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.
Last year we ordered the 16 inch pillar candles which burned evenly and looked great with brass followers. There is so much candle left that we plan to use them again this year. Some candle companies will buy back used candles and give a wax credit, but usually this is for a Paschal candle and not for the purple and pink candles of Advent. With the cost of a new set being in the 50-60 dollar range, it makes sense to use up what’s in the sacristy. To freshen last year’s candles, moisten a soft cotton cloth with vegetable oil such a Wesson, Crisco, etc., wipe the length of the candle to remove dull film and dust, then wipe off the excess and buff the candles gently until they shine again. Trim wicks neatly and the candle is all ready for another season. Using a follower of brass or glass will help get the most out of any candle and will help to avoid wax drips and uneven burning.
Egan Church supplies offers a lower price if you use the online shopping option. Order this week and don’t forget to contact the florist for the fresh greens if you cannot make up a wreath. http://www.eganchurchsupply.com/cs/candles_advent.htm
If you get to Westerly during Advent, Christ Church has traditionally hung fresh boxwood wreaths on their doors with deep purple velvet bows which are exchanged for red on Christmas Eve. Very pretty- and so is the new set of doors on the Elm Street side of Christ Church.
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.
It is always convenient to place the lavabo towel over the lavabo bowl, in readiness for the ablutions. I find most clergy appreciate a good-sized towel and not a tiny “fingertip towel”. A hand towel of linen, about the size or slightly smaller of a regular hand towel we use at home is much-appreciated. The lavabo towel is the one small linen which does not have to be blessed. You can make up lovely lavabo towels out of linen or cotton scraps, pieces cut from worn fair linens which still have some remaining good fabric left, or fine linen napkins or tablecloths. You may embroider a neat whitework or redwork cross on it when the edges have been hemmed.
There are other styles for the portable viaticum container such as the one pictured to the left on sale in a popular church supply catalogue. This one features a compartment for wine and one for wafers.
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ticum, from Latin, traveling provisions, from neuter of vi
