Every Sunday during the 10am service, right after Father Elliott reads the Gospel and returns to the altar, he reminds us that it is time for all the children between the ages of 3 and 8 to descend to the lower level for Children’s Chapel while we sing a hymn.
Have you ever wondered where they are going and what they will be doing? Take the time to wander to the lower level some time and check out the Children’s Chapel which was relocated to a special place of its own about three years ago.
Janet Permar hand-made several felt hangings of liturgical icons, including the Lenten cross, which you see pictured here. The three rings signifying the Holy Trinity are pictured here, and there are three more icons which hang in the windows of the chapel, lending the space a sacred feeling.
Father Elliott designed the child-scaled pews after those in the Children’s Chapel at St. Paul’s, and David Walden crafted and finished them.
A few weeks ago, I spoke to one of the busiest women in our parish, Elaine Clarke, who is the coordinator for the Altar Guild. I told her we needed new candles, and perhaps an updated altar cloth. Did she know of any that they were no longer using?
By the next week Elaine had taken the time to look at the chapel and told me it was time for some serious upgrades. By the next week she had seen to it that we got a shiny, new cross and candle sticks for the altar. This is the very set that we used in the sanctuary until last Easter when we received a generous gift of new crosses and candle sticks from the Lindsay’s.
The best new gift for the Children’s Chapel, however, is a lovely new altar cloth with a beautiful skirt, designed and hand-made with love by one of our newer members, Mary Sergent. The details are stunning, with two sets of lace mirroring one another on the center of the cloth. The skirt has lovely details on the hem. One aspect that makes this cloth so special is that the material came from the altar cloth which once covered our old altar. The larger part of that cloth was cut to fit the new altar in the sanctuary, which was installed almost a year ago in memory of Almeda Bishop’s late husband. Mary and Elaine cut the cloth strategically in order to make it a balanced design for the new altar.
Mary did not stop at designing and sewing the cloth for the Children’s Chapel. She saw a need for a covering for the stand on which our new cross is displayed and she made one to match the skirt on the altar, which you can see in the photograph here.
This project is another illustration of the way the Holy Spirit is working through the talented members of our parish who do countless, detailed, time-consuming work, continually making our sacred spaces inspiring for all who use them. The children are learning that they are part of a community of people who care for our church in numerous ways. We are truly grateful for your work on this project, Mary, Elaine, Janet and David. Those many parishioners who cleaned the undercroft, painted and moved heavy furniture are also remembered here.
~ Rosemary Walden, Children’s Education Ministry Leader