It takes a community to make a worship service. It takes a prophetic sermon, a resonant message for all ages, a thoughtful Worship Associate story, beautiful music, enthusiastic congregational singing, and more. And those are just some of the aspects of a Sunday service that we name in the order of service. Here I would like to take a minute to honor some of the work that happens behind the scenes. I want to take this opportunity to celebrate our ushers.
Our Sunday usher teams arrive 30 minutes before each service in groups of four. They check out the sanctuary to make sure that hymnals and tissue boxes and new visitor cards are all in place. They set up signage outside, put greeters at every door, and welcome everyone who comes in with a friendly face and an order of service. They assist folks with activity bags and large-print hymnals and hearing assist devices. They direct new visitors to the welcome station in the hallway – thank you, Deb Solis, for welcoming visitors! The ushers go through training for how to navigate medical emergencies or disruptive behaviors. They collect and deliver the offering to a secure safe. They keep track of the attendance. And, they do this so smoothly that you might not even notice their work.
Every Sunday, two teams of four ushers serve First Church, living out their love for this religious community in quiet service. 32 folks serve in this way once a month, with others ready on standby if needed. If you are a newer member wondering how you might want to ‘dip your toes’ into helping out at First Church, or if you are taking a break from your volunteer work here and want to start back sometime soon, ushering at one service a month next year might be a perfect fit for you – please drop me a line.
We give thanks to our ushers and celebrate that they are part of what makes our Sunday services at First Church so special.
In gratitude,
Steve Sieck, Ministerial Intern