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On Saturday, September 15, over 60 acolytes ranging from second grade to adulthood gathered at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Mobile, Alabama for a day honoring the ministry of acolytes.
The job of an acolyte is to assist the celebrant (the priest in charge of a worship service) and enhance the worship service to help glorify God. And God was absolutely glorified on this day!
The day included Bishop Russell's Acolyte Olympics in which teams competed to construct the tallest church from building blocks, in relay races involving crackers and lit candles, to catch "manna from heaven," and to cast lots with q-tips and coins. Acolytes attended various workshops to hone and learn new skills. Everyone was treated to a feast of hamburgers, hotdogs, chili cheese nachos, and ice cream sandwiches. A surprise highlight of the day was a special rendition of Bruno Mars' Count on Me sang by four members of Christ Church Cathedral's choir including organist and music director, Christopher Powell. The festival concluded with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist in which all of the attending acolytes processed with their "holy hardware" - church banners, torches, crosses, ribbons, and thuribles.
Special thanks to our workshop leaders: The Rev. Marshall Craver (Christ Church Cathedral, Mobile), the Rev. Thomas Heard (St. John's, Mobile), the Rev. Ben Rockwell (St. Paul's, Mobile), and Dent Neilson (St. Thomas, Greenville).
Many thanks to Dean Beverly Gibson, Provost Carolyn Jeffers and the many volunteers of Christ Church Cathedral, along with Stephen Ingram from Ministry Architects who contributed their time and talents to ensure the festival ran smoothly, that we were fed heartily, and who cleaned up after all our fun!
If you haven't seen them yet, take a look at the snapshots from the day HERE.
Professional photos taken by Cindy McCrory, Blue Room Photography are available HERE.
More photos from Robbie Runderson of Church of the Good Shepherd can be seen HERE.