The Altar Guild:
MAKING OUR PARISH BEAU
W
hen you walk into our parish around Christmastime, you can’t help but be inspired by the gorgeous decorations that surround you. Year by year, they not only remind you of the peace, joy, and glory of the holy season but also of the sanctity of the Christ Child. “We decorate the altar area for special feast days,” says Anita Nyberg, President of the Our Lady of Lourdes Altar Guild. “For Christmas, we order Christmas trees from the mountains in North Carolina and arrange them around the Nativity scene, and we adorn the altar with red and white poinsettias. We also hang wreaths on our parish doors. During Lent and Advent, we put up special wall hangings that go with the altar, as well.” Thankfully, lovely decorations are only some of the many blessings that Our Lady of Lourdes Altar Guild bestows on our parish family. This ministry consists of several committees which work to enrich the life of our parish in a variety of ways. These include the Altar Linen Committee; the Flower Committee; the Cleaning Committee; and a committee
that takes care of sending out “get well” and sympathy cards, such as to Altar Guild members or their families in time of need. “The Flower Committee gets new flowers each week, and we make arrangements with them to put around the altar or statues,” Anita says. “We also have a flower memorial program through which anyone can dedicate a floral arrangement to a loved one.” Furthermore, a group of Altar Guild members makes phone calls to parishioners to inform them of current Guild events and activities. Each Friday after Mass, Guild members clean our parish by carefully removing wax from the carpets, dusting, cleaning out the pews, and taking care of the candles. During the pandemic, Altar Guild members worked with other parish families to sanitize our church pews after every Mass. “They were very dedicated,” Anita says. “They did it for a year and a half, and we have 13 Masses every week! They are not doing the pews anymore, but they are still sanitizing door handles and other surfaces.”
Altar Guild ladies gather with Fr. Michael Schuetz. Each May, they attend a special Mass and then go out to lunch at a local restaurant, signaling the end of the guild year. Guild meetings resume in September.
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For the Easter season, the sanctuary is adorned by the efforts of the Altar Guild ladies. Azaleas and Easter lilies brighten the altar as we herald the Risen Christ!
