Libera – Be Still My Soul
Libera for Lent
26 Thursday Feb 2009
Monthly Archives: February 2009
Have you ordered your Paschal Candle?
26 Thursday Feb 2009
Posted in Easter & Palm Sunday, Feastdays, Hard to Find Supplies, Lent, Seasonal Needs, Suppliers
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It’s time to get those orders in this week. Marklin Candle Company has always produced a high-quality product, http://www.marklincandledesign.com/paschalcandles.html but their prices have gone up this year as well as shipping. The average 36 inch, 1 15/16″ diameter candle plus shipping is now in the $240 range. An alternative might be a Cathedral Brand Paschal candle which is a good value and may be purchased through Egan Church Supply (also known as Laurence Candle Co.) at 1-800-722-6353. They are located in Millbury Mass. This year’s brochure shows a handsome selection. You will want to have 51% beeswax (both Marklin and Cathedral candles are 51%), the Alpha and Omega symbols, and the year’s numerals 2009 on the candle, and of course the incense grain “nails”.
http://www.cathedralcandle.com/eximious/candle_evangelium.cfm
This week’s filet crochet patterns
25 Wednesday Feb 2009
Here are three from Coats and Clark’s 1956 The lily and chalice would be lovely for Easter Sunday.
Remember to right click the image and save to your computer to print out at full size.
Time to Order Palms
24 Tuesday Feb 2009
Posted in Easter & Palm Sunday, Lent, Potpourri, Seasonal Needs, Suppliers
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New from Egan’s and Laurence Church Supplies-ECO-Palms. A portion of your palm order will benefit 4 non-profit environmental and humanitarian efforts in the U.S.
Angel and cross filet crochet pattern
19 Thursday Feb 2009
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This week’s filet crochet pattern 1956 from Coats and Clark’s
Save this photo by right clicking on the diagram and saving it to your computer. It will print out full-sized.
How it’s made
16 Monday Feb 2009
Posted in Bread & Wine, Potpourri, Suppliers
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Cavanagh Communion wafers
This is an Boston Globe excerpt and video about the Smithfield, Rhode Island communion wafer company which has been in operation since 1940. Fascinating- just click on the link to see the video of how wafers are made.
“SMITHFIELD, R.I. – There are very few recession-proof businesses left in the world, but the Cavanagh family of Rhode Island thinks they may have one – they make Communion wafers for millions of churchgoers each week. . . .” To read the rest of the article and see the video click on this link http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2008/11/30/breaded_bliss/?page=2
Clever idea for cincture storage
16 Monday Feb 2009
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Here’s a great video which shows a tidy way to keep a drawerful of cinctures from turning into a tangled web! Just click on the video arrow to view the how-to segment.
Cincture Braiding:
Zout for red wine stains
13 Friday Feb 2009
If Wine Away, Shout or a mixture of blue Dawn liquid and hydrogen peroxide does not “get the red out”, one of our readers says:
“. . .,try ZOUT which is available at local grocery stores . . . sometimes even Walgreen’s. Our wine stain on a stole that was untouched by Wine Away was totally removed with ZOUT”- Thanks, Jenny!
A Gathering for Altar Guilds
12 Thursday Feb 2009
The following invitation for the March 28th altar guild gathering will be sent out to all Episcopal churches this weekend.
As Lent approaches
12 Thursday Feb 2009
Posted in Church Flowers, Lent, Paraments, Potpourri, Seasonal Needs
One question which has been arriving in our mailbox frequently this month is : How do I decorate for Lent? We are aware that altar flowers disappear during this time (except for maybe the fourth Sunday, Rose Sunday)- not even greens as we allow in Advent. I have seen some churches which allow small memorial shrine flowers however. Many churches opt for an artful draping of fabric on the cross. Make sure the drape is substantial, -dramatic is fine, but you will want to avoid the orchid or lavender chiffon and tulle which looks rather like a nightie caught in a tree, and very frou-frou. Other churches veil all statues, cross, rood crosses, paintings, and any type of artistic diversion. Some churches have the raw linen Lenten array with diced fringe of black and oxblood, while others use Lenten violet (a red-violet usually) from Septuagesima right throughout Lent. And some churches no longer mark the “gesimas” but rather use Epiphany 5, 6, etc. If there is one season where diversity reigns, it must surely be Lent.
The origin of the Lenten veil is carefully described in this excerpt from The Chancel of English Churches by Francis Bond, pages 101-105. You may read this interesting history at this link http://books.google.com/books?id=eoxmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA101&dq=Lenten+decoration+of+churches&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html using the page turning arrows at the top of the article.
The photo above is Rochester cathedral on Palm/Passion Sunday. A beautiful red frontal, and the reredos is completely veiled with the neutral unbleached linen but oddly enough the cross is swathed in transparent purple veiling. Veiling on objects should not be transparent- it defeats the purpose of veiling in the first place. If your sacristy has a simple wooden cross and candlesticks, the fancy brass ones are better retired until Easter Vigil evening service. Here are some more wonderful Lenten frontals in the UK http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/195400854_7bf0caf3a2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/vitrearum/195400852/&usg=__QeeiPke7FTY6u7zBFGz0-XOsSms=&h=332&w=500&sz=109&hl=en&start=24&tbnid=OqOD5DHz5AltvM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlenten%2Barray%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ie%3DUTF-8
In my travels I have seen some very effective uses of dried grasses, teasels, Scottish broom,thorns, sea holly, and twisted willow utilized in stark designs which visually evoke some of the themes of Lent. These are generally not on the chancel but in secluded corners for meditation, in the narthex or porch or a side chapel. This may also be a good time to have a small notebook in which visitors to the church may write down prayer petitions.
I am looking forward to visiting area churches over the Lenten season and seeing how each parish prepares their worship space. If you have photographs to share of your Lenten preparations, please send them to Revdma@aol.com. Now is the time to check on supplies of wine, altar bread, palms to burn for Ash Wednesday, candles, and other Lenten needs.
This Week’s Crochet Pattern
04 Wednesday Feb 2009
Here is a simple filet crochet lace edging pattern for the ends of a fair linen, or even the hem of an alb. Usually a number 13 steel hook is used with Size 30 mercerized crochet cotton thread, but a smaller or larger size can be substituted depending on how fine or heavy you want the finished product to look.
The I.H.S. pattern is an old one, and comes from a lovely little book put out by The Order of Saint Veronica, which was a Roman Catholic society which aided poor mission chapels by collecting money for linens and creating Veronica Boxes filled with beautiful homemade linens and vestments which were shipped out to needy missions. Saint Monica is traditionally considered the Patroness of married women.
Lois Hurd Vestments
02 Monday Feb 2009
When considering the purchase of new vestments for your sacristy, don’t forget local artisans. The database in progress will hopefully include many Rhode Island artists, icon writers, seamstresses, designers, metalworkers, etc. who are able to accept commissions from our local parishes. If you know of such talented people, please drop me an email! (Revdma@aol.com) St. Augustine’s Church at URI in Kingston has three chasuble and stole appliqued sets done by Rhode Islander Lois Hurd. The applique stitches are so neat and tiny they are nearly invisible! The fabric choice and design of these sets work beautifully with the architecture and worship space of the church.
