Altar Guild - Part 1

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Long-standing Altar Guild member, Dandy Zgola, shares some Our Saviour church history

By Kerry Baldwin

Meet our longest serving Altar Guild member, Dandy Zgola! She has been worshiping at Our Saviour since 1957 and has been a member of the Altar Guild since 1983. 

Dandy’s mother was also a member. Per Dandy, “the rule was, if you had a daughter you had to bring her into the Altar Guild so you could retire!”  

In those early days, the team had to polish brass and silver every week “so there was an awful lot to do on Saturdays to get ready for Sunday.” At some point they realized they were probably over-polishing the silver, so fellow Guild member, Carol Henry, came up with the brilliant idea to take all the brass and have it re-coated. Polishing became a quarterly activity.  

Over the years, other streamlining changes have been made so that members generally serve once a month and checklists and pictures were assembled to refer to. “It doesn’t matter how long you have served, you always need to refer to them because you may forget something.” 

“I remember the first time I had to come and do it by myself and I was in a panic.” (Laughs.) “But, as I tell new people, if you get the bread and the wine out, that’s all that matters. As long as we have that, everything is good.”

When asked what it means to serve in the Altar Guild, Dandy said “It is a blessing. I just love being here setting up His table while being in the background. I'm not one of these people that wants to be out in the front, so being able to serve in this capacity and to set His table for Sunday has always been rewarding to me.”

For Dandy, serving on Altar Guild is a family affair. “My husband (Ted) started coming with me when we were dating. In order for him to be with me he would come and help me serve so he started doing things and ended up on the schedule. He was the first man to join the Altar Guild!”

When asked what kind of person is a great fit for the Altar Guild, Dandy said “Anybody is a great fit. Old and young. Men and women. If you can’t move around that much you can just wash and dry things so you don’t have to climb the steps. It’s a calling for anybody who feels that they would get a blessing to be able to help set His table.”

And how long does Dandy intend to continue in her service to the Lord’s table? “I’m going to keep doing this as long as my body will allow me to!”

If you would like to learn more about joining the Altar Guild, contact Theresa Meyers at theresa.meyers1130@gmail.com.