Trinity Lutheran Church

Greeter Duties

– Hopefully, the same Greeters will perform their duties every service for a month. This helps with the recognition of repeat visitors. Greeters/Ushers should arrive no later than 6:00.

Greeter # 1:
Stand near outside the door, (just inside if it's raining), and open it as people arrive. In nice weather prop open both doors.
Greet everybody as they enter.

Following the service locate any visitors, invite them to the gathering space and ask a member to take them there and introduce them to people.

Greeter # 2:
Stand at the Greeter's table/Guest book and welcome people.

Direct visitors to the Usher.

When the service begins stay in the gathering space for about 10 minutes to watch for and assist latecomers.

Following the service locate any visitors, invite them to the gathering space and ask a member to take them there and introduce them to people.

When the service begins stay in the foyer for about 10 minutes to watch for and assist latecomers.

Following the service locate any visitors, invite them to the parish hall and ask a member to take them there and introduce them to people.

Usher Duties

– Greeters/Ushers should arrive no later than 6:00.

Stand just inside the church doors.
Have the bulletins/Communion cards if needed with you.
As people come in greet them and give them a bulletin.
If they are visitors, (1) give them a bulletin; (2) ask them if they are familiar with ELCA worship. If they are, (3) direct them to Usher # 2. If they are not, (4) give them a Service Booklet and direct them to Usher # 2.

When the service begins stay at the back wall during the service, at least until the offertory, to watch for latecomers.

At the offertory, come forward with Usher # 2 and the oblation bearers to get the alms basins. Don't forget the attendance count!
Following the service take the collection to the sacristy, count and record the cash, put it in a bank bag and hand it into the office.
If there were visitors at the service look for them in the parish hall, visit with them and try to get phone number or address.

Greeters and ushers should take a seat in the rear of the sanctuary. From there, they can monitor the congregation and assist with the doors before, during, and after the services. Please be aware of people who need help finding the cry room!

Acolyte

– An acolyte is a lay person, often a child or a teenager, who performs minor duties during the worship service to assist the ministers, such as lighting candles, carrying books, directing traffic during communion, and so forth. Acolyte comes from a Greek word for follower.

– As a worship assistant, an acolyte should approach his or her task with the utmost of respect. Proper posture must be observed while walking, standing, and sitting. Remember, like it or not, you are on display in front of the congregation. Please, no gum chewing. The acolyte should be vested as the other participants and should take care that the vestments are in good condition and clean. While an acolyte is not making a fashion statement with what he or she wears under the vestments, one's choice of clothing should tend to the conservative in order that he or she is not distracting to the worship service. Normally, blue jeans and sneakers are to be considered inappropriate clothing in the traditional worship setting. The acolyte should also maintain proper grooming and see that hair is washed and combed and hands are clean. Shoes should be polished as necessary.

– As an acolyte, you should plan on arriving at least fifteen minutes before the start of the service. This should give you enough time to vest and look over the bulletin to see if there are any changes to be made in the liturgy (i.e. baptisms etc.). Once you have done this, it is time to light the candles when the organist begins the play the prelude to the service.

– Take the candlelighter down from its stand in the narthex. Expose about 3/4" to 1" of taper and light it. Carry the candlelighter with the flame pointing away from you at a slight angle forward. Starting at the doors in the narthex, proceed to the altar and stop at the center front of the altar, about midway between the kneeler and the altar, and pause to show reverence to the altar, to the cross. This can be done in several ways--a slight pause, a nod of the head, or with a bow. Now, step up to the altar to light the candles. If you are tall enough, you might be able to light the candles from one position, so do so. If you can't do this, then you should stand in front of each candle to light it.

– At this point, it might be helpful to talk about walking. As noted above, it is important to maintain proper posture when walking. Believe it or not, there is a correct way to hold your hands when you are walking and not carrying anything. With your elbows in, place your palms together. Place your right thumb over your left and hold your hands at about a 45 degree angle. Your hands should be at chest level. You should always make right angle turns and walk parallel or perpendicular to the altar. Do not cross the chancel area on a diagonal.

