Welcome to the Vergers Voice, the official news blog of the Vergers Guild of the Episcopal Church. Also known as the VGEC, we are located on the web at vergers.org and facebook.com/vergerguild the #1 online resources for vergers world-wide.

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Saturday, December 23, 2017

Advent 4 and Christmas Eve, Oh My!

The Advent wreath with three lighted candles juxtaposed with the Christmas trees just does not quite look right...

By Scott Smith, VGEC President and Head Sacristan, Trinity Church Wall Street, New York, [email protected]

Editor's note: While we were working on this topic, the Episcopal New Service posted, "Churches face liturgical 'conundrum' with Christmas Eve falling on Advent IV" which is a really good post, so check it out.

2006 was the most recent year the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve fell on the same day. In 2017 we have such a year, as we will also have in 2023, 2028, and 2034. Yes, there are nerds among us who track these things.

The gang here at the Vergers Voice blog are wondering what our membership, filled with active participants in the liturgical planning of our parishes, are doing in preparation for this particularly busy Sunday and Monday. So we asked you! We sent out a Mail Chimp email to 1,995 members. We were thrilled to hear from many of you who took the time to reply. Here's a generous sample of the replies:

From Tony J. Faught, St. Edmund's Episcopal Church, San Marino, California

Christmas is always an exciting time at Church and something I always look forward to. With Advent 4 and Christmas Eve falling on the same day, it does add to my already hectic duties. I am not only Verger of my Parish I am also LEM, Lector, Usher, Hospitality and I belong to the Bell Choir. Coordinating four services for one day is exhausting but joyous work. I am finding that the most difficult duty is trying to gather my teenage Acolytes for each service. Gathering a handful for morning services has proven to be pretty easy, gathering a full Acolyte corps for each of the 2 evening services has proven much more difficult. With perseverance I managed to complete my task with 3 adult volunteers to fill in the gaps for the late service. It will be with great pride when I see the fruits of my labor come to fruition Christmas Eve as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

From Hank Williams, Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

We here in eastern Canada are doing probably what a great number of others are doing i.e. scaling back the number of services. We already have a weekly service at 8:00 a.m, 10:00 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. which would make Christmas eve extremely hectic with the yearly 4:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. services. We will have only a 10:00 a.m. service on Christmas eve morning and the other three that evening. This will be followed by the usual 10:00 a.m. on Christmas morning. Thank goodness that Boxing Day is a statutory holiday here!

From Geoff Brown, Trinity Lime Rock in the Diocese of Connecticut

First off, instead of having our Christmas Pageant on 4 Advent we had it on 3 Advent this year. This may upset some, but attached is a photo of our acolytes heading out in the Gospel procession. You’ll note that they are not in any usual kind of vestments – these are their costumes for the pageant which follows the Gospel. It was unintentional, but I see that we managed this year to have Advent Blue vestments without spending an extra dime! Somehow the costumes, at least for these three, were at least variants on Advent Blue. (note that the altar, however, is not). We’re handling the Advent 4 – Christmas eve conundrum this year as follows: Sunday 8 AM Holy Eucharist – straight Advent 4. Sunday 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist – begins as Advent 4 with lighting the Advent wreath, but morphs into the family Christmas eve service. Altar will be white, and acolytes will be in red cassocks (pretty much their favorites, and they wear them only 3x per year: Christmas, Palm Sunday, and Pentecost) with white cottas. None of them will fit from last year, so we will have some vesting confusion. We have a seven year old as Lector and a nine year old as Epistler that day. (actually, they are both really good and expressive readers, and recognize that this is a relatively big deal so they will be prepared. Even if I have to pull up a kneeler so they can get up to the level of the lectern). Sunday 6 PM Holy Eucharist – straight Christmas Eve. We will have a lot of photos at facebook.com/trinitylimerock.

From Shirley Pardon, St. Philips in Coral Gables, Florida.

We seem to be luckier than most at St. Philips in Coral Gables, Florida.
  • The Altar Guild functions brilliantly.
  • The flowers are delivered by the local florist - already arranged.
  • Verger's only needed for one service - the late one.
  • Everything else is organized and run by the Rector.
  • Then we stand around the fountain after the midnight service, drinking champagne in the courtyard.
So no sweat at our church!!! Merry Christmas to all Vergers. I will be thinking of you all in your churches.

