee consists of music and prayer leaders (from areas mentioned above) along with Father Bill. The Liturgy committee meets each church season (i.e. Advent, Lent, ordinary time, Easter) and discusses how the parish would best benefit from hymns selected and prayers read.  The Liturgy Committee is always looking for new and creative ways to make the liturgy at St. Mary's more prayerful and welcoming, and invites suggestions and help in carrying out these ideas. If you would like to become involved in these central and obviously important duties, please contact LeAnn Wiederholt (St. Mary’s HS, 786-1433, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Father Bill (786-1437, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Ave Maria is a rather informal group that keeps an eye out for ways to honor our Blessed Virgin Mary, patroness of our parish. For example, Ave Maria decorates Our Lady of Luxembourg or other images of Mary in the church on her feast days and oversees the annual outdoor Grotto Mass and Assumption procession on August 15. This is a great way to give love back to Our Lady, who showers the Trinity with prayers on our behalf. Contact Rick Roder (786-2015; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for more information.