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What Does An Usher Do?
The most important part of being an usher is to be at the church approximately 10 minutes prior to the service for which you will be ushering and bring a smile and warm and welcoming attitude. The ushers should make sure that there are bulletins and/or song sheets available for that service. These are typically located in the church office across from the kitchen. Before the service, the ushers should be at both entrances of the sanctuary in order to greet the people coming into the worship service and hand out the bulletins and/or song sheets for that service. The ushers for that service can decide who will be where. As people enter, if you see someone you do not recognize, introduce yourself and welcome them to the Lake Cities United Methodist Church!
Immediately after the Sermon for that service, the pastor will ask the ushers to come to the front to assist with the tithes and offerings. The ushers should anticipate this request and come up the center isle where the pastor or the assistant will hold the offering plates/baskets and say a prayer before handing them to the ushers.
If you wish, you may come from where you are seated via the central isle and meet at the front versus going to the back of the sanctuary and then walking forward. After receiving the plates; if there are 4 ushers, two will typically remain in the central isle and the other two will move to the outer isles to assist the passing of the offering plates. If there are only two ushers for a service, they will typically pass the offering plates/baskets from the central isle.
The ushers should count the number of people sitting in the congregation for the side they are passing the offering plate/basket. When you meet at the back, you will either give that number to someone collecting the data or you may fill out a slip of paper that the church uses. These are usually found at the back of the sanctuary. Please be sure to include both sides of the congregation, the choir and yourself in the count if you are filling out the attendance slip.
For Communion Services (typically the first Sunday of each month and special occasions); two of the ushers will assist the congregation by standing on the outer isles and direct the people via the outer isle to the communion rail. Try to determine who will provide this assistance before the service to avoid confusion. Typically the communion rail can serve approximately 8 or 9 people. Use your own judgment as to the number you direct toward the rail to avoid people having to stand on the sides. Also try to take note of anyone who is unable to come to the rail and ask if they would like to be served communion where they are seated. If that arises, please discretely indicate to the pastor or a person assisting with the communion service as to who and where they are.
We appreciate everyone who assists with ushering. It is a great opportunity to provide an important service and visit with friends, family and visitors to our Church.
The following table shows the dates and times of services as well as the ushers who are currently signed up for each service. If you would like to be an usher, please fill in the information just below the usher schedule and we will place your name on the list. We will try to contact you a few days before the service to remind you that you are ushering. If you find you have a conflict, please contact someone to replace you or contact the current usher coordinator listed at the bottom of this page.
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