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.

Recently we discussed the symbolism of the pelican as used in church art, textiles and architecture.  Two other birds often seen in ecclesiastical usage are the phoenix and the peacock. The peacock is a symbol of immortality because it was once believed that the peacock’s flesh did not decay after death. Early Christian paintings and mosaics use peacock imagery. Peacock feathers are sometimes seen used as church decorations or in floral arrangements during the Easter season. 
The peacock replaces his feathers annually;  therefore the peacock is also a symbol of renewal.  The early Christians praised the many “eyes” in its feathers as signs of the all-seeing God. The fabric swatch above showing a peacock motif is from a rose-violet cope from the 1950’s.

Early belief held that the Gates of Paradise are guarded by a pair of peacocks. Augustine refers to peacocks as a symbol of the resurrection.

In early Catholic art, literature and Catholic symbolism, the Phoenix is a symbol of Christ, representing his resurrection, immortality, and life-after-death.  It has been an ancient and universal symbol of the sun and mystical rebirth in many cultures. The legendary red “fire bird” was believed to die in its self-made flames periodically (each hundred years, according to some sources) then rise again out of its own ashes.  The phoenix is a popular motif for kneelers, as shown below in needlepoint.

advent%20insideHard 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.

DioLogoA 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 (Bishop’s Visit) at the top of the page  should be useful to clergy, parish administrator, hospitality coordinators and altar guilds.

Where did the month of October go?  I have been on the road for half the month, visiting parents in Maryland and going to Cape May, N.J. for a Victorian Week vacation. Along the way I have been relocating vestments from the surplus inventory, and visiting a church which was re-installing a large stained glass window that had been cleaned and releaded. (Photos to come of this). 

In the sacristy the catalogues have been coming in from church goods companies.  Slabbinck has some nice new designs.  All Saints Sunday is this weekend and a look at the calendar shows Advent is not too far ahead, November 29th.  Already we are digging out our wreath and ordering candles -3 violet and one rose-colored.  How the summer has flown by!  Have you considered an announcement in your church bulletin giving an opportunity for a sponsor for the Advent green wreath and/or candles to be offered as a memorial -or given in honor or in thanksgiving?  Sometimes a ministry within the church likes to undertake the cost for this.  Food for thought.

In some churches this Sunday, icons of saints and photographs of our deceased Loved Ones will be brought into the sanctuary.   Beautiful flowers will grace our altars, and the green hangings of the Season after Pentecost will get a rest.  Please send us a photo of your church on All Saints.

 

pelican2

We have a request for a Sacred Pelican embroidery motif. There are numerous transfers which I can send which would have to be applied by tracing on the cloth using transfer paper if you can do your own embroidery. St. Jude’s has a more contemporary machine embroidery banner in several sizes featuring the Pelican at http://www.stjudeshop.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/Pelican-on-a-Purple-Tapestry-/productID/2cc818b0-2394-4247-8d4d-c75c729bdfbe/categoryID/5e927507-614f-41e1-971c-83c94206561d/

The hunt is on for a new motif or a “recycled” on which has been removed from an old vestment. If you see one, let us know!

Hand_Embroidered_Pall_13It 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. (Revdma@aol.com )

I will be putting up a slideshow this weekend of some of the pretty embroideries I have seen over the summer and of some of the vestments I have relocated.  My project for the autumn is documenting needlepoint in the Diocese of Rhode Island.  Back in 1995 I did a program on this fascinating topic for the ECW but now we have digital photography, I think I can get better results.  Rhode Island does have some LOVELY kneelers and other needlepoint items.  Please let me know if your sacristy is in need of something in particular- I may just have it-and my husband will be delighted to see more “church things” exit our burgeoning front parlor!

What beautiful weather we are having! – just the right time to air out our sacristy closets and drawers after the muggy August we endured.  September is a time for starting the back-to-church season with all its many programs on a fresh note.

ironing

Recently I received an email asking me to recommend an iron for ironing fair and small linens.  You’ll want to iron linens quite damp and ideally chilled from your refrigerator. For some reason linen fibers lie down and behave nicely when they are chilled before pressing.  You can spend between 30- 150 dollars for a steam iron. The thing is, you do not need steam for pressing damp linens-the idea is to press and dry these items at the same time.  A metal soleplate is essential- and one without steam vents is superior and will not leave steam hole “tracks”. I am not a fan of plastic irons, yes, they may be lighter but they do not get the job done. I will cheerfully “pump iron” of 5 pounds with a steel soleplate just like my Mom’s from the 1950’s.

At last I found a source for the steel soleplate, traditional DRY iron which is perfect for ironing wet linen- without the steam holes. Please check out this link http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/browse/Home/For-The-Home/Household-Cleaning/Laundry/Dry-Iron/D/30100/P/1:100:1030:10340:101110/I/f06328?evar3=BROWSE#  for Vermont Country Stores and by all means watch the video about this product which is on the same page. At around 30 dollars- this is the iron for your linens and cottons. Every sacristy should have this, and a sturdy, serviceable iron board.

redcassockWell, it’s September 1st and we’re back online from a busy summer.  In my mailbox this month was a request for small-sized cassocks for a children’s choir.  Does anyone have some tucked away in sizes 6-14?  Red is preferred but black will do.   We also are looking for the little white cottas in the same sizes.  Please drop me a line at Revdma@aol.com and I can arrange to pick up these items!

