For this vergers voice I’m going to try to answer three questions. The first, someone asked, “If the Altar was always in the same place.” No, the Altar is not in its original place but it is not far from it. At one time all Altars in the Episcopal Church were against the East wall. The East wall of a church is always the wall behind the Altar no matter if it facing East or not. Ours happens to face more South-East than true East. That is one reason the sun shines so brightly in the window above the Altar on Sunday morning, but it also means that God in smiling on us. In some churches where the Altar is made of stone or is built directly into the wall and can’t be moved, they use a moveable Altar or table.
Until about 1980 our Altar was against our East wall. Up until this time during communion the priest would face the Altar, with their back to the congregation. I knew that the trend to move the Altars away from the wall started when the 1979 Book of Common Prayer was approved for use but I was not sure why. So, I asked Mother Barbara for an answer and the following is what she had to say.
Yes, it is a good question, with a rather complex answer. The main answer is because of the shift in the theology represented with the 1979 Prayer Book. That’s when the shift took place and the altars were brought out away from the wall. The shift in theology was all about the priest not action on behalf of the people (back to the people as though representing the people to God) but rather acting with the people in celebrating communion, facing and being a part of the people. Communion in the 1979 Prayer Book is seen as an act that we all partake in equally, although in different roles. The 1979 Prayer Book made the shift that the people in the pews were considered the ministers of the service and much more lay involvement was encouraged. It took away the focus on the priest in the service(as you’ll notice in Rite 1, the priest says nearly all the service with very little participation from the parishioners—except as we do with a Rite 2 form of the POP). The Rite 2, which came to be in the 1979 Prayer Book basically says we all do it together, we want everyone involved, everyone is necessary, and God shows up in the midst of us—not because the priest does something on behalf of the people, but with the people.
I am not sure if the Altar we use today is the original one to the church, early pictures are not clear enough to tell, but if it wasn’t, it was put in the very early days of the church.
Are the floors original?
Our hardwood maple floors are original. Over the years they have been refinished at least once that I know of, and the carpet was an added feature. In the 70’s the ECW noticed that the floor in the Altar area was very worn so they brought in sanders and brushes and went to work. Also during the 70’s the Nave and Channel area floors were refinished. Since the pews had to be removed, these were taken to the PLC and refinished by the members of St. Andrew’s.
Are you the coolest verger?
I hardly consider myself cool, but being a verger in the Episcopal Church is one of the coolest things you can do. You get to meet and help a lot of great people and know you are making a different in people’s lives. You have over four thousand brothers and sisters worldwide doing the same thing that you’re doing, worrying about the same things and facing the same problems. Here in the US we have a great organization behind us, helping us learn and grow in our ministry. Here at St. Andrew’s Mike, Bill and I have the best people helping us with our journey. It can’t get much cooler than that.