Latest News Giving thanks for our Altar Servers Altar servers and their families from across the Archdiocese gathered on Saturday 1 October 2022 for the Guild of St Stephen Annual Mass of Thanksgiving. Rt Revd Bishop David Evans celebrated the Mass and servers came from all parts of the diocese, some with priests and deacons from their parish as well as family and parishioners, to renew their commitment to the Guild. Mass Booklet In his homily, Bishop David said: "...We are also here not only to gaze on God, but to receive. To receive from him the love and blessings which only he can give us, and which are the fulfilment of our human lives. "This is the mystery that we serve when we serve Mass. We don't simply perform certain actions but we enable the presence of God to become real in the lives of all those who are there in church." Read full homily Watch homily: The Guild of St Stephen is an International Organisation of Altar Servers founded in England in 1904 by Father Hamilton McDonald when he formed a Society of Altar Servers at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in London. The objectives of the Guild: To encourage, positively and practically, the highest standards of serving at the Church's liturgy and so contribute to the whole community's participation in a more fruitful worship of God. To provide altar servers with a greater understanding of what they are doing so that they may serve with increasing reverence and prayerfulness and thereby be led to a deepening response to their vocation in life. To unite servers of different parishes and dioceses for their mutual support and encouragement. The Archdiocese of Birmingham Guild of St Stephen is administered by the Diocesan Vocations Office. Guild of St Stephen in Birmingham Archdiocese Photo Gallery Manage Cookie Preferences