IN APPRECIATION of his 60 years as Secretary and Treasurer of the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary, Fred Palmer (right in photo) was presented with a gift and a certificate at the Canterbury Annual Group Festival by Bishop Michael Turnbull, now an Assistant Bishop in the Canterbury diocese.

It was the feast of Corpus Christi, and it had started with a solemn mass in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Charlton, celebrated by the Revd Paul Christian. Bishop Turnbull preached. Then “a rather splendid lunch was provided by the ladies of Charlton parish,” says Dennis Garland.

The day continued with the singing of the Guild Office and a solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the churchyard, followed by Benediction.

The Guild is the keeper of the mysteries of serving the altar as it should be done in the best Anglo-Catholic tradition. Its aim is to “raise the spiritual tone of altar servers”, and the conscientious performance of their duties. It has a website that covers every possible eventuality, answering questions about everything from how to greet a pontiff to how to remove candle wax from altar frontals, how long a cotta should be, how toxic is incense, and in which order you should light the candles on the altar (six, of course), and much, much more.

www.gssonline.org.uk