Altar Guild

Offering worship is a fundamental mission of a church community. The Altar Guild’s purpose is to get the sanctuary ready for worship and to cleanup afterwards.

At St. Stephen’s Eucharist is offered weekly, except for the 4th Sunday of the month. In order to hold a Eucharist, the congregation depends on a few individuals to set up for the Eucharist.

The coloured hangings represent special days and seasons and add a visual dimension to our worship. The Altar Guild changes the hangings. The care taken in setting up and maintaining the things we use in our worship, contributes to our worship.

For special days or seasons, they decorate the sanctuary. At Christmas time, volunteers decorate the nave or the main body of the worship space.

The Altar Guild sets up for Eucharist, Baptism, weddings, and funerals, and cleans up afterwards. Cleaning up includes washing linens and keeping the brass followers on the candles free of a wax buildup. They obtain necessary supplies such as candles, hosts, wine, and palm branches.

Generally, Altar Guild work is a weekly task, and it takes about an hour once a week. People can do the work on their own schedule. In the preparation for Christmas and Easter, some extra time will be needed. Instead of a weekly commitment, people may take on a specific task such as cleaning the linens.

An Altar Guild Manual has been developed for St. Stephen’s that describes how to do various tasks, and it is updated as our practices change.

If interested in joining the Altar Guild, contact the Pastor.