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Acolytes/Crucifer
Guidelines
The following outline lists the duties
you need to carry out as an acolyte/crucifer. If you would
like to serve as an acolyte, contact Allison Martin.
- Acolytes should make
sure that bulletins and hymnals are available in the first
pew. Remember, you are helping to lead the service, please
follow along and take part in the liturgy.
- Acolyte should light
candles when organist begins playing before service. Only
light Paschal Candle when so indicated by Pastors.
- Acolyte leaves candle
lighter under pew and brings cross to rear of Nave (or crucifer
can then bring cross to back of nave.)
- When the singing
begins for the first hymn, the crucifer leads the choir
down the aisle, and turns at the center front, faces the
congregation and waits until the presiding Pastor approaches
the altar, then places the cross in its holder.
- During the offertory,
the acolyte gets the offering plates to give to ushers.
- Before the anthem,
pull out the box for the choir director.
- After the offering
is brought back by the ushers, be prepared to take plates
from Pastor and carry back to the shelf.
- For communion, come
forward with communion assistants to take care of wine flagon,
filling the chalices as needed.
- After the Benediction
(Pastor goes part-way up aisle for this, then comes back)
acolyte should extinguish the candles. Then the acolyte
(or crucifer) should get the cross and stand with Pastor
until he signals the choir to leave, then lead the choir
back down the aisle.
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Altar Guild Guidelines
The following outline lists the duties
you need to carry out as a member of the altar guild. If you
would like to serve on the Altar Guild, contact the church
office.
- Be sure all silver and glassware is clean
and free of obvious smudges and dirt.
- Fill the flagon with
wine and place it on the table in the rear of the nave.
- Fill the ciborium
with small hosts and place one large “celebrant’s
host” on top. Place the ciborium on the table in the
rear of the nave.
Or
Place a home-baked loaf of bread (remove all plastic/foil
wrap) in a linen, in a basket, and place the basket on the
tale in the rear of the nave.
- The following vessels/items
should be placed on the altar:
A Chalice, placed in the center of the altar (drape the
chalice with a purificator)
Paten (small silver plate), place on top of chalice / purificator
Cover Chalice/Paten with Veil (large linen of appropriate
liturgical color).
Set Burse, containing two purificators (smaller white linens)
and two corporals (larger white linens) on top of the veiled
chalice/paten.
Lavabo (glass bowl), filled about ½ with water, left/rear
corner of the altar. Place a folded small, white hand towel
next to the lavobo.
The second chalice sets next to the right candle.
A small glass cruet, filled with water, set next to the
empty chalice.
- Place six (6) full
trays of individual communion cups (three on each side)
on small felt-covered tables to the left and right sides
of the altar rail.
Cover the top tray of cups with the appropriate cover.
Place an empty tray (for the ushers) on the front pew (one
on each side).
Cleaning up after liturgies....
- Place the Ciborium
in the Tabernacle (on the wall in the apse behind the
altar).
- Any remaining “bread”
should be taken home, left to dry for a few days, crumbled,
and returned to the ground. DO NOT place remaining leavened
bread in the Tabernacle or leave it in the Sacristy.
- Collect any remaining
wine from the individual glasses in a small bowl and return
it to the ground.
- Wash all silver
and glassware in hot, soapy water. Dry completely. Replace
to locked cabinet.
Refill cup trays and return them to the 2nd shelf of the
cabinet above the paraments (DO NOT attempt to place the
trays in the locked cabinets above the sink.)
- Linens are to be
placed (immediately) in cool water, then taken home, laundered,
pressed, and returned prior to the next Sunday.
- Linens are NOT to
be starched.
- All linens (small
and larger) are to be folded in threes, each way. Please
DO NOT fold/press linens in halves, quarters, or any other
way.
- Take a minute to
tidy up....
- Put all things away, clear sink and counters,
and wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Contact the Church Office with problems
you may detect: shortage of lines, damaged vessels, etc.
Chalice Bearer Guidelines
- Chalice bearers approach
the altar at the conclusion of the consecratory prayers
of the Eucharist.
