Lloyd and I are on the altar guild. (We wanted to be on the wizards’ guild, but apparently our church doesn’t have one.) We set up about once a month, and while it’s not hard at all, there are some differences between 8:30 service and 11:00 service, and usually enough weeks have gone by between doing them that I forget something or other. It’s a little embarrassing.
This past Sunday we hemmed and hawed over how many trays to set up. It was a holiday weekend (need fewer?) but Concordia is back in session (need more?). We wound up making less, and as I looked around at the full church, I hightailed it downstairs and met one of the pastors who came down to retrieve something I had forgotten. (Dang it.) I asked if I should make more trays and he said, “Yep.”
After church I apologized to the pastors and then said I’d like to make a chart so I don’t forget things again. (Apparently there is a chart, but it’s in a closet and is outdated.) I asked how they’d prefer things set up, then set it up and took some photos.
So! If you’d like to be on the altar guild at St. John (remember, it’s not the wizards’ guild), here are some handy-dandy diagrams!
Brad says
Isn’t there a churchy Latin word for gluten-free wafers? I think there should be.
Lauren says
Hee hee! I worked on labeling those pictures while driving to the state fair, and I was pretty sure I was spelling everything wrong or maybe just making up words. “The pitcher’s called a flagon, right? Right?”
Beth says
The asymmetry is more than I can bear. I can never be a wizard…
Lauren says
Ha! I was making it symmetrical, too, but the asked that the flagons be to the right of the chalices so pouring is easier. There is a cloth that is laid under all the stuff and I’ve thought about marking it with circles.
Peggy says
Ha! I feel your pain. It’s mainly the green circle for me.
Good job on the new maps Lauren!
Rachel says
Maybe someone should put near your charts a list of attendances from the previous year for certain Sundays like labor day weekend, CUNE graduation Sunday, confirmation, etc.. That way, you would have some point of reference for a nonconforming Sunday. Maybe?
Rachel says
BTW -- your little green circle on the diagram and the tray for 4 gluten free wafers in the picture don’t match up. Sorry the OCD thing is kicking in this afternoon.
Rachel says
And one final question: is the extra bottle of wine at the top of the stairs ALWAYS there or just during communion? I might have found my new favorite place to hide from the world. 🙂
Deborah says
No one else was thinking that, Rachel. 🙂
Lauren says
Thank you, future altar guild members. By commenting you have agreed to be on the rotation!
To answer any questions you may have posed:
Dad, in response to your email, we have a glass of alcohol-free wine in the center of each tray. To everyone else, when communion is over, we pour our the wine from the chalices on the ground, but I drink the little non-alcoholic ones. Lloyd has pointed out that I could drink the chalices, too, but let’s not go there.
The pastors don’t use the plates (patten) anymore for bigger services -- they serve right from the host box. Fun fact: There is always a sleeve of wafers on a little shelf in the altar. People have been known to forget to fill the boxes.
Brad, if it were up to me, the gluten-free wafers would be called ‘rice crackers from Wal*Mart’. It’s a good thing I don’t re-order stuff, or that’s what they would be.
The green circle is on just one side, and I’m sorry. The irony is that there are all kinds of warnings about ‘don’t cross-contaminate the wafers!’ because a few people are gluten intolerant, but several times I have put away the wafers and they are all jumbled together. Way to go, guys.
The photos were what I was going to originally use, but I made a chart instead. The pastors were not super-clear about exact positioning of the little plate.
Sadly, the wine does not live at the top of the stairs, but here’s a fun fact: On Sunday, after I walked the extra trays up with the pastor, I went back down for a more-full extra bottle of wine. (The one I had left up there only had about 1/4 left. Unfortunately, the other pastor was doing some praying, so I was crouched on the fourth step from the top that whole time, crampin’ up. Did you see the top of my head, Deborah?
Brad says
Ricerus crackerum Walmartio sounds sort of Latiny doesn’t it? Or does it sound more like a Harry Potter spell? Maybe something simpler, like gutenae absum. Nope, still sounds like Harry Potter.
Deborah says
I couldn’t see very well because of my trifocals. I thought it was some sort of critter.
Peggy says
Haha!