This Sunday marks a very important feast in the church year, as well as closing the church Year B. We take down the green hangings which have been up so long in the Season After Pentecost. Now is a good time to get those cleaned and steamed. Next Sunday we will find ourselves in Advent I, the birthday of the church. Christ the King, sometimes called Feast of the Reign of Christ in some parishes, is a feast for extra care in preparation of the altar and decorations. The best white set of vestments and hangings are brought out, touches of gold or silver are appropriate, the brass should gleam, and white flowers are particularly lovely. Next Sunday will mark a great change as the altar once again becomes subdued, flowers are put aside until Christmas Eve. In some parishes boxwood or plain evergreens might be seen sparingly. The Advent wreath becomes a focal point. Some parishes will use a “Christ Candle” of white in the center of the Advent wreath of three purple and one rose candle. This white candle will be lit on Christmas Eve at midnight services.
Some churches in our diocese have a cross bearing the Christus Rex in their sanctuaries. Christ Church in Westerly has a large one in the side chapel. Some church supply catalogues sell the figure alone or on a cross in several sizes and ready to be mounted on the wall.
The time for preparation begins for Altar Guilds all over the world: ordering candles and bobeches, writing and mailing the annual Flower Memorials letter, checking on supplies of wine and bread, placing orders at local nurseries and flower shops, polishing brass and silver, pressing the best linens, ordering incense, polishing the thurible, tidying sacristies for the busy days to come, and the many other little services performed by faithful hands year in and year out as the great Feast of the Nativity approaches. The sweet-smelling quiet of the sacristy is a wonderful place to be at this time of year.
Hard to believe but the season after Pentecost is fast drawing to an end and already it is time to get your order in for Advent candles and to hunt up the Advent candle ring. If you use a fresh green wreath from the florist, most shops appreciate an order placed two weeks before to guarantee you will get just what you need. The Farmer’s Daughter (Kingston) and Schartner’s Farms (Exeter)make up a beautiful fresh green wreath to order if you drop off your ring. With a little green wire you can purchase a fresh ring to fit and wire it to your frame yourself. 
A highlight for every parish each year is the annual visit of our bishop. We have received several inquiries about how the altar should be arranged at various times during the service, bulletins, and other pressing matters to assure the service flows smoothly. The link above (
It has been a busy month going through boxes of redundant and unused vestments and linens which have arrived from other churches for relocating. It is like Christmas when these things appear in my office. I have quite a number of chalice pall inserts in various sizes and a good deal of linen remnants in various lengths. If your altar guild would like to make a new chalice pall, I am able to send you the insert (either cardboard, plexiglass or metal) and enough linen with an iron-on transfer and making directions to make a pall. They are really not very hard to do. (
These have their own mini-environment which is not good in summer months for long-term storage. A de-humidifier is a cheap and effective device for removing moisture from the air. It’s a good idea to leave tight-fitting drawers and closet doors open so air can circulate. Simple standing fans placed at each end of the room can keep heavy air circulating, which is important. Recently I found at the Christmas Tree Shop, those dehydrating crystals which come in a small plastic tub. These absorb excess moisture in the air and can be placed in the closet. Although it is a strong temptation to open and leave open sacristy windows, street dust and pollutants and insects can enter and cause problems. 
Also called the Monille, Firmula, Firmule or Pectorale, the name originally referred to the rectangular ornamented piece of material attached to the two front edges of the cope near the breast to prevent the vestment from slipping from the shoulders. Morses were provided with hook and eye, and were often richly ornamented with embroidery or precious stones. Later, the name was also applied to metal clasps used in place of the of woven fabric. The clasps, however, gradually lost their practical use and became mere ornaments, which were sometimes sewn firmly to the flaps that served to fasten the cope. This was the case when the clasp was very heavy or very valuable. As early as the thirteenth century we have evidence that the clasps formed distinct ornaments in themselves. Many churches had a large number of such morses usually made of silver covered with gold, they were ornamented with pearls, precious stones, enamel, architectural designs, small, figures of saints, etc. They were generally either round, square, quatrefoil, or like a rosette in form. There were also more elaborate and at times peculiar shapes. A great deal of proof of the desirability of costly morses is shown by the old inventories and by the numerous medieval morses preserved (especially in Germany) in churches and museums.” (Catholic Encyclopedia)
the wane. Those electrified candles alas, aren’t quite the same thing! Still a staple in most Episcopal churches are kneelers in a hassock style, or pull-down hard kneelers on a wooden frame.
flower of Rhode Island.
A simple prie-dieu offered in a style still very affordable and obtainable through most church furnishing catalogues. The kneeler would look well in needlepoint.