- Please stand, side-by-side,
on the Gospel side of the altar, with your back to the choir.
- The celebrant (either
Pastor Ekstrand or Pastor Short) will give you a chalice
and a purificator.
- As communicants/parishioners
present themselves before you, present them with the chalice/pour
into their cups, and say, "This is the Blood of Christ,
shed for you.”
- The flagon bearer (usually the acolyte)
will keep your chalice supplied.
...DO NOT completely empty the chalice at any time.
...Please be sensitive to adding to the chalice when there
are few communicants remaining.
DO NOT leave this to the discretion of the acolyte.
- The Celebrant may ask you to accompany
him into the congregation to commune a worshiper who cannot
walk to the altar. Simply follow and assist as requested.
No individual cup is necessary.
- After all have communed, please return
to the Gospel side of the altar. You, other chalice bearers,
and the acolyte will be communed at this time. If the chalice
is exceptionally full, please take more than a small sip!
- On Sundays when only one of the pastors
is present, the chalice bearer closest to the pulpit will
typically commune the celebrant in both forms (“The
body of Christ, given for you...The Blood of Christ, shed
for you”).
- Please return to your pew when dismissed
by the celebrant.
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Greeter Guidelines
The following outline lists the duties
you need to carry out as a greeter. If you would like to serve
as a greeter, please contact the church office.
- Arrive at church no
later than half an hour prior to the beginning of the liturgy.
Please check that the “Guest’s Book” in the
narthex is opened to a page with blank spaces.
- Please greet the people
when they enter with a smile and a friendly “good morning”
or “hello”. Proper attire (coat and tie or nice
casual for men; dress, suit, or blouse and slacks/skirt
for women) is a must for greeters.
- When new or newer
guest arrives, please go out of your way to introduce yourself,
learn their names, and see that they know their way around
the building. If you are having a conversation with an existing
member of Trinity, that person will most certainly understand
your having to break away to assist the guest.
- Please invite all
guests to sign our Guest Book. This makes it much easier
for us to follow up with guests.
- Since we typically
have two greeters at any given time, don’t hesitate
to walk with and physically show newer guests to the place
they desire to go. (e.g. washrooms, the nave, Sunday School
rooms, etc.) One can easily feel quite isolated when attending
a larger church for the first time.
- After having introduced
yourself to visiting guests, don’t hesitate to introduce
them to other members of the congregation who happen to
be standing nearby. It can be a turn-off if the only people
guests meet are two ushers and a pastor.
- Please become familiar
with our Sunday School schedule and the rooms where the
classes take place. A listing of these classes and their
locations will be provided in the narthex. Guests will likely
not attend if they are not invited.
- And finally, try
to avoid using the word “visitor” in regard to
guests. Remember...when we see an Altoona Curve game, the
visitors are the ones we root against!
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Lector Guidelines
The following outline lists the duties
you need to carry out as a lector. If you have any questions,
please contact Lector Coordinator Pat Mueller.
- You will receive a copy of the lessons
that you are reading in the mail prior to the date you will
serve as lector. In advance of that date, please read through
the lessons on your own, rehearsing if necessary.
- If you are unsure of the pronunciation
of a word, please check with Pastor Short or Pastor Ekstrand
in advance. An online resource for biblical pronunciation
may be found at http://netministries.org/Bbasics/BBwords.htm.
- Proper attire (coat and tie or nice casual
for men; dress, suit, or blouse and slacks/skirt for women)
is a must for lectors.
- Arrive at church no later than fifteen
minutes prior to the beginning of the liturgy.
- Before the organist’s prelude begins,
check the height of the lector’s microphone and take
your seat in the small pew behind the lectern. For those
who are handicapped or have other limitations that prevent
them from accessing the lectern, special arrangements can
be made.
- After the Prayer of the Day has been prayed,
please wait for the pastors to take their seats before rising
to the lectern. At that time, move quickly but reverently
to the lectern.
- The words to be spoken before the lessons
(citation) and after the lessons will be written out on
your copy at the lectern. After saying, “The word of
the Lord,” please allow the congregation time to respond,
“Thanks be to God.”
