Category Archives: Church Flowers

Arranging church flowers, finding a florist, growing an altar garden, what is in “good taste”, holiday altar decoration, helpful books, courses and lectures on the subject.

Checklist for Holy Week Top 10

16 Tuesday Mar 2010

Posted by in Brass and metalware, Bread & Wine, Church Flowers, Easter & Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Seasonal Needs, Special services, Suppliers

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Can it be possible that Palm Sunday is only one week from this coming Sunday?  Where did the winter go? Our Easter Flower appeal went out on March 7th.  How many times have we heard, “I meant to send that in!”?  Make donating to this annual appeal as easy as possible.  I have found that inserting a separate half-sheet inside the Sunday bulletin each week makes it easy for parishioners to attach a check on the spot, without having to tear anything out, then they can deposit check and dedication form in the alms bason.  Also leave a few forms in obvious places like the back of church, the narthex, vestibule table, parish hall etc. Easter flowers may also be given in honor of someone or in thanksgiving for blessings received or for the service of an individual-not just as memorials.  The Paschal candle may be sponsored by a church group or individual.  Be sure to include the date when donations should reach the office.

1. Nurseries and florists will be very happy to have your bulb and flower order two weeks before delivery or pick up.  To obtain the best product, make it easier for your supplier to order in plenty of time. If you plan to have paper coverings around your pots, be sure to tell your supplier.  Plain dark green paper is best -the flower, not the pot, is the focus.  Clear plastic drip cups are also available.  Most florists and nurseries charge for papering pots and charge for the water catcher cups. Have floral materials delivered in plenty of time to make up the Maundy garden of repose and cut flowers in time to have stems cut and a good rest in deep water before arranging for the Great Vigil. At the high cost of blossoms- make each one count with careful prep time which will assure longer life.

2. Home Depot and Stop and Shop have begun putting out the potted palms.  These are great for Palm Sunday, Easter, and will go happily outside this summer and return for you next year.  Most are priced at about $15.00 for a large pot with palm  height at about 6 feet high- a bargain!

3. Now is the time to get that brass polishing out of the way- it is the messiest part of festival preparation.  Font inserts, Paschal candle stands, candlesticks, patenellas, thuribles etc. should gleam for Easter Sunday. MAAS is my preferred metal polish.  Silver polishing is usually also on the agenda over the next 2 weeks.

4. Matches, flashlights and batteries, a good supply of candles, congregational candles and bobeches, baptismal candles, charcoal or kindling, towels for Maundy Thursday, and other Holy Week supplies should be procured and stored this week.  Time to hunt up and clean the hibachi or other fire-making brazier for Saturday’s Great Vigil.  Check wine and wafer supplies as well. Don’t forget to check on the waxed wicking for acolyte candle lighters!

5. Last call for minor repairs and cleaning of white vestments and hangings, small and fair linens.  Holy Week is the time of year when the linen drawers should be well-stocked all the time for all emergencies.

6. Rotas for Holy Week should be sorted out with a list posted in the sacristy of all those covering the many services.  This may be the week to have additional guild members lend a hand to the team on duty.  Who will help maintain the potted plants?  Will any flowers go to shut-ins? Will there be a parish tidy-up day with the altar guild?  This is usually done the Saturday before Easter Sunday around 10 a.m.

7.  Be sure to take your Paschal candle out of the box and make sure the incense grains are there and that there are no cracks in the candle.  Be sure the candle end fits smoothly into the candlestick stand.

8. Do you have a team ready to assist with the stripping of the altar and the receiving  and storing of chancel furnishings on Maundy Thursday evening?

9. Be ready to remove the lily stamens as soon as the pots are delivered. Don’t wait until the warm room causes the anthers to burst open and dump their pollen all over everything.  Lily pollen is the worst to get out of cloth.

10. Being prepared, delegating chores, stocking up on supplies, good communication with the guild members and rector, and crossing off tasks ahead of schedule will insure a smooth, tranquil Holy Week and Easter Sunday and a beautiful sanctuary for the Feast of all feast days.

