The Altar Guild is a group of ladies who serve each week to care for the sanctuary of the church and to prepare it for each service.  Two or three members are designated each month to serve as a team.  Their names are listed in the bulletin each Sunday.  Some of their duties are changing paraments for the altar and Pastors’ robes, taking care of the communion ware, and preparing various linens and flowers for each Sunday and for weddings.  Also for weddings the Altar Guild places the candelabra and wedding candles if the bride and groom decided to use them.

Baptismal napkins are made by Darlene Kuerschner of the guild and are given to the child at baptism as a remembrance.

The garden of flowers for Easter and the poinsettia display at Christmas are arranged by the Altar Guild with flowers donated by the members of St. John’s.  To add additional beauty to the church during the Christmas season the Guild places wreaths, garlands and candles under the stained glass windows and along the balcony.  We also help decorate the Christmas trees donated by Joan Flynn in Memory of her husband Gerald by putting the Christian symbols and ornaments on them.  This year Pastor Boehringer added the red and gold banners hanging from the center of the ceiling.

The Altar Guild seeks to serve you and to glorify God by beautifying the House of God and thus enhancing the worship of God’s people.  The Guild welcomes memorial to give them the necessary income to provide for the needs of the church.  Since 1999, seven new sets of paraments were purchased for the church.  The Sunday School Altar still needs some new paraments to match the ones upstairs.  They only have two sets.

If you would like to place flowers in the chancel on any Sunday to the glory of God in memory of a loved one, or in honor of a wedding or anniversary, please call Sherry Binger (261-1540) or sign the flower chart on the bulletin board in the entrance to the church.  You may pick up your flowers after the 10:30 worship service, or the Altar Guild team will deliver the flowers to a shut in or someone in a nursing home or the hospital.

Any ladies of the congregation wishing to serve in these ways as a member of the Altar Guild please contact one of the officers of the Altar Guild.  Our meetings are held the second Thursday in February, June and November at 7:00 p.m.  More ladies are always welcomed and desperately needed.

We would also like to express our thanks to the husbands who give us a hand when needed—they are our honorary members.  We have some junior members in the 7th &  8th  grade class and they also help us with the stripping of the Altar on Maundy Thursday.