Traditional Worship Usher Responsibilities

Thanks for agreeing to help with ushering at the Sunday morning/Wednesday evening services. As ushers, you play an essential part in making worshipers feel welcome in our church, and in making them feel welcome in our services again.

1)       Arrive at least 20 minutes prior to worship time.

2)       Make sure bulletins are located at tables near each of the 3 doors.

3)       One usher should stand at each door to hand a bulletin to arriving worshipers.  Give a greeting with a smile.  The fourth usher should be available to assist worshipers in finding a seat, if necessary.

4)       Periodically invite people to take a communion distribution card if they would like to assist with communion.  Notify the pastor prior to the start of the service if some cards have not been picked up.

5)       Large print copies of the service are available in red binders at each of the tables.  They are intended for people with any vision impairments.

6)       Personal listening devices are available for people with hearing impairments.  Four devices are found inside the top shelf of the cabinet at the rear wall of the sanctuary.  Assist people with turning on the on/off and volume control.  The devices should be returned at the end of the service.

7)       Close doors during the opening hymn.  Because the doors make considerable noise when closing, do not close them during prayers or special music.  Stay by the closed doors to open the door and welcome and assist late arrivals.  The rocking chairs are intended for parents who may need to rock a child.

8)       Coordinate candle lighting during the first hymn.  If no 7^th grade acolytes are present, designate one usher to do it.  Candle lighters are hanging on the wall in the sacristy (communion preparation room).  Lighters are in the drawer next to the sink.  Extinguish the candles during the last hymn.

·        The two altar candles are lit for every service.

·        The Paschal Candle (tall candle by the baptismal font) is lit at every service during which there is a baptism and for all Sundays of the Easter season.

9)       Take the offering at the designated time.  Start from front to back with 2 ushers in the center aisle and one in each of the side aisles.  Use as many plates as manageable.  Remember to send a plate to the choir area.  Two ushers may bring the plates to the altar after the offering is collected.    They should place the plates on the altar and return to their places.  At the end of the service one usher should  take the filled plates to the work room in the office area.  Bank deposit bags are located in the third drawer under the counter with the postage machine.  Fill the bag(s) with the offering, remove the key after the bag has been zipped shut, place the key in the container in the third drawer, and give the locked bag to a pastor.  Return the empty plates to the wooden table at the rear of the sanctuary in the narthex.

10)   Direct people to communion as soon as the invitation to communion is given by the pastor.  Station two ushers in the front of the center aisle and two ushers at the juncture where the communion rails come together.  Start ushering the center aisle pews forward and filling in all the spots at the front and side rails.  (You may want to count ten people to prevent overcrowding.)  The juncture ushers should help direct people to the side rails.  When the side rails have been served, they should exit from the front of the line (first person served leading the way).  Those on the right side (ambo side) should return to their pews through the aisle where the pew has been removed.  The usher can point the way for them.   Six people waiting in the center aisle should replace them at the rail.  When the four people at the front rail have been served, they should exit by the side aisle and be replaced by four more people.  When all the center aisles people have been served, those ushers should go to the side aisles and, starting from the front pew, usher them to the rear of the sanctuary and up the center aisle.  Keep a line of at least ten people waiting in the center aisle to keep the lines moving quickly and smoothly.  Ushers take communion after all worshipers have been ushered to the front.

11)   Count attendance during the service and write down the number on the chart also located in this plastic container.

12)   After the service, return the Welcome to Worship packets to the end of the pew and re-fill any empty packets with up to ten cards.  Replace any hymnals and remove all trash to prepare for the next service.  Straighten the pile of bulletins on the tables that may have been returned by the worshipers.

Thank you!