Beauty in Unexpected Places

24 Thursday Dec 2009

Posted by in Altar Decoration, Altar Guild Projects, Christmas, Church "Crawls", Church Decorating, Church Flowers, Seasonal Needs

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Pew ends, wreaths on front doors and of course the altar are the usual and first places which come to mind when we set about making the sanctuary beautiful for Christmas.  And Christmas must carry on long after the 24th and look fresh and green.  On the to-do list of every altar guild is the upkeep and watering of the potted plants, the misting of fresh greens, and the constant refreshing of drooping floral decorations over the next 10 days. 

Sometimes, when decorating,  it is good to enter the front door of your church as if you were a visitor and not a long-term parishioner who knows every nook and cranny- or bring someone new into your church to get a fresh perspective.  Where does the eye rest when you first come in?  Is there a spot for a pedestal, a wreath, an arrangement?  The photo below is just inside a busy side entry at St. John’s, Newport.  It is a beautiful cobalt blue stained glass window with a very wide ledge in front.  Walmart’s had this 14″ Holy Family statue set for $12.99.  It makes a wonderful grouping for the Feast of the Holy Family, and a pleasant place to contemplate when one first enters the vestibule. Various greens, twigs, wild moss, rosemary sprigs,and potted small trees with a snowdrift of German statice for snow make up the very simple arrangement which is long-lasting and easy to do.

Don’t forget the rector’s pulpit!  Fresh green garland around the top, or a green wreath on the front of the pulpit will make an appealing focal point which will be noticed during the sermon.  This particular wineglass pulpit at St. John’s has a little staircase with a newelpost finial of St. Augustine.  The arrangement uses the wonderful eucalyptus with the large silvery frosty berries and aromatic greens arranged in a copper cone container along with beaded eucalyptus, white alstromeria and laurel leaves.  This arrangement lasted two weeks!  Every little niche and quiet corner may be the place for a few unexpected and sweet-smelling flowers or greens for Christmastide.  When large arrangements start to fade, salvage still-fresh blooms and greens to make up smaller arrangements for new places.  The possibilities are endless and pleasing-as well as economical.

Anthuriums for Christmas

21 Monday Dec 2009

Posted by in Altar Decoration, Christmas, Church "Crawls", Church Decorating, Church Flowers, Church Symbols, Feastdays

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If you have a small shrine in a side aisle or chapel, don’t forget to add a few fresh greens and flowers over the niche or at the base of the statue when doing festival flowers.  This is a polychromed woodcarving by Davis D”Ambly of Philadelphia of a young St. John.  St. John is portrayed in the familiar coral and green vesture, with his symbol of the snake and chalice.  The diapered stenciled door panels in red and blue is a treatment often seen in English churches.

The pedestal to the left of the niche has a bit of a surprise for Christmas- anthuriums!  Usually thought of for tropical and exotic floral arrangements- anthuriums are actually a good value as they last a long time if properly tended-and the true red works well with poinsettia and traditional Christmas decoration.

A Christmas Past

20 Sunday Dec 2009

Posted by in Altar Decoration, Brass and metalware, Christmas, Church Flowers, Cleaning Products- New & Improved!, Feastdays, Metalware, Paraments, Potpourri

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While searching out last year’s boxed cards, I found a few photos from 2000 at St. John the Evangelist in Newport.  I will post some of these over the next few days leading up to Christmas Eve.  This one is probably a good one for this weekend as I imagine all over America the Altar Guild has been busy polishing brass and silver! How I wish I had a digital camera back in those days! 

This was our first “”white Christmas”- no red poinsettias.  The altar frontal was our oldest dating to about the building of the church in 1893.  This was the year of taking out all of our old brass, polishing it like the top of the Chrysler Building(which took weeks of hard work) – and putting up the huge altar cross which had been given from historic Trinity church when St. John’s was a mission on The Point.  The altar decoration was copied identically from one of the oldest photos in the church archive. I forget exactly how many candles went up- over 40- but Father said the heat was terrific and he needed oven mitts and an asbestos chasuble!

What did our brass squad use? MAAS metal cleaner-much better than Brasso or Never Dull.  And for silver?- Wright’s silver cream!