From Scott Smith, Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City

Of course as VGEC president I replied! So let me say that, just like everyone else, this is definitely a crammed 30 hour period. I'm not sure if I like it better having everything at the same time or not. There is something in me that says it's better to get it all over with at once, but I really should think about that feeling before I promote it. At Trinity Church, we have long decided that it is virtually impossible to adequately communicate to everyone (parishioners, staff, and most importantly in this case, the public) changes to our normal Sunday and weekday schedule of our services. So, we never even thought about reducing the number of Advent 4 services that we were having, and that gave all of our communications a well defined clarity about them. With Advent being on then we had to decide about the Christmas Pageant. Lord have mercy, this was already complicated and now it's getting worse. So at our normal 9:15am Family Service at St. Paul's Chapel on Advent 4, we plopped the Christmas Pageant there, so in fact we decided to cheat a little right from the start. Everything else we pretty much left the same. The biggest impact this has had is that Trinity Church has to stay in Advent mode until after the 11:15am service and jump to Christmas by 6pm, and St. Paul's Chapel has 8am Advent 4 in full blown Christmas decorations and continues with the pageant and the Family Christmas Eve Eucharist at 4pm and so on. This is not that interesting, so I'll stop right here! I will add that just like everyone reading this, the biggest challenge we have faced here is scheduling the 321 people for all of the 9 services that we have in the 30 hours from Advent 4 to Christmas Day. That's a lot of people! To see our online rota for that period, click HERE.

From Annette Baker, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, Boca Raton, Florida

When sending out our schedule to everyone, I sent the following note and had a few people respond and try to help with the load:
Hello everyone, ​Below and attached is the schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Farther below, I've also attached December 24th 8am and 10am services that are Advent 4 services and were sent out previously). With so many services and so many of us traveling for the holiday, you may see on the schedule that many people are doing double, triple, or even quadruple duty. We truly appreciate your time and willingness to serve! If by chance, you aren't on the schedule and would like to serve, can you please let me know?
Also thinking about sending a note out enticing volunteers with Christmas cookies in the acolyte room between services - food seems to always attract! Another thing I asked is that the altar guild (who is also running thin) make sure and rinse all of our vessels that are used on the credence table in the piscina because with so few of us on the altar, the vergers will also have to be lay Eucharistic ministers and will be unable to clean the vessels right after the Eucharist as is normal in our service. Just a few thoughts....

From Jim Parks, St. James Marietta, Georgia

With Advent 4 and the Christmas Eve services together we will be having a total of 7 services at St.James Marietta as well as a 10:00 on Christmas morning. We always use two Vergers for our major services and usually only one during the regular services. That means on Christmas Eve I will have used a total of 11 vergers on that day plus one Christmas Day... No doubt we will all be worn out when it's over but that just comes with the territory. Just glad we are all able to serve.

From David Phillips, Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Virginia

We are preparing for 4th Advent for the 10:15AM service, the annual children’s pageant at 4PM, and the Christmas Eve Festal Eucharist with Beginning at 9:30 PM with the Women of the Choir singing A CEREMONY OF CAROLS, OP. 28 by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976); Barbara Chapman, harp. We have a cadre of 5 Volunteer Vergers, 4 of whom will serve in these services: 1 at 4th Advent, 2 at each of the Festal Eucharists. Brass was polished by a team of volunteers last Saturday, the Altar and Flower Guilds will be in high gear with all teams collaborating to do the changeover from 4th Advent to Christmas Eve on Sunday afternoon. College students returning for the holidays will also participate as Acolytes and Servers. We are particularly fortunate to have as our guest Presider and Preacher, The Right Reverend Doctor James B. Magness. These services will also mark the end of 50 years of service for our organ, which will be packed up and sent away for repair and rebuilding during the coming year. It is anticipated to return for Christmas Eve 2018.

