Each Sunday morning I arrive at the local public high school nearly two hours before our first Mass is to begin. I am the first of several set-up teams that busily transform the common area into a worshiping space.

Since Blessed John XXIII Parish was established in 2005, we have been using the high school for Sunday morning Masses. Although everyone will be happy when we have our own building and don't have to cart everything into the school, the weekly ritual has become an exercise in preparation and participation, one that speaks of the way the entire parish comes together each Sunday.

By the time I enter the building, the school custodians have already assembled some 600 chairs. They then help me position the altar and ambo. I bring in the eucharistic vessels, books and altar cloths.

Michael, our music director, is next to arrive, bringing the electric keyboard and a suitcase full of music. His challenge is to organize the choir and musicians' chairs before the other instrumentalists appear on the scene. Often Bob, one of our percussionists, will assist Mike.

Ed, Rita and Emilia have the task of putting up the backdrop behind the altar to cover the high school spirit signs. They also place worship aids on all the chairs and do countless other tasks before each Mass begins.

Fred comes in with a van full of sound equipment. Various others help unload the van and follow Fred's lead in setting up speakers, microphones, mixer and more. While this is going on, Mike and the singers are warming up, eager to do a sound check on the sound system.

At about the same time Marla arrives with another van, this one loaded with church bulletins, life-long learning materials, visitor brochures and children's books. Whenever something is needed, people usually turn to Marla, who has it somewhere in her supplies.

Gerri and Karl, in charge of after-Mass refreshments, come in with coffee pots and juice coolers. While they are setting up tables in the rear corner, others bring cookies.

And the work goes on with ushers, greeters and dozens more getting ready for Mass. Miraculously, it always comes together each week just in time for the first Mass. Several hours later after the last Mass everything is taken down and carted away again, often with the help of different members of the parish.

Many times over the last two years I have marveled at this weekly experience. It is preparation for Mass in the most mundane and concrete of ways. Symbolically, however, it speaks of how our parish prepares for and participates in Sunday Mass.

Individuals and families have joined Blessed John XXIII Parish for many different reasons. Most frequently, however, they say they were looking for something more in their parish membership. They want to be part of a weekly liturgy that spiritually feeds and challenges them. For this reason, a full and active participation at the Sunday Mass is cherished.

Participation is based on the principle that the Eucharist is a celebration that belongs to everyone. It is a communal and public prayer that calls for the attention of all who are present. Yet the very term "participation" can be misunderstood.

Shortly after the Second Vatican Council when lay ministries at Mass began to include lectors, cantors and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, many believed this inclusion was what it meant to have "active participation." Those ministries are indeed examples of liturgical participation, but so is the prayerful presence and response of each person actively engaged in the pew.

True participation begins before one arrives at the church or wherever Mass is to be celebrated. It begins when individuals and families read and reflect on the readings at home or in groups during the week. Likewise, learning to focus on the upcoming holy event is an important practice for families as they get ready for church.

Some parents have told me, for example, that there is a greater calm and readiness in their house because teenagers and younger children are actively looking forward to Sunday Mass.

Participation also means there is an awareness of other people. As the community assembles, there has to be a sense of belonging and unity. Mass is all about worshiping God in a communal way.

The most frequent comment from visitors is that our parish is a warm place where people feel part of the assembly, a necessary step for participation.

Sometimes there is a fear that too much participation will lessen the sense of reverence at Mass. As people claim their role in the liturgy, however, a new commitment to the holy is born. This commitment opens itself to a genuine reverence for God and all that comes from God.

Participative liturgy truly allows people to connect with the Lord.

Father Herbert Weber is the founding pastor of Blessed John XXIII Parish in Perrysburg, Ohio