Outside were white bag luminaries up and down the street and up the front steps of Washington St.  White velvet ribbons, white poinsettias and white roses on the altar-  truly a Night of Light to remember always.

Rose Sunday Flowers

11 Friday Dec 2009

Posted by in Advent, Altar Decoration, Church Flowers, Feastdays, Potpourri, Special services, Vestments, We get mail

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A few emails have come in this week about decorating for Rose Sunday on the 13th.  Rose refers to the color of the hangings and vestments, not the flower- although roses are beautiful, if somewhat expensive this time of year.  I like the Advent wreath below, which for Rose Sunday has been embellished slightly with a touch of lavender caspia, purple statice and a few pink blossoms picked into the greens.  The inexpensive small shrub roses would be ideal.  Since the Rose Sunday decoration will be coming down when Sunday has ended, it is a good idea to have a simple, modest display against the greens some churches use throughout Advent. 

A few simple pink roses in a vase of pristine water on the bulletin table at the back of church is a welcoming touch that announces this Sunday of Refreshment.  If your church is very large, with a great altar and reredos, you might consider something on a larger scale, in proportion to the worship space which can be seen from the back of church.  A custom which I kept at one of my former parishes was to use two very large stone altar urns filled with pink roses in several shades, lavender caspia, and salal greens, which at the end of the services would be dismantled and the roses going to the mothers of the parish or in bud vases to shut-ins or parishioners in the hospital . 

Here is a formal altar arrangement of matched silver vases using the purple, blue and pink colors of Advent with pink gerbera daisies as the pink rounds focus, and purple stocks and delphiniums for the spikes.  At this time of year, this would be an expensive flower choice.  I am a big fan of carnations, which are a bargain just now, and are especially lovely when used as the sole flower in the arrangement, large single heads mixed with  multi-headed miniature carnation stems, and silvery eucalyptus for greens and spikes.

Here is an arrangement I did of yellow roses which sets elevated behind a center tabernacle.  Several bricks are used which are hidden behind to raise up the arrangement, and a long plastic green window box holds 4 bricks of Oasis foam inside.  This arrangement uses 24 long stemmed, large-headed roses and could be very effective done in shades of pink roses for Rose Sunday.

Here is a simple loose asymmetrical arrangement using lilies and freesia (costly at this time of year).  Local supermarkets do have some very pretty pink lilies just now, but it is more the shape than the flower type of interest here. This could be done just as nicely with small pink roses, a few larger pink roses, and the baby’s breath or some purple statice.  This is one of a pair, with the opposite side reversed on the other side of the cross.

Throughout the coming weeks, do have someone from the altar guild designated to take photographs of your church decorations- how often do we wish we had done this when January rolls around? It is a practical record for future altar guilds  and a treasure for the church archives.  For those altar guilds having Christmas parties over the next two weeks, be sure to take a group photo and put the names and date on the back.  An altar guild photo album will provide so many wonderful memories over the years. And please do send in photos of your Advent and Christmas decorations to share here!  (Revdma@aol.com)

A Touch of Glitter

09 Wednesday Dec 2009

Posted by in Altar Guild Projects, Christmas, Church Decorating, Church Flowers, Feastdays, Potpourri, Seasonal Needs

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Martha Stewart’s Crystal Glitter

I was excited to find Martha Stewart’s excellent fine glitter at Walmart’s yesterday.  This is the old-fashioned lovely stuff which has a glint like sun on new-fallen snow.  Although I run from a “Vegas” Christmas decor for churches in general, a touch of crystal or silvery glitter on natural branches, applied with a light hand, can add a whole new dimension.

A cardboard box lid makes a handy tray for overall ”glittering”  of foliage and twigs. Spray adhesive (comes in a can like hairspray) is just the thing, applied lightly. Sprinkle glitter immediately over wet adhesive, wait a few moments, then tap off excess and catch it for reuse in the cardboard lid. For spot glittering, tacky glue, or other liquid adhesives and clear glues are effective. A few glittered twigs or sprigs of greens and foliage in pew ends catch the glow of candlelight in a darkened church on Christmas Eve night.  The aim is not to overdo the gilding and glittering!  A little will go a long way, and will look like the diamond glint of snow.

