The Ven. Richard I. Cluett
May 6, 2006
1Kings 7:48-8:5 Psalm 84 Luke 2:41-51
The mystery surrounding the Holy unfolds to those who serve on the Altar Guild.
In the narthex of Christ Church in Corning, NY, which is a dark shadowy place, there are some small stained glass windows. One window, if my memory serves me, contains a vase of flowers and some altar linens. As you might imagine the window was given to honor the work of the Altar Guild; given by a woman who had served on an altar guild for 65 of her 75 years.
Personally for her it symbolized a 65 year vo¬cation – and the ministry of all members of the altar guild, who carry out the tasks of setting the table, doing the dishes, and ar¬ranging the flowers, mak¬ing the sanctuary beautiful for God and for the people of God. A woman of considerable wealth, who in her own home, paid others to set the table, do the dishes, and ar¬range the flowers. But for the ministry of the altar, for the sacra¬mental ministry of the community of Jesus, no task was too menial, no job too humble. For 65 years she polished, prepared and put away Holy Things.
And God honors the work and the hands of all who do so – and so do I. The congregation will never know the details of the work you do, nor will they know the gift you make in your offering, or the blessing you receive. But I know. All priests know. We are partners in this ministry of the sacristy and sanctuary.
The spirituality of the sanctuary and the sacristy is where the Altar Guild assists with the heart and soul of worship. Altar Guild service is a privileged discipline, a service of love, and an offering of time. An integral part of the guild is to make sure the linens are cleansed, the vessels are polished and in place, the sacramental bread available, the wine ready, and the vestments laid out.
The beauty of holy things isn’t always as easily discernible to those removed from the intimacy involved in the ministry of the sacristy and the sanctuary. The intimacy of the sacristy can be compared, rightly I think, to the intimacy of bathing a child or another beloved. Holy things have been touched by the sacred, and those whose lives are drawn to the sacred will find them beautiful, even in their mundane usefulness.
Holy things remind us of the living God; for they have his mark, his touch, and are not just items of beauty or usefulness, empty of meaning. Rather, they bring into the dailyness of our lives, the presence of the Living God. You are privileged and blessed in preparing the Holy Things of God for the people of God.
The mystery surrounding the Holy unfolds to those who serve on the Altar Guild.