From Ernie Mainland, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Petoskey, Michigan

Ours is a small parish in northern Michigan. If we all showed up at the same time, we might have 300 souls. But it is likely that we will have no more than 150 at the largest of four services on Advent IV and Christmas Eve. A our priest is also going to a neighboring parish that has no priest, he will no doubt be totally exhausted. I am doing the Christmas Day service, ten in the morning, where we will be lucky to have a dozen folks. The liturgy is based on my great grandfather’s BCP of 1874. There will be no communion since we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus, not remembering the Last Supper. We will follow that BCP right up to the consecration paragraphs using the lectionary from the same book. The readings are appropriate for the birth, including Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 2:1 and finally John 1:1. The “sermon” will be Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Christmas Message of 2016. We will follow the service with birthday cake and a suitable beverage. The three gifts will also be on display: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

From Donald Wertz, All Saints' Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas

We persuaded the Rector to celebrate only the first Service on Sunday to observe Advent IV so the Altar guild will have time to change hangings, arrange poinsettias, etc.

From John Whitaker, Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville, Tennessee

Our Dean has come up with a brilliant solution! The Advent IV service will be held at a special Saturday evening service, to fulfil that obligation. Sunday, the 24th will proceed as a usual Christmas Eve; that is, we will not have any of the regular Sunday morning services, but will have our customary Christmas Eve Services at 12:15 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Christmas will see our usual 10 a.m. service (very low key). This will allow the Altar Guild and Flower Guild perform their usual magic, Saturday morning. So minimum stress and change, this year! Merry Christmas!

From Bill Cox, St. John's Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas

We typically have three services on Sundays - two services in English in the morning and one in Spanish in the early afternoon. On Christmas Eve, we typically have two services - a bilingual family-oriented Eucharist in the early evening that includes a children’s pageant and a late “midnight mass” service where we pull out all the stops - full choir, additional brass and woodwind instrumentalists, congregational candles, and so forth. This upcoming Sunday, we will merge the two liturgical days by having a single service for Advent IV in the morning. After the service, we will have a simple lunch that we are using as a bribe to get people to help us decorate the church for Christmas. We switch from Sarum Blue for Advent to Celebration White for Christmas, and we break out all the poinsettias, wreaths, and other finery that have been quietly waiting in the sacristy. The evening services are as usual for Christmas Eve—a bilingual children’s pageant at 5:00 PM, Choral presentation at 10:30 PM, and the Celebration Eucharist at 11:00 PM. We then have another Eucharist on Christmas Morning; sadly this service is sparsely attended. After that, there is a slight bit of rest for the weary - at least until we prepare for the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, our namesake Saint, a few days later.

From Charles Miller, The Church of the Resurrection, Vineland, New Jersey

Being that there is no Trinity Episcopal or Saint Andrews here in Cumberland County, New Jersey, and being that the two parishes are worshiping as The Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal), the Christmas services are going to be a bit different this year. We are starting Sunday morning service as usual at 10:00 AM at our rented site in Millville, New Jersey. After that service we will set the Church up for the 10:00 PM service, then as soon as that service is over we load up and move everything to Saint Andrews in Bridgeton for the 10:00 service Christmas day. Then we load everything up and take it back to our rented Church in Millville.

From Andrew Eastman, Church of the Holy Comforter, Vienna, Virginia

At our parish (~1,800 members) we are fortunate to have six vergers, which allows us to spread the load. Our interim rector made the decision to observe Advent 4 at our Saturday 5:00 pm service this year. That allows us to focus our attention fully on the Christmas Eve liturgy on Sunday. Our vergers have been in place for a minimum of three years, with some in their position for over a decade so it is not our first Christmastide. While we can’t eliminate the stress of the season completely, we reduce it as much as possible by planning, reflecting on how we have conducted the services in previous years, and meeting as a team with the clergy, minister of music, altar guild and lay liturgist coordinator to review the liturgies in the week prior. Planning is the key. We begin in August by coordinating verger and lay liturgist schedules, then in early November we solicit acolyte volunteers from our 60+ member acolyte team. Where training is needed, we conduct it a few weeks in advance. Assignments for the service are communicated and confirmed five days in advance. Vergers and clergy meet three days in advance to review the service in detail and review assignments. Service bulletins are distributed electronically. Acolytes, lay liturgists and verger arrive 30-60 minutes in advance of the service to review what will occur. All these steps help to ensure we are prepared and hopefully have a low stress Christmas.