One year my decorating scheme was Glad Tidings By the Sea as our parish was right on Narragansett Bay.  We used strands of white  lights which were encased by scallop shells (still available at the Christmas Tree Shop), pearl roping, and many beautiful sand dollars and seashells just kissed with silver and crystal glitter, small aqua and silver balls, and feather sea gulls- lovely!

Natural silvery birch branches simply arranged in a garden urn (which may be faux-finished to look like wrought iron or stone) add a wintery touch without the glitter. No birch branches handy?  Any type of branch can receive a light aerosol spray painting of white or silver-nature’s own sculpture can’t be beat!  The aim is to achieve as natural a look as possible when gilding or applying glitter.  Red, green, blue, rainbow and other colored glitters will produce an artificial effect you will want to avoid like the flu!  Another product is Sno-flock which produces a white snowy coating on branches and greens.  This product has been around for many years, and with a controlled finger on the nozzle, can be used to get a wonderful snowy effect.  Glitter- it’s a GOOD thing.

 

Eucalyptus for Christmas

08 Tuesday Dec 2009

Posted by in Christmas, Church Flowers, Potpourri

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Looking for something besides the usual red poinsettia for Christmas decorating? With Rose Sunday coming fast, are you ready for Greening Sunday at your church? The flower appeal letter has gone out, notices are appearing in church bulletins, and all over America altar guild flower
arrangers are sending in their orders to florists and nurseries this week. Busy times ahead indeed. One “green” which is often overlooked is the versatile eucalyptus.

There are many varieties of eucalyptus, native to Australia-both in tree and shrub form.  Florists in America generally use the familiar tall, spiky variety or another type that  is called in the trade, “seeded or beaded” eucalyptus shown on the wreath above.  “Beaded Euc” has glorious silvery-sage green oval leaves and plump clusters of dense green-yellow beads.  Both will dry beautifully, and make a gorgeous wreath all by themselves.  I like to pick in clusters of beaded euc into my festive Christmas greenery for contrast.  The little wooden green picks are perfect for this, but not essential. It smells heavenly, can take some dry indoor abuse and still look great, and has a lovely natural look.  Usually I favor all-natural materials, but I do love this wreath in the photo above, which is finished off with several sizes of silvery mercury-silver balls.  The balls complement the silvery color of the eucalyptus.  Silver, gold and white are always appropriate for Christmas decoration for churches- in fact, I prefer them to red and green-which are  more secular colors.

There is another variety of eucalyptus, a little harder to find, called silver dollar, which droops gracefully, features large, rounded leaves and wonderful big blue-green seed pods.  Eucalyptus also is fabulous used in pew ends, lasts a long time and is great for all those with stuffy headcolds.  Many is the parishioner I have beheld bending over to take a good whiff of the eucalyptus!

Creamy ivory or sage velvet ribbon looks great if you need to add a bow or a swag festoon or rosette, and a touch of metallic silver is – divine!

Christ the King

20 Friday Nov 2009

Posted by in Altar Guild Projects, Architecture, Brass and metalware, Bread & Wine, Christmas, Church Flowers, Feastdays, Incense, Linens, Metalware, Paraments, Potpourri, Seasonal Needs, Special services

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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.

Advent – coming soon

04 Wednesday Nov 2009

Posted by in Altar Guild Projects, Brass and metalware, Church Flowers, Metalware, Potpourri, Sacristy Equipment, Seasonal Needs, Suppliers

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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.

