August news

Dear acolytes and acolyte parents:

Lots of stuff, so please read through this post!

First of all, thanks to everyone who has served this summer. I really appreciate the effort it takes (by both acolytes and their parents) to get there in the summer! Thanks especially to Natasha who ended up all by herself one Sunday -- I heard you did a great job!

Please join me in welcoming our new acolytes: Nathaniel Urban, Jordon, Jon, and Joey German, and Thomas Shields.

There will be an acolyte meeting after church on September 9th. (This is a 10 o'clock service). New acolytes will be introduced and have some training. Experienced acolytes, this will be a chance to get "brushed up" on some of your skills, and demonstrate doing things the "right" way! Also, I would like your input on what to improve. There will be snacks, and I will try to make sure that everyone is connected with a vestment that fits! If you can't make this meeting, let me know, so that I can catch you up on what you missed.

I expect that Father Tom will be making some changes to the service over time, so stayed tuned to find out "what's new." We will probably have another meeting later in the fall.

Next Sunday (August 19) , I would like to take some pictures of the "right way" and the "wrong way" to perform acolyte duties. If you are interested in being a "model" meet me in the church after the 10:00 service. New acolytes, this is a great way for you to get started with your training!

Both next Sunday and the 26th, if you have chance, stop by the acolyte closet after church so we can get a head start on matching up acolytes and vestments.

I have more information about the installation service on September 8th. This service will be at 4 pm, and we would like as many acolytes as possible to participate by vesting and walking in procession. This will mean arriving by 3:00 to get vested (probably -- I will let you know if this time changes). As I will be involved with a choir rehearsal at this time, it would be great if a parent could assist with getting the acolytes vested. I will make sure the vestments are in the closet "in order" before the service. Most of you have let me know already if you will be there on the 8th -- let me know for sure in the next week or so.

Finally, the National Acolyte Festival will be held at Washington National Cathedral on October 6th. You can learn more about it here: http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/worship/acolyte2007.shtml

Let me know if you'd like to go. We would probably drive down Friday night, stay overnight at a church in the D.C. area, and be back late afternoon on Saturday.

Thanks for making it all the way through this post. Any questions? E-mail me back, (benglebach at aol dot com)

Bella