Here are some tips about how to be comfortable and effective in administering the chalice.

• If you are scheduled to serve as a LEM I, join the usher(s) at the back of the church as the offertory (collection) is being completed. You'll follow them to the altar for the presentation of the gifts of the congregation, which include the bread and wine for Communion.
• After the usher(s) leave the front of the church, join the celebrant in the sanctuary (the raised platform on which the altar stands). The choir and one or two acolytes are usually there as well. Take a position at the immediate right or left of the celebrant.
• After the Lord's Prayer, you'll probably be handed one or more of the elements--a chalice, a cruet (flask) of wine, or a pyx (small box) containing Communion wafers. Join the celebrant in holding these up during the words of invitation, "The Gifts of God for the People of God; Holy Things for Holy People."
• You'll be one of the first to receive the bread from the celebrant, followed by the chalice. You may be handed the paten (plate) with bread or wafers to administer the bread to the celebrant. Just give him or a her a piece of bread or a wafer with the words, "The Body of Christ," or "The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven." Then return the paten to the celebrant.
• You'll then be given a chalice and a purificator (a linen "napkin"). Your first job is usually to administer the chalice to the acolyte(s) and then to the members of the choir.
• As the members of the congregation line up in a semicircle below the sanctuary, follow the celebrant down the row, administering the chalice to each worshiper. If there are two LEM I's, each usually serves half the row. Watch your footing as you descend! There are several levels to the sanctuary at St. Mary's, and the steps are easy to miss.
• Recommended technique: hold the chalice by the knob in the middle of the stem, grasping it in your right hand (if you are a righty). Hold the purificator in your other hand. Offer the chalice to the recipient by extending it toward her, saying "The Blood of Christ," or "The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation."
• The recipient will usually help you by grasping the base of the chalice and tipping it toward her mouth until she has received. If she does not help in this way, you'll have the challenge of tilting the cup yourself and estimating when a sip of wine has been received. You may want to say, quietly, "Tip the cup," so that the parishioner gets the idea of helping you.
• Some recipients prefer to receive the wine by intinction (dipping the bread). A few may not partake at all. Very small children often don't receive the wine. Naturally, accept any such variation without comment.
• After each person receives the wine, wipe the edge of the chalice with the purificator and turn the cup about one-quarter turn. With practice, you'll be able to do both in a single motion. Wipe hard! Lipstick occasionally adheres to the rim, creating an unpleasing prospect for the next recipient. If your purificator becomes stained, pause at the altar for a moment and refold it to provide a clean surface.
• If your chalice runs low on wine, return to the altar and pour more from the cruet. Touching the spout of the cruet to the rim of the chalice as you finish pouring helps prevent spills. If the supply of wine is completely used up, tell the celebrant. He or she will consecrate more.
• Mishaps, such as falls or spills, are quite rare and are usually invisible to the congregation. If anything goes amiss, take it in stride. Quietly wipe up any spills and continue with the service.
• When all have received, return the chalice and purificator to the celebrant. If all of the elements have not been consumed, you may be asked to help by eating the last few pieces of bread or draining the last drops of wine. You may then return to your seat in the congregation.