I think it was a bad idea from the beginning. That said, I have heard of one pastor who uses it to "recruit" girls for the religious life. The boy and girl altar servers have separate retreats and events, and the girls are encouraged to think about becoming nuns or sisters, while the boys are encouraged to think about the priesthood.
That said, I don't think they can be stopped until the real bane of everybody's existence, the hebes (cupbearers, that is, the little old ladies who "distribute" Communion every three feet down the aisle of the church) are done away with. There's no need for them.
Interestingly, it sounds in the case of your church as if they must give Communion the old style.
Livius, my friend!
Thanks for reminding me of something I've tried to block in my mind, not always successfully, especially since I've gradually come to realize that maybe as many as 30% to 40% of the youngest members often show signs of a chemical dependency, to put it politely!
Thus, what you say is Only too true...
Dennis
Actually, per capita, more female religous come from parishes that have no altar girls.
I like the idea of separate retreats and encouraging the girls to be nuns. That would get rid of some girls, pronto!
Somehow the retreats encouraging boys to become priests does not seem to threatening to boys.