Holy Trinity Episcopal

I don’t remember us visiting a lot of churches, but we found Holy Trinity and it became our home. That church would become very important in our lives.

Father Ralph McCuen was the pastor.  He was such a good bible scholar and teacher.  I learned a lot from him in the time we attended his church.

Joyce got involved with the Mom’s Day Out program and eventually became the director. Mom’s day out was kind of like temporary day care, except Joyce and her staff did not just babysit the kids, they had lessons for them to complete. I think that laid the foundation for her later work with kids in her bowling programs.

I got involved in the Choir and the Acolyte program at Holy Trinity.  If I was not serving as an Acolyte, I was singing in the Choir. In the Episcopal church, and in others, the priest is assisted during the service by helpers called Acolytes.

Usually there were 4 Acolytes per service. One Crucifer, he carries the Large Cross on a standard (pole) and leads the procession into the church and up to the Altar. The torch bearers, usually 2, follow the Crucifer carrying candles on standards. The 4th acolyte is the Server. He/she sits in the altar area, and assists the priest when it is time for communion. After the service, the procession is reversed as they leave the church.

The Acolyte program eventually took precedence for me.  The Acolyte Master position became available, and Ralph asked me if I would take on that responsibility.  I quickly said yes.  He may have asked me because we had 4 daughters, and they would probably be available to fill in if another acolyte did not show up to serve. I think they all served as Acolytes at some point. Maybe not all at the same time though.

Part of my duties as Acolyte Master was teaching new acolytes what their responsibilities were during the service.  We had Torch Bearers, Crucifers, and Servers that assisted Fr. Ralph at the altar during the service.  It was normally a five-person crew with the Acolyte Master overseeing it all.

I know the girls got tired of filling in for late/no shows, but I cajoled them into serving anyway. Mean daddy.