ALTAR DUTIES
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Altar Duties

ALTAR DUTIES

PURPOSE:  General care and preparation of the altar for worship services.

INTRODUCTION:   By your participation in these altar duties, you offer a needed and valuable contribution to the worship services of our church.  Just as people make their homes as beautiful as possible for their loved ones, so we, loving God above all things, want to make His house and our worship of Him even more beautiful than our private homes.  Whatever we do in humble and adoring faith to achieve this end is a distinct service of love. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:  

  1. Set up and clean up of communion on Sundays and for special communion services during the year. 
  2. If needed, place flowers or plants on altar or plant stands.  No potted plants are to be used on the altar, only on the plant stands.

CARE AND PLACEMENT OF THE ALTAR PARAMENTS:

  1. The colored paraments are located on the hangars in the right hand side of the closet in the sacristy (the room behind the altar).
  2. Check the colored calendar or chart in the sacristy or the church office to determine the proper color for use on any given Sunday. 
  3. The colored paraments are to be dry cleaned only.  The other altar and communion linens may be laundered as needed.

COMMUNION WARE CARE AND PREPARATION:

  1. The purchase of the communion wafers and wine is the responsibility of the Board of Elders.  Contact the church office (Annette) if you notice supplies are getting low.  Specifically, let Annette know when there are only 5 sleeves of wafers remaining. 
  2. All handling of the communion ware and all polished brassware should be done with the white cloth gloves located in the drawer under the left side of the counter in the sacristy
  3. The items of communion ware: 
    1. Individual cup trays (each holding 40 glasses), three trays are to be filled for each service.  Fill the individual cups  Ύ full using the filling adaptor provided. 
    2. Chalice (common cup) is used by the assisting elders and Pastor at the 8am and 11am services.  Do NOT pre-fill the chalice as the wine corrodes the brass.
    3. Glass cruet is filled 1/3 full of wine and used by the pastor to fill the chalice at the 8am and 11am services when the common cup is offered. 
    4. Host box with lid to contain the wafers.  Silver wafer box for extra wafers needs to be used only on special occasions when one might expect an unusually large crowd at one communion service.
    5. Paten – brass dish from which the wafers are distributed.  It is placed on top of the chalice. 
    6. Corporal – a 20” X 20” white linen, which is placed over the fair linen that covers the altar.  The communion ware is placed on this in the center of the altar.
    7. Communion veil – this is placed over all the communion vessels with the stitched cross facing the front of the altar. 
  1. The communion trays and host box may be prepared as far in advance as even Friday or Saturday.  If you decide to do this, you may put it out on the altar if there will be communion at the 8am Sunday service (first, please make sure there won’t be any event being held in the sanctuary in the meantime). If you are preparing early for the 9:30 service, it should not be placed on the altar until after the 8am service is finished.   Whether preparing before Sunday or on Sunday, please make sure it is placed on the altar at least ½ hour before the service begins.  Fill the individual cups Ύ full, using the filling adapter provided. 
  2. For the 9:30 communion services, please place the two baskets (with linen napkins in them) out on the two wooden stands for people to put their used cups in; do not fill the glass cruet, and do not place the chalice on the altar.
  3. Using the diagram that follows, place communion ware on the altar. 

DIAGRAM FOR PROPER PLACEMENT ON ALTAR

CLEAN-UP AFTER COMMUNION: 

  1. Write the communion count (empty glasses) for each service in the appropriate space on the chart on the side of the closet next to the sink.  Each of the trays contains 40 cups.  For common cup count (8am and 11am services), ask the pastor, or count yourself during distribution. 
  2. Take the chalice with the blessed wine in it outside and empty it into the grass or dirt.  It may NOT be poured down the drain.  After emptied, rinse with water and dry it well.
  3. Empty all the full cups back into the wine bottle from which they were poured, using the funnel found under the sink.
  4. Collect all the cups and wash them in one of the square plastic tubs found under the sink.  Add a small amount of Clorox to the water.  Dry the cups well and replace them in the trays.
  5. Empty the glass cruet back into the wine bottle it came from, rinse it out, and dry it well.  You can leave the top off so the inside will dry when you place it back in the cupboard.
  6. Place all of the remaining wafers back in the Ziploc bag.  Please make sure you leave Annette a note when there are only five sleeves of wafers remaining.
  7. Place all of the clean, dry communion ware items into the fabric bags found in the cupboard.
  8. Put everything away, wipe off counters, and take all towels used in cleaning the communion glasses and trays home to wash and return the same week so they will be available for use next Sunday.
  9. Check the coporal, communion veil, and cloth handkerchiefs for wine spots and general grime.  If you think they need to be washed, please take them home and also return that week. 

Revised January 2001

2002 ALTAR GUILD VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE

MONTH

VOLUNTEERS

PHONE NUMBERS

 

JANUARY

1.        Shirley Mortensen

2.        Bert Maki

3.        Carol Miller

1.       682-6612

2.       682-1598

3.       682-1398

 

FEBRUARY

1.        Ruth Thompson

2.        Sharla Ulrich

3.        Heidi  Kent

1.       686-0641

2.       682-0580

3.       682-6882

 

MARCH

      1.     Betty Stroup

2.        Sheri Murray

3.        Angela Wasson

      1     682-0959

2.       686-0518

3.       682-3807

 

APRIL

1.        Jan Scott

2.        Cheryl Eckard

3.        Lorinda Steele

1.       682-4027

2.       682-5350

3.       682-7449

 

MAY

1.        Jean Rindels

2.        Debbie Hopp

3.        Lisa Rexin

1.       686-0171

2.       686-7368

3.       685-6614

 

                 JUNE

      1.    Lavonne Eveland

2.       Lisa Scheetz

3.    Karrie Lutkin

      1.   686-5672

2.      685-6550

3.      682-2814

 

JULY

1.        Kenda Ford

2.        Nicole Allee

3.        Martha Tanner

1.       686-7003

2.       682-2507

3.       682-7487

 

AUGUST

1.        Kathy Rebich

2.        Carol Shepherd

3.        Lucinda Westre

1.       682-7482

2.       686-1327

3.       682-3823

 

SEPTEMBER

      1.    Cheryl Eckard

2.        Debbie Hopp

3.        Holly Ailts
  1.  682-5350

2.   686-7368

3.   686-2570

 

OCTOBER

1.        Jean Rindels

2.        Nancy Stolpe

3.        Sandy Anderson

1.       686-0171

2.       685-3310

3.       682-3571

 

NOVEMBER

1.        Donna Lund

2.        Linda Randen

       3.   Kenda Ford  

1.       682-8105

2.       682-8703

3.       686-7003

 

DECEMBER

1.        Kathy Rebich

2.        Suzanne Wollman

3.         

1.       682-7482

2.       686-7500

3.

Courtney Firminhac is willing to fill in if needed – 686-1973