- Between the First and Second Lesson, there
will typically be a psalm to be chanted by the congregation
in unison. After having invited the congregation to do so
(“Please join in singing Psalm...”), please step
back from the microphone and temporarily take your seat.
This will prevent your chanting from being amplified by
the microphone.
- Sometimes there will be a children’s
anthem in place of the psalm. Please note this prior to
the liturgy to prevent an awkward introduction of a psalm
that will not be utilized at that time.
- After the Second Lesson has been read
and the congregation has responded, “Thanks be to God,”
your copy of the lessons will instruct you to beckon to
the congregation, “Please rise and sing the Gospel
Verse.” After they have done so and the pastor begins
reading the Holy Gospel, please remain standing at the lectern
pew until he has said, “The Gospel of the Lord”
and the congregation has responded, “Praise to you,
O Christ.”
- When the congregation has been invited
to be seated after the Holy Gospel, please return to your
pew in the nave. When exiting the chancel, the pastor may
acknowledge a “thank you” for your service. If
you have physical limitations that make this transition
difficult, do not feel it necessary to hurry to your pew.
A member of the congregation or one of the pastors will
likely be nearby to assist you if you so desire.
- When serving as a lector, please
speak clearly, refrain from dropping your voice at the end
of sentences, and of course, smile!
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Usher Guidelines
The following outline lists the duties
you need to carry out as an usher. If you would like to serve
as an usher, please contact Fred Claycomb.
| 1. |
Arrive at church no later than half
an hour prior to the beginning of the liturgy.
- Please place handicapped signs along
Penn Street and in the staff parking area.
- Make sure nave lights, sound system
and air conditioning (if necessary) are on.
- Check that hymnals, pew cards, and
pencils are neatly in the pew racks. Also note that
discarded bulletins and other various refuse are removed
from the seats and aisles
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| 2. |
Please greet the people when they enter
with a friendly “good morning” or “hello”
as you hand them a bulletin. Proper attire (coat and tie
or nice casual for men; dress, suit, or blouse and slacks/skirt
for women) is a must for ushers. |
| 3. |
Ring the church bell fifteen minutes
prior to the beginning of the liturgy and again after
Confession and Absolution, during the prelude to the first
hymn. |
| 4. |
Attendance is to be taken for each liturgy.
Please count all who are present, including in the nursery,
the pastors, the choir, and the ushers. Please submit
these figures with the day’s offering. |
| 5. |
Deter congregants from finding their
seats during the confession and absolution. Politely ask
them to remain to the rear until the first hymn has begun.
This would also be a good idea during the homily. |
| 6. |
When the liturgy has begun, please make
sure that the doors to the nave have been closed. If someone
is creating an audible disturbance in the narthex or Trinity
Hall, please politely ask that the noise cease. |
| 7. |
During the offering, begin from the front
of the nave, moving back. Position each of the four ushers
at the end of each pew, with one on each side and two
in the center aisle. |
| 8. |
During the Offertory, two ushers in the
middle will bring forward the sacramental elements, flanked
by two ushers each carrying two offering plates, one stacked
on the other. The Presiding Pastor will first receive
the offering plates, then the elements. Please wait to
depart to the rear until the pastor nods his acknowledgment
of the gifts. |
| 9. |
During distribution
of the Eucharist, two of the ushers will come forward
first to receive the meal.
- Afterwards,
they may beckon the congregation to follow if they
have not already done so. Please see that the choir
will come forward before the congregation on the pulpit
side.
- These ushers
will then come forward during the Eucharist to collect
individual communion cups. They shall stand to the
sides of the front of the nave with an empty tray,
receiving additional trays when the previous trays
have been filled. See that the lid is removed from
the trays prior to distribution and replaced at its
conclusion.
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| 10. |
After the liturgy has concluded:
- Please go through the pews to pick
up discarded bulletins and other refuse, placing hymnals,
cards and pencils neatly back into the pew racks.
- Turn off:
1. All lights in the nave.
2. The air conditioning (if being used).
3. The sound system.
- Place handicapped parking
signs inside Penn Street ramp door.
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