DUTIES FOR ALTAR GUILD
Holy Housekeeping and Monthly Duties:
- Polish any brass that is becoming tarnished
- Check candles - the altar candles should be taller than the floor torches (you can switch altar candles to the torches when they burn down)
- Clean excess wax from candleholders
- Wash altar lines each week. The purificator and lavabo cloth should be hand washed and flattened on a mirror or glass to dry. Wash corporal if necessary.
- Check the fair linen and cover for Credence table weekly to be sure they are unsoiled and free from stains.
- Provide flowers for the month. This must be a live or dried flower arrangement (nothing artificial). The tallest part of the flower arrangements should not be taller than the arms of the cross. Jimmy's Florist will do arrangements for $40 if you tell him it's for Holy Trinity.
- Change hangings if the liturgical season changes
Weekly Worship Preparation:
- Set up readings in lectionary on lectern
- Straighten books in pews
- Remove protector cloth from the altar and place altar candles over the crosses on the front corners.
- Put flowers on Retable behind altar.
- Vest the chalice and put in the center of the altar
- Drape a purificator across the top so that cross is in center
- Place the paten on top of the purificator, aligning cross with cross on chalice
- Place the priest's wafer on the paten, aligning the cross.
- Place pall over the paten and wafer
- Drape with the veil
- Place the burse on top - the burse should have a corporal and extra purificator in it. Place the burse so that it opens to the back. The corporal should open left, then right, then up, then down with the cross ending up in the panel closest to the priest.
- Place the altar book in the missal stand to the left of the vested chalice on the altar
- Place 50 wafers in the ciborium
- Fill one cruet with wine
- Fill one cruet with water
- On the Credence table place the ciborium, the two cruets, Lavabo Basin and Lavabo Towel
After worship:
- Consume any consecrated wafers and/or wine (Father David usually does this)
- Wash Chalice and Paten dry thoroughly and place back in protective covers
- Wash cruets and place upside down to dry in cabinet (return any unblessed wine to wine bottle - water may be poured into sink)
- Replace ciborium in protective cover
- Place altar candles back in sacristy and put protective cloth on altar
- Put flowers in refrigerator
- Straighten books in church
- Take purificator and lavabo towel home to launder
Fold Order for Linens:
- Purificator - folded in shape of square with cross in center
Left over, right over, bottom up, top down
- Lavabo Towel - in shape of rectangle with cross at bottom
Left over, right over, in half lengthwise
- Corporal - with the right side up and the cross at the bottom, fold the bottom up, then the top down, the right side over, then left side over.