From Gary Mason, St. Paul's Church Englewood, New Jersey

Yes it is a busy time for all of us. We at St. Paul's Englewood NJ are having a Greening of the Church on Saturday morning. On Advent 4 we are having Morning Payer at our 8:00am and 10:30am services. At 5:00pm we are having a Jazz Mass and at 10:30 pm we will have Carols followed by a Choral Candle Lit Mass at 11:00pm.

From Corrine Hilton Hofstetter, St, Aiden's Episcopal Church, Alpharetta, Georgia

First of all, Happy Holidays to all ! May you be blessed this season! The four vergers at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church are rejoicing with our parish the installation of The Rev. Reginald Simmons as our new Rector on December 17! Due to the recent power outage at the Altanta airport, our guest preacher could not be with us so Bp. Wright stepped up to fill in with an inspirational presentation. A great day for all involved! On behalf of Cozy Ledford, Becky Sullivan, Bob Stetcher, and myself, we hope that you will have the pleasure of meeting Fr. Reggie soon! God Bless!

From David Nolan, Christ Episcopal Church, Deposit, New York

With the season being very busy unable to get to my inbox until today. The Flower Guild has completed their work. The list is provided by the Treasurer and purchase is done thru the Lions Club which provides poinsettias. I will be assisting Altar Guild tomorrow. No Service Sunday a.m. Two services in the evening. One at 7:00 p.m. and one at 11:00 p.m. I will be multitasking at these. Verger, reader, Lay Eucharistic Minister, and thurifer. Merry Christmas and May God Bless all.


Did you know that you can submit your own story about the verger ministry for possible inclusion in the Vergers Voice blog?

We are always looking for interesting topics, ideas, and creative ways of demonstrating the power and enjoyment of being part of the fellowship of the VGEC and our ministry of service.

If you have any ideas, or if you would like to take your turn at writing a post and sharing ideas, send them to [email protected]!


Abstract: Take notes on Sunday, December 24, 2017, because we get to celebrate the 4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve together again in 2023, a mere six years away. Here are how some of our fellow vergers are hoping to celebrate. Merry Christmas from the Vergers Voice!


Saturday, December 16, 2017

Advent 3, Gaudete Sunday, Joy, Rose/Pink Vestments/Candles, and Penitence: What's it all About Anyway?

When asked about Gaudete Sunday, Duke DuTeil, Training Advisor for the VGEC, replied with this!

By Various Members of the VGEC, [email protected]

As we all know, today we celebrate the Third Sunday in Advent. Did you notice that the collect of the day begins with "Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us..."? Did you know that Advent 3 is often referred to as "Stir up Sunday"? Perhaps your service of Advent 3 began with the introit "Gaudete in Domino semper, iterum dico gaudete" in Latin, translated as "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice!" and is often referred to as "Gaudete Sunday"? Does your advent wreath have blue or purple or white candles? Do you have a pink candle for Advent 3? Do you have a white Christ candle in the middle of the wreath? Does your parish use blue vestments in Advent? Purple? Something else? Do you have pink vestments for Advent 3? Does your parish treat the season of Advent as a penitential season similar to Lent?

OK, enough of this. We asked several members of the VGEC to chime in on some of these questions and this is the result. Enjoy! Or disagree! But please comment about your own thoughts and experiences in the provided comments section below or on Facebook at facebook.com/vergerguild.

First we wanted to point out a few resources that might be helpful to sort out our ideas about Advent if you have time. Some of this is REALLY good.
Here is what a few members and others from around the VGEC and the Episcopal Church have to say about this:

From the Rev. Walt Kindergan, Associate Chaplain of the VGEC:

I have been thinking about this for a couple of days and so I offer some thoughts. Of course, you have already looked up the standard sources for "Gaudete' (rejoice) Sunday and so you have the history and reasoning behind this observance in the middle of Advent, which I find pleasant. We don't really consider Advent so much a penitential season any longer in any case.

