Altar Servers
St James' Guild of Altar Servers
Guild Medallion
This organisation was set up to provide training, support and fellowship for those involved in Serving at the Altar in St James church.
Some members also belonged to the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary (GSS) and on occasion the GSS held meetings and sang their office at St James. Howerver our Guild was an independent organisation with its own Rules and Rule of Life and a distinctive medallion to be worn when serving.
For various reasons our Guild faded away and the last active member was Dennis Charlesworth. Nevertheless, the ideals of the old Guild of well trained servers who work with reverence, dedication, efficiency and quiet dignity has been maintained to the present day.
Serving Today
Altar Servers today operate much as in the past, although the 8am Communion and 6.30pm Evensong are no longer celebrated, and the use of incense is a relatively recent introduction.
Unfortunately over the past two years it has been necessary to reduce the number of servers at each mass to one or two due to Covid restrictions, but a full serving team has now been reintroduced.
Serving at the Altar is by invitation of the Vicar but anyone, young or old, who feels called to this form of Worship and Service can make their interest known either to Fr Mark or to Simon Emdin our Sacristan.