I am back from vacation!  The weather has been so humid and muggy the past few weeks.  Does your sacristy smell musty?  So few churches are air-conditioned in New England and most sacristies are closed and airless during the week.  This can be deadly in the summer months-but what can you do?  If you do not have an air-conditioned sacristy, there are a few measures which can be taken to help prevent damage to vestments, mildew, and that musty odor.

Textiles like to be comfortable at about the same temperature human beings enjoy. Ideally, 50% humidity and 60 degrees farenheit is the dream climate for textiles- but highly unattainable unless you have a museum set-up. You can however, remove vestments from those big plastic storage zip-up bags.  fanstandThese 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.

If you store wine in the sacristy, be aware that it may turn vinegary if stored where the temps rise high.  There’s nothing worse than Taylor Tawny Port from under the sink in  a hot sacristy!  What a terrible “bouquet” and flavor! Keep your wines cool, even if it means storing them elsewhere in the church during the summer months.  Pita, and other types of made bread  for the altar will mold very fast. It is best to keep these refrigerated during the week and remove just before use. Even wafers become gummy and softened. You may try keeping wafers dry and crisp in a tight plastic container in the refrigerator instead of in a sacristy cabinet.

Finally, do remove all flowers and foliage from the sacristy trash can.  Left for even a couple of days, the smell of rotting cellulose is very unpleasant, and becomes a source for mold and mildew.  If flowers are left on the altar from Sunday, the water will need to be changed frequently during the week as bacteria grows fast inside the vases and the smell is horrific- something that must not be countenanced for altar flowers!  Summer is a challenging time to keep things fresh and odor-free.  The good news is that September is coming soon!

morse 

These days the clasp or closure for contemporary copes are usually tabs of stiffened cloth which feature a hook and eyelet arrangement, but in years gone by, the metal, sometimes jewelled ornaments of closure sewed to each side of a cope were pretty impressive and featured chains which connected the two side motifs.  In existing vestments from the 20th century, inexpensive round or hexagonal disks are sewn on each side, and closed by means of a plated chain.  The disks often have IHS, a heraldic design, cross, or other religious symbol pressed into the metal.  Humeral veils will also be found using the morse and chain closure, although more commonly ribbons seem to be the case.  The now-rarely-seen cappa nigra or cemetery cloak used to sport a pewter or silver morse and chain and looked so graceful blowing in the wind in winter. The big mystery for me is just where the word “Morse” came from originally. The Pope is wearing a morse of unusual size in the photo above.

copesAlso 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)

Below a photo of the Queen with two of the blue copes of Westminster Abbey showing a cloth tab morse (the copes also appear a tad short on the clergy).

blue

priedieu1The prie-dieu (singular) or prayer desk once seen in most Episcopal churches is becoming a rarer article these days.  Literally meaning “pray (to) God”, these items of convenience for prayers and devotions have been around for centuries-both as home furnishings for private prayers and also in chapels, in front of votive stands, at marriage ceremonies for the bride and groom to kneel upon, in front of shrines to saints, and in priests’ sacristies for prayer preparation before Mass.  Often today a long kneeler has taken the places of the wedding prie-dieux and real candle votive stands are on priedieu1830the 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.

The prie-dieu to the left is from 1830.  Some prie-dieux look very like a chair with an elongated back with a padded top for missals, breviaries and prayer books to perch while kneeling.  Monastic prie-dieux have shelves for storage of materials needed during the many offices around the clock.  The Episcopal church, especially after WWII adopted the needlepoint kneeler in pews, and on prie-dieux kneelers and padded tops.  Trinity Church in Newport has an extraordinary collection of needlepoint kneelers and prie-dieux.  That of the rector’s wife, situated in front of the pulpit, is of needlepoint in a pale shade and features violets, the state priedieuroyalflower of Rhode Island.

Royalty, saints and even the Virgin Mary are often portrayed in art kneeling in pious attitudes on a prie-dieu.  Prie-dieux have been made of every possible material, in every style according to the current taste, elaborate, simple, decorated and plain. with all manner of upholstery and padding.  The prie-dieu of important persons have often survived to be preserved in museums. Simple, sturdy, and well-constructed ones have survived in humble convents and monasteries and are still in use. priedieuitalian1706

The amazing gilded prie-dieu to the right is from 1706 Italy and not surprisingly belonged to a lady of great rank and privilege.

priedieuoakA simple prie-dieu offered in a style still very affordable and obtainable through most church furnishing catalogues.  The kneeler would look well in needlepoint.

The famous architect, and decorative arts designer and artisan, Augustus Welby Pugin, (1812-1852) who created masterpieces of Gothic Revival style from jewelry to the Parliament buildings in London designed a prie-dieu which had everything included in one impressive design.

priedieuPugin

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