#1 Pet Peeve

25 Thursday Jun 2009

Posted by in Brass and metalware, Bread & Wine, Church Flowers, Metalware, Potpourri, Sacred Vessels

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acolyteextinguishingOne hears a lot hanging out in sacristies.  Over the years the #1 complaint which I have overheard from clergy, and some parishioners too comes after the Dismissal.  As the organist prepares to launch into an inspiring postlude-does your altar guild team dash up to the altar and credence table to juggle the metalware, snatch the flower vases for shut-in delivery and clack in high heels across the chancel on the way to the sacristy?  If “mea culpa“s the answer, it is not too late to reform!  Generally understood in most parishes is that the service has ended and exiting may commence when the acolytes have extinguished the altar candles-in some cases it is more than the two Eucharistic candles and this may take some time if done properly, carefully, and with some decorum.  The altar is then covered with the fair linen protector (if not done before putting out the candles), the acolytes step back, genuflect or bow from the waist, and leave the chancel. After a few bars of the postlude, parishioners begin to rise from the pews or chairs and head back down the nave to where the rector is often waiting to greet the flock at the end of the aisle.  When the congregation has transferred its attention from the chancel to leaving the sanctuary, it is then timely for the altar guild to exit the sacristy to begin the important business of clearing the credence table, checking for stains or spots, trimming candlewicks, etc.

Silver-TrayI have found that an attractive silver tray with side handles, lined with a white linen doily or towel the perfect way to convey all vessels with some gracefulness and safety  from the chancel back to the sacristy. In some churches acolytes bring the vessels back to the sacristy, but I would not recommend this for young acolytes as costly metalware is frequently dropped or “juggled” precariously as they attempt to take everything in one trip.  Many is the breadbox I have seen with numerous dings in the side or lid or a crooked lid cross.  This is an expensive damage to repair.

acolytes_pastor

Changing of the frontal or any major work to be done should be accomplished when all have exited the church.  Sometimes one must forfeit the coffee hour treats when duty calls. 

I am mourning the demise of the red and black cassocks and white cottas shown in the photo above.  Nothing was lovelier than seeing that cheery red cassock on Christmas morning, and the black cassock was always a reminder of Advent and Lent.  Altar servers, if young, wore the square-necked short cotta, the Master of Ceremonies a snowy longer surplice, and the adult acolytes a square-necked surplice while the choir wore round-necked surplices over black cassocks. I am not sure how the new altar server white alb came about or if it is mandatory.  Apparently it has caught on and is popular in most churches in New England.  I am always pleased to visit a church and see the “old-fashioned” style still in use-as is the case still in some Rhode Island parishes.  I am not a fan of the white server alb which looks somewhat monastic, is difficult to keep clean, and the cincture ropes are a  temptation for knot-tying, fiddling, and such during the service.

The catalogue companies must be rejoicing though-and the number one article I receive for relocation is a red or black acolyte cassock- by the trunkful.

Divine Flower Arranging

10 Wednesday Jun 2009

Posted by in Announcements, Book Shelf, Church "Crawls", Church Flowers, Gardens & Flower Shows, Potpourri

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gay estesI have worked for many years as a florist, managed a shop, and conducted training workshops for flower arranging for churches- but I must say I have never been so enlightened and amused by any publication as much as Gay Estes hilarious manual The Church Ladies’ Guide to Divine Flower Arranging. Ms. Estes lives in Texas and brings wit and humor and plain old practical common sense to the age-old issue of how to decorate altars on Sundays and holidays economically, artistically, and appropriately. The chapter titles will make you smile and the illustrations and diagrams are wonderful.  This is a must-have for any flower guild and can be procured for about 8 dollars used on Amazon.com.  Now that summer is here and our gardens are bursting forth for altar vases- let Gay help you arrange them in style! My favorite idea?- using upside tomato cages to make Christmas Trees by bagging potted poinsettia plants in “Baggies” and wiring them to the cage, rootball inside. Fabulous!

And while we are about flowers- don’t forget St. Columba’s Annual Garden Party and Flower Festival this coming Saturday.

gardenparty

Epiphany, East Providence

04 Monday May 2009

Posted by in Church "Crawls", Church Flowers, Easter & Palm Sunday, Feastdays, Gardens & Flower Shows, We get mail

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Thanks for sharing photos of Palm Sunday and Easter!  The Paschal candle is spectacular- so easy to do using the jello mold ring, yet so effective and festive. The idea of a fan of palms around the Gospel on Palm Sunday is one I have never seen before- very nice. Got photos?  Please send to revdma@aol.com. Thanks Susan- and the hard-working guild at Epiphany for a beautiful Easter and Holy Week effort.

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