St. Stephen's Flower Guild
The beauty of holiness
Each week, talented, dedicated volunteers gather in the church to create exquisite floral arrangements for the main altar and the altar in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. In addition to creating arrangements for Sunday services, guild members design arrangements for weddings, funerals, and other special services, as well as services on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and Holy Week and Easter.
In many churches, floral arrangements are created by members of the altar guild. It's becoming more common, however, for churches to gather separate groups of volunteers for these two important tasks. The altar guild focuses on preparing the nave and side chapels for Holy Eucharist and other services, with special linens, hangings, candles, and the elements for Communion.
The flower guild is organized by teams, and each team is responsible for one month of the year. Different team members rotate tasks from week to week during their assigned month, such as conditioning flowers, arranging them, and watering them over the weekend so that they remain fresh until Sunday. So this rewarding activity need not be overwhelming!
Everyone is welcome to join St. Stephen's Flower Guild. If you do not have flower arranging experience, guild members are happy to provide guidance.
And when we say everyone, we mean everyone. This ministry is not limited to women!
If you think you might want to explore being part of a flower guild team, you are cordially invited to come to church on Friday morning to observe a team arranging flowers for that weekend's services. Most teams assemble at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday, but it's a good idea to call the parish office to confirm when that week's team will arrive.
To learn more about the flower guild and becoming a member, please contact Catherine Whitham or Kyle Huske, the guild's co-chairs.
Memorials and dedications
Many people like to remember or honor a loved one by dedicating the flowers on a particular Sunday to that person (or persons). To do this, you simply complete this form and send a donation of $100 for the cost of the flowers and materials. If you have questions about flower memorials, please contact Laurie Rogers.
Holiday memorials are also available at Easter and Christmas. The request form for those dedications is here.
Altar Guild
If you are looking for information about St. Stephen's altar guild, please follow this link.
Contacts and links
Catherine Whitham, Flower Guild Co-chair
Kyle Huske, Flower Guild Co-chair
Memorial Flowers Request (Sundays)
Holiday Flower Memorials (Easter and Christmas)
Laurie Rogers, Flower Memorials Coordinator