In my role as a priest primarily engaged in pastoral care, I have become aware almost daily lately that many people are not finding joy in this season and are not looking forward to the joy of Christmas. The sister of a friend and parishioner died just this morning in hospice care and her death will overshadow any Christmas celebrations for that family this year, and perhaps in years to come. Another parishioner is in the hospital for 21 day for chemo treatments for leukemia and will spend Christmas there, wondering what the new year will bring. Yesterday I prayed with a family I encountered on a hospital visit, who is losing their husband/son to brain cancer. There will be presents missing under their tree this year. And there are so many others stories of those who mourn, or have addictions, or feel lost, and so on. You have heard those stories too.

And yet there is joy. Henri Nouwen wrote that joy and sorrow are never separated. "If we try to avoid sorrow at all costs, we may never taste joy, and if we are suspicious of ecstasy, agony can never reach us either. Joy and sorrow are the parents of our spiritual growth." (Henri Nouwen in Bread for the Journey). Joy, unlike happiness, he wrote elsewhere, is "the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing -- sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death -- can take that love away." (Henri Nouwen in The Heart of Henri Nouwen: His Words of Blessing).

So, in this season of Advent, we can - we must - all find that joy in knowing we are beloved children of God and that God has sent - is sending - and will send - his Son, Jesus to us to assure us that God is only love and love wins in the end.

Hope some of this is helpful.

From "About this Service" at Trinity Church Wall Street for the Third Sunday of Advent:

In the Episcopal Church, the third Sunday of Advent is sometimes called "Gaudete Sunday" or "Rose Sunday." Gaudete is the Latin word for "rejoice," and is the first word in the appointed Introit antiphon for the day, "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4). Liturgical traditions associated with this day set it apart as a particularly joyful observance among the hopeful expectancy for Jesus' arrival. Rose-colored vestments may be worn instead of the blue or purple garments used during the remainder of the season; these same colors are also reflected in the candles adorning some Advent wreaths. The rose—a flower historically associated with the Virgin Mary in Western Christian art—actually symbolizes Jesus himself in the 16th-century German carol "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming," heard in two different iterations today.

From David Jette, Retired Verger at All Saints' Episcopal Church, Peterboro, New Hampshire

I gave a class on Advent/Christmas several times and although I thought I printed out all my notes I cannot locate them. I’ve got everything else but alas no Advent! And it’s my favorite season. Oh well...

Although it isn’t properly listed this way it’s Advent 4 that is sometimes referred to as “Mary Sunday.” I think this is so because the appointed Gospel for years B and C follows the narrative of the Annunciation in B and continues in C with the Visitation-both centered on Mary. In year A we get Matthew’s narrative of the birth of Jesus, more from the point of view of Joseph. Mary’s liturgical color is usually white not rose/pink. Vestments designed for Marian feasts are often adorned with lilies. Rose Sunday or Gaudete Sunday is Advent 3-is also called “stir up Sunday” from the opening of the proper collect of the day.

The rose candle in the Advent wreath is lighted on this Sunday. Often flowers adorn the altar area on this Sunday, perhaps pink roses. I maintain (and I know this is a minority position) that unless rose vestments are worn all candles at the Advent wreath should be violet or blue.

This day can be celebrated with frequent use of the word “rejoice” in hymns. The gospels appointed continue the John the Baptist narratives. Advent is not a penitential season or a variation on Lent.  Although the song of praise, Gloria in excelsis is usually omitted perhaps the Trisagion is more appropriate during Advent rather than the Kyrie. Alleluias are retained.

If possible vestments should be not be the same worn during Lent. If Lenten array is used during Lent, violet or blue during Advent is fine. However if violet is worn during Lent, blue during Advent adds a specialness to this unique season. Advent is a season of preparation for and expectation of the coming of the messiah both in the sense of his humble birth and his second coming in triumph as redeemer and judge. The hymns and appointed lessons for Advent emphasize the latter themes and serve less so as a prelude to Christmas.

The Advent wreath is a way to mark time as we await the end of time-again an underlining theme of Advent. For me, the great Charles Wesley hymn “Come, thou long expected Jesus” sums it up: "Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.  Born thy people to deliver born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.  By thine own eternal Spirit, rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit raise us to thy glorious throne.”

Hope this helps!

