GUIDE FOR ALTAR
GUILD
Thank
you for volunteering to be a member of the Altar Guild!
As the Altar Guild, you are
contributing to the mission of
1)
Prepare
the elements and appointments for Holy Communion;
2)
Prepare
the elements and appointments
for Holy Baptism;
3)
Maintain
and install the paraments and appointments for
worship.
The
checklist below applies for both the 8:30 and the 11:15 worship services on
Sunday. For the 10:00 worship service on
Sunday, the 8:30 team cleans up after the 8:30 service, prepares the elements
for 10:00, and stages the elements for 11:15 on the credence table. The 11:15 altar guild person prepares the prestaged elements and places them for the 11:15
service. See SPECIAL
INSTRUCTIONS FOR 10:00 AM SERVICE.
Altar
Guild leadership coordinates setting up paraments
during the week, and prepares communion elements for the 12:30 PM Wednesday
service.
During
the week prior to Worship Service:
¨
Pray for
strength and diligence from the Holy Spirit.
¨
Check the Newsletter and the
preceding Sunday bulletin to learn of any special events occurring on your
Sunday or the week following it that may require Altar Guild support.
¨
Check with Debbie Carlson or
Kathleen Howard to see if your help is needed during the week to set up paraments (Kathleen normally does this each week).
¨
Check
with Vicki or Pastors at the Church Office on Thursday or Friday to see if
there are any special events or instructions for the coming week. Double check the color of the paraments for the season or festival. Ideally, stop by and get an advanced copy of
the bulletin!
¨
As
necessary, ensure that all paraments, linens, and
appointments are cleaned, in-place, and ready for service on Sunday. Paraments are kept
in the altar guild closet. Ensure the
altar always has an altar cloth and a corporal (white linen
square about 2 feet square) on it, along with two candles filled ¾ full
of oil, the missal stand, and paraments for the
season.
Before
the Worship Service:
¨
Arrive 30 minutes before worship
begins.
¨
Wear your name-tag.
¨
Record your presence on the list of
volunteers for the day.
¨
Check-in with the Council Person of
the Day for special instructions.
¨
Check to see if we have a
Baptism. If so, implement the Set Up for Baptism plan.
¨
Check the Christ candle, to make
sure it is filled with oil.
¨
Check to see if processional
torches are used, if so, fill them with oil.
¨
Check
altar. Make sure each candle is filled
with oil (lamp oil is in the cabinet on the back side of the altar). Check candle wicks to make sure they are
easily lighted. Check to see that Missal
stand (book stand) has order for worship open to the service for
communion. Make sure chalice, paten,
pall are in place under the veil. Get
two purificators (napkins) and two rice crackers from
the narthex credenza drawer, and place them on the paten under the pall. Use the silver service except during Lent
when we use the earthenware set. See
diagram below: 
¨
Place a
second chalice on the altar next to the one covered by the veil.
¨
Ensure
the communion elements for presentation have been staged in the credenza on the
choir side of the narthex, and the ushers know where they are, and to bring
them forward to the altar with the offering.
¨
Ensure
that 7 communion trays filled with individual glasses of red wine and white
grape juice, and the tray for receiving empty individual
glasses, are staged on the credence table. Communion trays are filled by the 8:30 team
before the 8:30 service, and then refilled again by the same team after the 8:30
service; trays are cleaned after the 11:15 service by the 11:15 team.
¨ Before the
Communion Service (8:30 team does both services):
·
Get two
loaves of bread (pita bread for Lent) and slice one ¾ way through (for Pastors
to break ceremonially), and slice the other in half (unless you find a
half-loaf leftover from last service).
Place a large white linen napkin on each of two silver trays (earthen
for Lent) and place the one sliced loaf on one, and
the other half loaf on the second. This
second tray with half-loaf is a reserve to be placed on the credence table in
case we need more than one loaf.
·
Fill the
silver flagon (earthen for Lent) ¾ full of red wine (found in Altar Guild
cabinet in the kitchen or in the refrigerator in the church office).
·
Fill 7
trays of individual communion cups with red wine in all but the center ring;
put white grape juice in the center ring of each tray. For the 11:15 service, fill 5 extra glasses
with grape juice for each tray, and place them on the next ring out from the
center -– more folks receive grape juice at the second service.
·
Stack the
trays, top them with the silver cover (cross on top), and place them on the
credence table behind the altar along with the spare loaf, the receiving tray,
and a couple extra purificators.
During
the Worship Service:
¨
Participate in worship. Be attentive to any direction from the
Pastors during the service. Watch out
for candles running out of oil, or anything else that might go wrong.
¨
After the Words of Institution for
communion, come up with the other Communion Assistants and the Assisting
Minister for the first table to receive communion. After communing, proceed to the credence
table and give out trays to the communion assistants.
¨
As communion progresses, exchange
full trays for almost empty trays with the communion assistants, and
redistribute individual cups as necessary to make nearly full trays.
¨
During communion, pay attention to
how much bread the Pastors have left, and give them the spare loaf if needed.
¨
Clean up any spills of bread or
wine not noticed by the communion assistants.
¨
After communion, take the trays
back from the communion assistants, restack and cover them on the credence
table. Take back one chalice, put it on
the credence table, and cover it with a purificator.
