Welcome to The Church of the Ascension

In its most basic meaning the Church is the people of God, the covenantal community of baptized Christians committed to Jesus Christ as Lord of history, the lord of life. The Church is first and foremost the organic and mystical body of Christian believers transcending culture, denominational boundaries, and even the ages of time through history.

In the New Testament of the Christian Scriptures, the Body of Christ is a term often used to describe the nature and character of the Church. Christ is the head and each member of the Church is a member or part of the body - each different, but each necessary for the health of the whole body. The apostle Paul wrote in the first century that Christians are "the body of Christ and individually members of it" (2 Corinthians. 12.27). The well being and contribution of every part - every person and ministry - is necessary in order that the body be healthy. The body works together, under the headship of Jesus, in order that it might worship and praise God, and live the life of Jesus known to the world, sharing and telling others of his sustaining life, love and hope.

CHANCEL GUILD 101 - The Church cannot function at its best without devoted members of this ministry, as they provide beauty and order to allow worship services to continue with dignity. Bishop Colin Johnson spoke of the Chancel Guild as providers of "light housekeeping for the Lord" (The Anglican - September '05). The duty of the Chancel Guild is to prepare all things necessary for the Celebration of the Eucharist and any other worship services.

Narthex    Where people enter and meet
Nave        (from 'Navis' - a ship) The largest part of the Church, where people sit
Chancel     (from 'Cancelli' - a lattice or screen) Where the clergy, choir & servers sit
Sanctuary     Here is the Holy Table or Altar
Sacristy        Here the clergy robe & the Chancel Guild can do their work

Part II: SACRISTY from the latin word “sacer” meaning holy.
The sacristy is a room close to or adjoining the sanctuary. This room houses vessels, vestments, linens and other supplies necessary for services. Here, altar guild members do most of the preparatory and clean-up work. It can also be the area where clergy and servers gather and prepare for church services. The sacristy at Ascension also has a small stainless steel sink called a piscine which drains directly to the ground. It is used to clean all vessels and linens that have held consecrated elements.
LINENS (Various cloths used in services)
Fair Linen Cloth An altar cloth exact width of the altar with 1” hem on each side but hanging over each end at least 15”. There should be a cross embroidered in the exact centre and one measured to come 3” from each corner.
Under Linen or Second Linen A heavy linen used to protect the top of the altar and the fair linen from stains, which can happen with wooden altars.
Corporals Fine linen, 20” to 22” square with 1/2” hem placed 3” from the front edge of the altar. The corporals protect the fair linen and catch any consecrated bread and wine which could fall during the Eucharist. The chalice is placed in the centre of the corporal for each communion.
Pall A 7” firm linen square made from either plastic, aluminum or glass with a cross embroidered on top. The pall is placed over the chalice.
Purificators Used to wipe the lip of the chalice after each person is communicated. It is also used to clean the chalice and paten (holds bread) by the priest at the end of the Eucharist.
Chalice Veil Should be made in the colours of the Church seasons and is a covering for the chalice and paten.
Burse Should be made in the colours of the Church seasons and is placed on top of the veiled communion vessels to hold the corporal and extra purificators.
Lavabo Towel Used when Celebrants wash their fingers during the preparation of the Eucharist.

Part III: Chancel Guild 101 - "HOLY HARDWARE"
Vessels used for the Eucharist.Chalice The chalice is a tall cup, preferably made of sterling silver, which holds the wine.
Paten A shallow pan or dish, preferably made of sterling silver, where upon the bread is placed.
Bread Box A small silver box, set on the credence table, containing wafers, should the Celebrant run out of bread.
Cruets These vessels are usually made of glass or silver. They hold water and wine necessary for the Eucharist.
Care of Holy Hardware After each Eucharist, rinse the chalice(s) with boiling water and then pour the water down the piscine. Wash all the vessels with mild soap and warm water and dry them with a soft cloth. Polish silver items as needed. The Church of the Ascension has many brass items (kneeling rails, collection plates, candles) which need to be polished after every service. DO NOT polish lacquered brass pieces as they have been treated.
Credence Table A small table or shelf, usually on the epistle side of the holy table, on which items for the Eucharist are placed. On this veiled shelf, the bread box, lavabo bowl and towel, extra wine cruet, water cruet and extra chalice are placed. At Ascension, another veiled table at the rear of the nave has the elements placed for the offertory procession, water and wine cruets and paten with bread on it.
Preparing for a Eucharist To prepare for a Eucharist, place a corporal (like a placemat) on top of the fair linen (think of the fair linen as a table cloth placed on the holy table first). Then, place a purificator across the top of the chalice. Place the paten on top of these. Place the large priest’s wafer on the paten. Cover the paten with a pall. Drape all of these with a veil. Finally, place the corporal and a couple of purificators in the burse which is set on top. The colour of the veil and burse will be the appropriate colour for the different Church seasons, major feast days or holy days.

PART IV: CHANCEL GUILD 101 Care and Cleaning of the Linens
Laundering of linens should be done immediately after services, if possible. Pre-wash care saves wear and tear on these items. Purificators should be treated with soap or pre-wash stain remover, then placed in a basin of cold water until they are ready to be washed.
Holy Table linens (fair linen) can be machine washed (on the gentle cycle) as can the other ones, purificators, corporals, lavabo towels. Linens should never be dried in a clothes dryer. They can be dried outside on a clothes line or on a flat surface. Never use javex on these linens. The sun (summer) or frost (winter) can be a natural bleach.
Ironing Linens: Iron linens while they are still damp and iron them on the wrong side. Fair linen is never folded after ironing. Once ironed, roll fair linen onto a roller, wrap in plastic and store in the cloet or cabinet. Corporals, purificators, lavabo towels and Baptismal towels are ironed and folded accordingly (special folding instructions—eg. Do not iron the folds—just hand fold them into the required size).

PART V: CHANCEL GUILD 101: CHURCH SEASONS AND COLOURS
(Seasons of the Church are Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter & the seasons after Pentecost)

Advent The season of preparation not only for Christmas but also for the Second Coming of Christ. A special Chancel Guild preparation is the making of the Advent Wreath which features 3 purple, 1 pink and a single white candle (placed in the centre of the wreath). Colours for this season can be purple or blue. At the Ascension, we use blue.
Christmas This season begins with the first Eucharist on Christmas Eve and continues through for twelve days until January 6, The Feast of the Epiphany. White is the colour used for Christmas.
Epiphany This season begins on the twelfth day of Christmas (January 6). It is the season which commemorates the showing forth of Christ to the Gentiles, the day the Wisemen came to worship Christ. The last day of Epiphany is Shrove Tuesday. The colour white is used for the Feast of Epiphany but then changes to green for the rest of the season.
Ash Wednesday Marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The colour for Lent is purple.
Lent Lent is comprised of the forty days before Easter—a time marked by solemn penitence and fasting.
Flowers are absent in the Church during the whole Lenten season—starting with Ash Wednesday. Usually fresh arrangements of assorted greenery are used. On Easter Sunday, the Chancel is alive with fresh flowers and plants.
Easter The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The colour for Easter is white.
Pentecost Commemorates the descent and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost colour is red—a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The Season After Pentecost The remaining Sundays of the year are called Sundays after Pentecost. The colour for this season is green.
Liturgical Colours Colours of the vestments, hangings and banners.
White - symbol of purity Red - symbol of the Holy Spirit
Purple - symbol for penitence Blue - symbol of penitence
Green - symbol for life
Red - symbol of the Holy Spirit
Blue - symbol of penitence