TO THE WOMEN and men who arrange flowers for church altars each week, it�s not just a task. It�s a gift, of their creative talents and of the beauty of God�s world.

�I think it is our gift, isn�t it, but at the same time it�s total pleasure,� said Linda Roeckelein, flower guild coordinator at Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. �I just think of the flowers as such a gift, I think it�s a privilege to work with them at any time in any space, really. Each one is so beautiful, it�s such a miracle to me. But when you come into a place like this, you�re in awe already, so I think there is more mystery when you do it here.�

For artist Daniel Bissler, decorating the church with real flowers is important.

�We don�t use silk or artificial,� said the altar guild member at St. John�s Episcopal Church, Kula, Hawaii. �We�re blessed that we live in a place where we just have an abundance of all kinds of beautiful flowers. I just think it enhances the worship experience.�

Their very perishability can be a metaphor for life, he noted. �It adds a sense of celebration.�

�It just seems to represent the living soul to me,� Roeckelein said. �We get so much pleasure and peace from the beauty of nature, so that, if that isn�t part of our thankfulness, it�s a bleak place.�

Gives life to building
A flowerless cathedral would be like using canned music and prerecorded sermons, she said. �It�s the life of the building. It comes alive with these beautiful branches and flowers and sounds of music.�

Of course, creating that floral �life� takes work and practice.

Trinity Episcopal Church is a large New Orleans parish with a chapel as well, said Joyce Sims, flower committee chair. �As a rule, we need two arrangements weekly, and sometimes we put something in the narthex of the church. And, of course, for Easter and Christmas we put things everywhere.�

Newcomers can learn the craft in various ways. �We try to put new members with an experienced arranger,� Sims said. She also schedules periodic flower-arranging demonstrations. And her church sends arrangers to the annual flower seminar at the national cathedral. The weeklong program provides demonstrations and hands-on experience in arranging flowers for worship.

�I was especially interested in how they teach people and train people to do flowers here,� commented Nancy Bredbeck of Newport, R.I., who attended January�s seminar. �And anytime you go to a workshop like this, you take back new techniques.�

Gary Leonard, flower guild member at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., said he planned to try the technique he learned for making garlands using a chicken-wire mesh frame at Easter.

�Even if you�ve done flowers for years and years, you come and you just can�t believe how much more you can learn,� commented Linda Houston, flower committee chair at St. John�s Cathedral, Denver.

Basics help build confidence
Churches also hold their own seminars. Bissler conducted a flower-arranging workshop at St. John�s during its recent �art and spirit weekend.�
�There were several people who had the desire to do flowers on the altar but just didn�t feel like they had the confidence or the skill,� Bissler said. So he focused on basic mechanics, �just to help give some of the folks that do it a little bit of confidence.�

Different sanctuaries present different challenges and traditions.

At the national cathedral, arrangers work on a large scale. �If you�re looking at our high altar, it�s a tenth of a mile from the back of the cathedral from the west end, where you enter,� Roeckelein said.

The arrangers also strive for �movement� in their work, she said, �so that your eye will go from the floral arrangements maybe to an architectural detail or color in a window that�s nearby or some pattern that�s carved on the altar or [is] in the needlepoint. So we�re trying to be a part of the whole.�

In contrast, St. John�s is a small church.

�At Easter, we have crosses that we attach to the ends of the pews, which on Good Friday are covered with black,� said the rector, the Rev. Heather Mueller-Fitch. �And then on Easter morning at the vigil, when we do the offertory and the Easter proclamation, they have bouquets that they hang on these crosses while we�re singing Jesus Christ is Risen Today. They spend all Saturday putting it together. It�s just incredible how gorgeous it is.�
Sometimes all that beauty can be a tad dangerous. At Trinity last July 4, an acolyte accidentally set the altar flower arrangement afire while lighting a candle, Sims recounted. �Fortunately, his dad was sitting in the first pew watching,� and the fire was extinguished quickly, she said.

�It can be hectic at times, but it is just a wonderful way to meet people within our church and do something very fun and very spiritual,� said Nancy Allen at the national cathedral seminar in January. She�s a flower guild member at Grace Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., which Roeckelein nicknamed �the flower church� for its vibrant ministry.

�Even the people who aren�t involved notice the flowers and say how much it adds to the service,� Allen said. �It uplifts and gives joy to everyone.