Handmaiden Report January 2005

This past year we have trained a few more girls to hold the Communion cloth and cut the bread. To accommodate their sizes we acquired some new robes. The robes have done their job in protecting the girls clothing, as nothing had to be surrendered and burned this year, however they did cause some controversy by people viewing our website and assuming that we have altar girls. An article was written to point out what the Handmaidens' jobs are and why they wear the robes. I think this will settle any confusion for future viewers to our website. We did receive some great compliments from a man in California who e-mailed Fr. Andrew about what he read in the Handmaiden portion. The weather was on our side for Pascha and we were able to ring the bells from the top of the tower. There are speakers now installed in the tower so the bells can be heard in the church. We are anxious to have the speaker installed in our "hallway" so we can hear more clearly when we are ringing. New laminated labels have been posted with the names and number order of the bells (#1 being the largest). I will be contacting Fr.Dn. John Suchernick to see if he has any interest in teaching a workshop on bell ringing. This would be open not only to the young girls but to men and women as well. We would also like to invite other parishes to participate. We have replenished our supply of candles for the children to hold at the end of Liturgy. Several girls have been joining the choir on a regular basis. As promised to the girls, we will have a new group to sprinkle the petals on Holy Friday and pass the light on Pascha. We are looking forward to another year of serving St. Luke ~ there are many young girls that are getting quite tall!

Respectfully Submitted

Lynn Betsanes