– Extinguishing the candles also has a correct order. Taking the candlelighter from its place, carry it in a like manner as when you lit the candles. This time, the bell should face away from you. The candles of the Advent wreath are put out first. Next, the candelabra are to be extinguished. First, put out the candelabra on the pulpit side, working from the high end to the low end. Now, put out the window side candelabra. Then extinguish the pulpit candles (pew side, then window/organ side) Finally, extinguish the altar candles, pulpit side first. Any other candles should be extinguished now. After you have finished, return the candlelighter to its place in the narthex. Make sure that there is enough taper left for the next service. For our services, first light the candlelighter, then extinguish the candles. Carry the lighted candlelighter out of the sanctuary before extinguishing the flame.

Reader

Who can be a Reader?

Anyone who the community feels has the gifts and commitment to read can be reader. One need not be a Shakespearian actor or a public speaker, in order to be a worship reader. There are many folks in your community that, with preparation and instruction can become faithful worship readers. Do not overlook children as readers. Many children are gifted readers and if their gifts are nurtured some of them will become effective lifetime readers or feel called to other leadership.

Preparation for Reading.

Preparation is essential to good reading. Too often readers have been chosen at the last minute or have not prepared well to read Scripture. This has lead to reader fumbling through readings leaving the congregation bored or confused. It has also lead to a lack confidence in readers, due to not being able to feel competent in reading. Preparation will bear fruit in good readings and more confident readers.

1. Early in the week (Monday!) the readers should have the readings. If it has not been determined which of the lectionary readings will be used for the following Sunday, begin preparation for all the readings.

2. Prayer. Before and after reading the Scriptures, pray. Ask God to help you in your reading and to help you understand more fully what is being read.

3. Practice. Read the Scripture passage out loud to yourself. If a particular passage is difficult to read, then give it enough practice until you are confident.

4. Research. If the Scripture has words you do not know how to pronounce or you do not know what they mean. Look them up in a Bible Dictionary. Your church should have a Bible dictionary available for this purpose. You may also wish to buy one for your own study. Knowing how to say words is of obvious importance, but understanding what the words mean will also give added clarity to our reading.

What Version to Read!

Congregations should have a policy on what versions of scriptures can be read in worship. The policy will likely include the following;

1. A current language version of the Bible. King James and other older versions of the Bible are not appropriate for public worship. A central belief in protestant thought is that the Bible should be accessible in the language of the people. King James and other older versions contain language that is no longer in common usage, therefore they are no longer useful nor desirable to have in public worship.

2. Avoid Paraphrases. Bibles like "The Way", are useful for young or new Christians who are learning to read the Bible, but are not appropriate for Christian worship. Although they convert the message of the Bible in an easier format to read, in doing so they lose some of the richness of the message. A translation should be used rather than a paraphrase.

3. Good Choices. The NIV (New International Version), the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) or NJ (The New Jerusalem), are a few examples of versions that will be acceptable for reading in public worship. The NRSV is the most commonly used Bible for United Church worship.

Effective Reading!

1. Slowly. Reading too fast is the biggest beginners mistake. Read slowly but not so slow that the reading drags on. Ask someone to judge your speed in reading.

2. Clearly. Good diction and enunciation is important, especially for those who have difficulty hearing. Often people complain about the volume of reading, but in reality it is the lack of clarity in the voice of the speaker.

3. Using Microphones. Practice using the microphone before worship time. Have someone test you volume. Be loud enough, but do not blast the congregation. It is better to be a bit too loud than too quiet. Remember that some folks have hearing difficulties.

4. Expressive. Be expressive with the tone and mood of the text. Let the text guide you for the tone. If you have prepared then you will have some sense of the tone of the text. Monotone speaking will create boring readings. Worship should be lively and that begins with lively readings. A note of caution to the overly expressive! Too exuberant reading can take the focus off the scripture and put it on the theatrics of the reader. Scripture is the focus not the reader.

5. Decorum. Since the focus should be on Scripture, readers clothing should not be excessively flamboyant nor too casual. If people are shocked, distracted, or disturbed by what we are wearing, then this will be a distraction from the reading of Scripture. Readers should be humble enough to dress appropriately for reading.

6. Mistakes. Since we are not God, we are not perfect. If a mistake is made, stop and reread the verse. It is not necessary to say "Sorry" or "Excuse Me". Continue reading with confidence, knowing that God expects faithful worship, not perfect worship. Faithfulness will include mistakes at times. If you accept that it is OK to make mistakes, this will lessen one's nervousness.