From David Deutsch, verger at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Washington, DC:

My thoughts? First, a long quote from An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians, Don S. Armentrout, Robert Boak Slocum, editors (2000, Church Publishing, Inc.).
Gaudete Sunday. The third Sunday of Advent in the Roman Catholic calendar of the church year. The term is derived from the Latin opening words of the introit antiphon, “Rejoice (Gaudete) in the Lord always.” The theme of the day expresses the joy of anticipation at the approach of Christmas celebration. This theme reflects a lightening of the tone of the traditional Advent observance. It was appropriate for the celebrant of the Mass to wear rose-colored vestments on this day instead of the deeper violet vestment that were typically used in Advent. This Sunday was also known as “Rose Sunday.” This custom is not required in the Episcopal Church, but it is observed by some parishes with a traditional Anglo-catholic piety. This custom is reflected by the practice of including a pink or rose-colored candle among the four candles of an Advent wreath.
I hold this up as a good solid explanation of Rose Sunday. It emphasizes a critical principle of what we do in the Episcopal church: Much of our practice of liturgy is determined by the tradition of the particular parish church:

  • Do we stand or kneel for Communion? At St. Mark’s Capitol Hill, we stand.
  • Do we use all white candles in our Advent wreath? The Washington National Cathedral uses all white.
  • Does the priest wear violet vestments for Advent or the newer trendy Sarum Blue?
  • Is Advent a penitential season at our church, or is it more a season of waiting, preparation, expectation?
  • Is there a preference for the Rite 1 liturgy

One could go on. Needless to say, tradition plays a huge role in our parish church life. This makes it interesting for the verger, who often asks the question, “What is the correct way…?” Or, perhaps more challenging, attempts to answer that question.

A quick internet search does turn up some references to the third Sunday in Advent as Mary Sunday, but it is somewhat obscure and definitely does not seem to be part of the Episcopal/Anglican tradition. But, as mentioned above, some Episcopal parish churches may have had rectors that felt it fitting to celebrate the third Sunday as Mary Sunday, and Voila! That practice becomes part of the liturgical practice for Advent.

From the Rev. Matthew Corkern, VGEC Chaplain and Rector, Calvary Episcopal Church, Summit, New Jersey:

Gaudete: a poem by Brad Reynolds, S.J.
Because Christmas is almost here,
Because dancing fits so well with music,
Because inside baby clothes are miracles: Gaudete!
Because some people love you,
Because of chocolate,
Because pain does not last forever,
Because Santa Claus is coming: Gaudete!
Because of laughter,
Because there really are angels,
Because your fingers fit your hands,
Because forgiveness is yours for the asking,
Because of children,
Because of parents: Gaudete!
Because the blind see and the lame walk: Gaudete!
Because lepers are clean and the deaf hear: Gaudete!
Because the dead will live again,
Because there is good news for the poor: Gaudete!
Because of Christmas,
Because of Jesus,
You rejoice.
From the Rev. Canon James Callaway, General Secretary, Colleges & Universities of the Anglican Communion:

In Sarum use, the liturgical color blue distinguishes Advent as its own season of expectation, complete with Alleluias. In the Parson's Handbook, Percy Dearmer cautions, "...the tendency at the present day to make another Lent of Advent is much to be depreciated." In Roman usage the third Sunday of Advent is named "Gaudete" for the first word of the Introit from Philippians which became a parallel to Laetare, the refreshment inning in Lent's penitential rigors. In our post-Vatican II lectionary, however, the focus remains on John the Baptist for a second Sunday. Perhaps a little dab of pink could cheer old timers without changing the tone too much.

From Duke DuTeil, VGEC Training Advisor and Head Verger, St. Richard's Episcopal Church, Round Rock, Texas:






Did you know that you can submit your own story about the verger ministry for possible inclusion in the Vergers Voice blog?

We are always looking for interesting topics, ideas, and creative ways of demonstrating the power and enjoyment of being part of the fellowship of the VGEC and our ministry of service.

If you have any ideas, or if you would like to take your turn at writing a post and sharing ideas, send them to [email protected]!


Abstract: Today we celebrate the Third Sunday in Advent which is also known as "Gaudete Sunday" or "Stir up Sunday." What's up with that? We try to make a little sense out of all of this with a little humor thrown in for good measure. Please leave comments on this blog here in the Vergers Voice or at facebook.com/vergerguild.