¨
Get the
tray of empty individual glasses from the acolyte and place it on the credence
table. Prayer, join the rest of the Communion Distribution
Team at the altar rail for the first table.
¨
Return to your pew.
After
the Service:
¨
Take empty
individual glass communion trays and the tray of all the empty glasses into the
kitchen.
¨
Take the
flagon, chalices, and bread trays back to the kitchen.
¨
During
clean-up of the elements, it is required that they be treated with dignity, and
not simply washed down the drain or thrown in the trash.
¨
Clean the
empty individual glasses by placing them in a colander, and placing the
colander in the large blue plastic bowl.
Slowly run water over each individual glass to rinse it, capturing the
water without letting it run into the sink.
¨
Place the
cleaned individual classes into a separate trash bag, and dispose of the trash
bag in the trash.
¨
Pour
left-over wine in the chalices out into the garden. Rinse each chalice into the same blue plastic
bowl of water and wine; dry each chalice with a purificator. Wash each chalice with soap and hot water,
and dry thoroughly with a towel.
¨
Carefully
take the bowl of water and wine outside and pour it in the garden.
¨
Leftover
bread may be eaten, or taken home and fed to birds. DO NOT throw the consecrated bread in the
trash.
¨
If there
is a whole half-loaf left, wrap it up in its plastic bag and place in office
refrigerator, or set it up for the next service, as appropriate.
¨
For 8:30
Team: After cleaning up, reset the altar
for 11:15 communion following the steps for Before the
Communion Service.
¨
For 11:15
Team:
·
Place all
unused wine back in the bottle, and place the bottle in the office
refrigerator.
·
Take all
extra bread home for consumption, or bird feeding. You may also spread it in the garden for
church birds to eat.
·
Leave all
soiled linens wrapped neatly in the kitchen for Kathleen Howard to pick up and
clean. If you ever take home any linens,
please ensure you return them washed and ironed prior to the following Sunday!
·
Clean and
dry all appointments (chalices, flagons, patens, etc) and return them to their
protective coverings in the narthex credenza.
·
Refill
candles with oil.
·
Look over
the altar, chancel, and the whole sanctuary to make sure everything is neat and
orderly before leaving.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR 10:00 AM
SERVICE:
8:30
TEAM – ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH ONLY -- Immediately after the 8:30
service, clean up after worship as described above, with priority to setting up
for the 10:00 AM service. You only have
about 20 minutes, so time is critical!
- As soon as you have removed the used elements from
the altar, fill two matching earthen chalices ½ full of red wine.
- Place one chalice on the altar under the paten and
veil as described in “Before the Worship Service” above. Place the second filled chalice next to
the first, but outside the veil.
Cover the second chalice with a napkin.
- Place one loaf of partially sliced-through
communion bread (or pita) on a white napkin and place on a silver tray
behind the chalices (closer to where the Pastors would stand).
- Place three clean purificators
on the altar.
- Continue setting up the 11:15 elements as described
in “Before the Worship Service” above.
If time permits (if the 10:00 service has not yet started), stage
the refilled 11:00 trays on the credence table behind the altar.
- Clean the silver chalices from 8:30 and stage on
the credence table with the trays.
- Fill the earthenware flagon 1/3 full of red wine;
place the appropriate bread partially sliced on the earthenware plate
covered with napkin; and stage both in the credenza for ushers to bring
forward.
- Also stage the 11:15 bread and silver flagon of red
wine in the credenza as normal.
ON
OTHER THAN THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH, we do not have communion at 10:00, so
just prepare and set up the 11:15 communion table.
11:15
TEAM -- Time is critical for you too!
You must be there as soon as the 10:00 AM service is over in order to
set up for 11:15.
- As soon as the 10:00 AM service ends, remove the
used earthen chalices and remnants of bread from the altar. Stage in the kitchen for clean-up.
- Replace the earthen chalices with the two cleaned
silver chalices from the 8:30 service.
- Place three clean purificators
on the altar.
- Check to make sure the 11:15 trays have been
refilled and are on the credence table, and that
the 11:15 elements are staged in the credenza.
- Once all is set, clean up the two earthen chalices
and left-over communion bread.
- Clean up after the 11:15 service as usual.
Rejoice! You have served well. Thank you!
Special
instructions for Altar Guild Coordinator: It is important
that the altar guild, like all other worship service volunteers, be contacted
prior to each month of scheduled service to arrange specific dates to serve
once during the assigned month. Names
should be provided to the Eric & Debbie Carlson before the first Sunday of
the month prior to service, so that they can be included in the worship
assistant clipboard and the monthly Newsletter and the Sunday bulletins. (The Newsletter deadline is the 15th
of the preceding month, and the bulletin deadline is Wednesday of each
week.) If there is an unexpected late
change, or the names are not in the bulletin, the Council representative assigned
for each service (the “Council Person-of-the-Day”) needs to be notified as to
who will be the altar guild team.
- Wheel the
font in front of the chancel.
- Put ½
gallon of warm water in the Baptismal font (big shell).
- Place the
Christ candle to the piano side of the font.
- Remind
Pastors to place a baptismal candle and a baptismal napkin for each one to
be baptized on the altar near the missal stand.