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St. Mary's Altar Guilds The Senior and Junior Altar Guilds at St. Mary's are made up of active, dedicated and talented women of St. Mary's parish. The Guilds' duties include making the church as beautiful and presentable as possible for all services, including worship, weddings, and funerals. This is a warm and caring group of women, who will welcome you into their midst. We serve God and each other by providing a beautiful, sparkling setting for worship services. Senior Altar Guild The Senior Altar Guild was established in the early 19th century to relieve priests of preparing the altar, sanctuary and chancel. St. Mary's Guild has 29 members, 5 substitutes, and two co-directors appointed by the Rector for a two-year term. Only women of the church are members of the guild. Our members complete many tasks to help keep services running smoothly; they drape the altars, pulpit and lectern with the proper paraments for the season or occasion; they provide wine, water and wafers in the correct vessels for the Holy Eucharist; they clean and sterilize vessels after each service and replace candles; and they cover each altar, credence table, lectern and pulpit with protective coverings from one service to another. Duty members (three each month) are also responsible for laundering the soiled altar linens, and for the monthly cleaning of silver and brass. It is the responsibility of the co-directors to order all supplies, supervise the work of the members, and coordinate duties with the Junior Altar Guild. They also train new Altar Guild members in traditional altar and vestment preparation procedures. Junior Altar Guild The Junior Altar Guild was organized in 1955 to assist the Senior Altar Guild. St. Mary's Junior Altar Guild is responsible for arriving Saturday mornings at 10:30 and waiting for the delivery of flowers, usually less than an hour. They clean and prepare communion vessels, and place flowers for both Sunday services; from September through May, they share responsibilities for weddings, baptisms, Christmas, and Easter services with the Senior Altar Guild. Young adult women and girls from grades 7-12 are welcome and encouraged to join the Junior Altar Guild. You learn the colors and seasons of the Church year, the composition of the altar and sacristy, and the vessels used in communion, and preparation of the altar offers a sense of personal fulfillment and active participation behind the scenes in the worship service. |