How did he come up with the name for this blog?I thought that I might take the time to enlighten those of you who do not know what a Verger is.
The office of verger is one of the ancient lay offices of the Church of England. The verger is, as the title implies, a man who carries a virge or rod of office. Basically and characteristically, the verger is seen in cathedrals and in parish churches, robed and virge in hand, preceeding and symbolically clearing the way for choir and clergy as they enter the church at the beginning of the service, guiding lesson readers and preachers at the appropriate times to the lectern and pulpit.
Around the basic ceremonial office gather a range of related tasks which a paticular verger may undertake, as need and circumstance require. Invariably, a verger will "welcome" people who come to church as worshippers or visitors. People seeing the verger robed, will approach him for information and advice. He must know the History of the church and must be a source of practical advice about the services in the church and the facilities. The vergers authority "MUST" be exercised with kindness and in a real sense be a pastor.
To be a good verger, you must have a solid spiritual foundation upon which your misitry is based. Yet, the irony of the situation is that many times it becomes difficult for the verger to find time to worship adequately in the middle of performing the liturgical functions of the job.
You "must" follow a spiritual discipline. While a rule of life may sound oppressive to some, it can be a simple or as detailed as seen fit. At a minimum, pray daily. Read Scripture regularly and contribute to the life and mission of your parish.
As you can see, it's not an easy job. It takes a tremendous amount of time and patience to work out all of the details with the Altar Guild, Ushers, Choir, Priests, Acolytes, etc. This is a "calling" such as a person who is called to the priesthood. My time, effort and talents are given to the Lord who is my Savior.
May God's Peace be with you.
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2 comments:
I gather you are a Verger in the Houston TX area. I am sure you are familiar with the Mace Chapter of the VGEC, and VGEC itself (Vergers' Guild of the Episcopal Church). This is Bill Gleason, VGEC President Emeritus, reponding from Nashville TN. Since you have not posted your name or any information on your Blog or HomePage, I am curious as to who is writing.
William H Gleason
VGEC Guild Shoppe
Vergers' Guild of the Episcopal Church
618 Harpeth Parkway East
Nashville TN 37221
Bill@vergers.org
With a Google Alert on the word “verger”, your recent Blog popped up in my daily alerts. I am interested in reading of your <.........> . And in case you are unfamiliar with the Vergers’ Guild of the Episcopal Church, I also wanted to give you some information about the VGEC.
The Vergers’ Guild of the Episcopal Church was founded in 1989 as a service organization devoted to the Office and Ministry of the Verger in the Episcopal Church today. The Guild prints a regular newsletter, The Verger’s Voice, along with an Annual VGEC Membership Directory. The VGEC meets annually, in a 4-day conference, where vergers converge for education, entertainment, social time, and an Annual Banquet. Last year’s 2007 19th VGEC Conference was held in September at the Cathedral Church of Saint John in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year, 2008, we will meet at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in Burlington, Vermont, Thursday thru Sunday, 23-26 October for the 20th National Conference of the Vergers’ Guild of the Episcopal Church. We hope to see you there.
The Vergers’ Guild also has “A Course of Training for a Verger”, that we sell to members. Upon completion of the course, a VGEC Diploma and Virge are presented to the those members during the Annual Banquet at the VGEC National Conference. Last year 6 members were presented with their Diploma and Virge, increasing to 133 those Fellows of the VGEC.
The Guild has an active Web Site ( www.vergers.org ), and a V-List to which anyone can subscribe and contribute to any ongoing lines of conversations, or ask questions concerning vergers and our ministry. Instructions for subscribing to the V-List are on our WebPage.
If you are interested in obtaining a few materials, brochures and hand-outs, I would welcome your interest and/or membership in the Vergers’s Guild of the Episcopal Church. If you have further questions, would like to plan a workshop in your area, need more materials, or any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time. God Bless you always!
Bill
William H Gleason
VGEC President Emeritus
VGEC Guild Shoppe
618 Harpeth Parkway East
Nashville TN
615.646.7061 Voice
615.673.1474 Fax
615.812.9440 Cell
Bill@vergers.org Email
www.vergers.org WebPage
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