GUIDE FOR USHERS
Thank
you for volunteering to be an Usher!
As an usher, you are contributing to the mission of
Before
the Worship Service:
¨ Arrive
25-30 minutes before the first service starts — earlier if it’s snowing. Arrive 20 minutes before the late service.
¨ Wear
your name tag or the “Usher” tag. Check-in
with the Council Person-of-the-day.
¨ Inspect
sidewalks. Help clear snow, ice, grass
clippings, etc., as needed. This is
especially important for the first service.
¨ Ensure
sanctuary is in order. Give it a
“once-over” inspection to make certain that Hymnals and Bibles are in place,
and that there are no papers or trash lying around. Turn lights on if necessary.
¨
Place cup of water at the pulpit.
¨
Place offering plates in back of
sanctuary. (Stored in credenza; sometimes left in altar guild storage
cupboard.)
¨
Check to be sure the communion
elements are in the credenza, ready to take up with the offering.
¨
Ensure the visitors’ log and the
prayer list are on the narthex table, and that the table is in order with pens
and visitor information pamphlets.
¨
Check with Pastors and Council Person-of-the-day
for any special instructions.
¨
In the absence of acolytes, light
the altar candles
5 minutes prior to start of
worship.
¨
Greet/welcome members and visitors
as they enter the sanctuary. (This is
important even though there are assigned “Greeters”.) Smile—it’s contagious— it may be the first
friendly face a person sees. Invite
visitors to sign the guest book on table in narthex. Notify Council member or other congregation
member of any visitors to ensure they are further welcomed and assisted in any
way. Be cognizant of people who may have special needs. If there is someone with a physical
impairment, inquire if they plan to receive Communion and whether they would
like to receive it at their pew. If so,
inform the Pastors.
¨
Provide bulletins.
¨
Assist with seating as necessary. This is especially important when attendance
is large.
During
the Service:
¨ Close
doors at beginning of service.
¨ Be
alert for late-comers, and greet them with bulletins.
¨
Seat people as necessary. Avoid
seating during Confession, Prayers, or reading of Scripture.
¨ Be
attentive to possible excess noise in the narthex that may disturb the service. As necessary, politely ask for quiet.
¨
Record attendance during or after
the first hymn. Count all in sanctuary
(including Choir, Pastors, Acolyte, Crucifer and Ushers) and nursery. Latecomers are inevitable, and need to be
counted as well. Attendance record slips are in credenza. Place the filled-out slip in offering plate.
¨
Receive Offering. Using the side aisles, start at front pews
and proceed to back. (See attached diagram.)
¨ Present
Offering and Communion Elements. (Communion elements are generally placed in
credenza). Process in unison to
altar. After Pastor receives and
presents communion elements, turn and recess.
¨ Usher
during Communion. There are two ways by which Communion is typically received:
by “tables”, and by “intinction”.
More
often, Communion is received around the altar with two tables of approximately 10-14 people each. For this form, invite people forward to receive communion. Using the side aisles, start at the back, beginning with the center
pews, move forward to the front and
return back with outside pews. [Note: It there are people sitting along the back wall, invite these
people forward first, then proceed
to the back center pews.] Try to avoid
delays from the dismissal of one
table to the arrival of the next. Also, try
to avoid separating families by
different tables. Be alert to the fact
that Choir members typically join
their families as they come forward.
At
times, especially when attendance is particularly large or there is otherwise a likelihood of the Service
being overly long, Communion is received
by intinction. In this form, people come
forward by the center isle to one or
two stations in front of the alter area.
They then return to their pews by
way of the side isles. Ushers direct people forward using the center
isle, starting at the front, beginning
with the center pews. A queue is formed so that there is a continuous flow of people receiving
Communion. After people in the center pews have either received
Communion, or are in line to receive it,
those in the side pews are invited to come forward starting at the front. People are directed to go down the side isles
to the back of the sanctuary and join
the queue in the center isle.
Although
not often used, there is a third form, and that is “continuous”
Communion. Here, there are no
separate tables; rather there is a
continuous flow of people coming forward to receive
Communion at the alter rail, and returning to their pew by the center isle when they are ready. Again, as in the first form, ushers invite people forward starting at the
back, beginning with the center
pews. Those coming forward form a queue
or line at the front of the side
isle, and come to the alter rail as there is a space to do so.
Please
see the attached diagrams for the various ways Communion is received
For
all forms of Communion, be attentive to people who may need assistance in walking. Inquire
if the person would like to receive communion
at the pew. If so, inform the Pastor
after others have received Communion.
¨ Throughout
the service, be prepared for any emergency that may arise. Should there be a medical emergency, assess
the situation, call 911 as necessary. If
appropriate, assist the ill or injured person to the narthex. Know the location
of the first aid kit (kitchen) and fire extinguishers. Having a cell phone with
you when ushering could be helpful in emergencies. (Turn off ringer).
After
the Service:
¨ Clean
up sanctuary by straightening Hymnals and Bibles (upright with front (title)
visible), collecting discarded bulletins and inserts, replacing pens/pencils,
and picking up trash. After the late
service, turn off lights, and reset thermostat, if necessary.
Rejoice! You have served well. Thank you!
Special
instructions for Usher Team Leaders and Usher Coordinator: It is important that ushers, like all other
worship service volunteers, be contacted prior to each month of scheduled
service to arrange specific dates to usher.
Each member on the team should have the opportunity to usher at least
once during the assigned month. Schedules need to be established early enough, so
that the ushers’ names can be included in the monthly Newsletter and/or the
Sunday bulletins. (To meet the
Newsletter deadline, the names are to be given by the 12th of the
preceding month to the person designated by the Worship and Music Committee.) If there is an unexpected late change, or
the names are not in the bulletin, the Council Person-of-the-Day needs to be
notified as to who will be ushering.
Additional guidance for Usher Team Leaders:
¨ For
months with high attendance services (e.g., Christmas and Easter), schedule
extra ushers. Even it is not the
scheduled month for your team, you may be asked to assist in providing ushers. Usually
two extra ushers for these services are sufficient. Be prepared to add extra seats (folding
chairs) in the Sanctuary, with overflow into the Narthex.
¨ For
months with evening services (e.g., Thanksgiving, Advent, and Lent), or services
at an non-typical time, identify ushers and make the notification(s) as
outlined above. The Usher Coordinator will help balance this duty between the early
and late service teams for that month.
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