"Verger 101" Training Session at the 2016 VGEC Annual Conference

Duke DuTeil at the helm of Verger 101 in Nashville in October, 2013 at our conference celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the VGEC's founding

By Claude "Duke" DuTeil, VGEC Training Adviser

In about 2 months, the Vergers Guild will convene its annual conference, slated for September 22nd through 25th in the glorious city of Spokane, Washington. It's not too late to sign up to attend the conference. Conference Registration is available through the VGEC website or just click the big red button at the bottom of this post. There is still room for you at the conference - you can stay at the alternate conference hotel (with me and VGEC President Scott Smith and many others at a really good rate with free WiFi and breakfast) and Southwest Airlines can get you to Spokane from almost anywhere in the US and Canada at a pretty competitive ticket price.

At every annual conference there are a number of outstanding training sessions and seminars offered. Many of the session topics vary from conference to conference, but we always have the Verger 101 and Verger 307 training sessions. As your training adviser, I have had the privilege to lead the the Verger 101 seminar for the past few conferences and the Guild leadership asked me to lead this seminar again this year. I am the retired Head Verger at the Washington National Cathedral. Two years ago, building on the dedicated work of a number of fellow vergers, I updated the VGEC Verger Training Course to its current 2015 edition.

What is Verger 101 and who should attend? Verger 101 is an informal question and answer seminar designed to provide a time for those new to the verger ministry to ask questions and talk about what we do as vergers. Anyone is welcome to attend Verger 101 but it is designed for those who are new to the ministry or have been a verger for less than 3 years. For those more experienced vergers a concurrent seminar, Verger 307, is offered.

Serious preparation for Verger 101 begins about a month before the conference. At that time, we will send out a survey to those who indicated in their conference registration a desire to attend 101. This is where you can help form the substance of the Verger 101 training session. From the response to this survey, I will put together a presentation to address the issues those attending have said they want to know more about. That presentation is the starting place for a interactive lively discussion about what it means to be a Verger in the Episcopal Church. At the session, any and all topics can be (and usually are) discussed. I'm looking forward to seeing what you want to learn this year.

Again, if you haven't registered for the conference it's not to late. I look forward to seeing you in Spokane. It's going to be great fun and a awesome learning experience.

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Click the big red button to register for the 2016 Annual Conference opening on September 22nd and running through noon on the 25th, in Spokane, Washington. The conference is the most popular and anticipated VGEC activity every year - please join us!

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Abstract: As a relatively new verger, what questions do you have about the verger ministry in general? Do you wonder about how other vergers coordinate service preparations with the altar guild or choirmaster? Do you want to know more about how a particular liturgical custom in the Episcopal Church originated? Do you wonder if there is a better formula for the fire used to initiate the Easter Vigil? Be sure to answer Duke DuTeil's questionnaire and include all of the topics you want to hear discussed during the Verger 101 Training Seminar at this year's VGEC Conference in Spokane on September 22-25.