THE ALTAR GUILD
The Altar Guild is seen as somewhat as a mystery – what do they do!! Our raison d’ etre as written on the front of our manual reads:
The duty of the Altar guild members is to prepare all the things necessary for the celebration of the Eucharist for regular and special holy day services. They care for the sacred vessels, the bread and the wine, the linens and they beautify the church with candles and flowers. They also prepare the church for baptisms, weddings, celebration of life services and funerals.
We have 4 teams and so we are on duty once every 4 weeks from Saturday to the next Friday. This entails being at the church at 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning for about an hour to set up for the Sunday service and clean up on Sundays after the service. One member of the team on duty takes any linens that require laundering home. Sometimes there are extra duties if there is a special service, e.g., memorial service, baptism, extra services at Christmas and Easter. Usually there is flexibility around being on duty at these extra services and members volunteer from other teams if required.
Serving on the Altar Guild is a little different from other volunteer activities in the church because there are certain procedures that have to be followed in order to allow Jonathan to celebrate the Eucharist. In the past this has made some people hesitant to join because they are a bit intimidated and think they might make mistakes. I can assure you that there is plenty of time to learn and plenty of support and advice given from other members of the Altar Guild.
We welcome new members and would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
For more information, please contact the Church Office at office@stchristopherswestvan.org or 604 922 5323.