Are You All In?

My 7th grade math teacher had a large banner hanging in her classroom that read, "Math is not a spectator sport!" While math was not necessarily a "sport" in which I loved to participate as a middle school age kid, the sign made quite an impression on me. I often think of that sign and wonder if I can get one for our narthex that reads, "Church is not a spectator sport!" 

The word "liturgy" is the formal name for our worship. It originally comes from two Greek words - work and people. Liturgy is, therefore, the work of the people! It is the work of everyone who gathers together to form the faith community. Because of this meaning, church, especially worship, cannot be a spectator sport! 

As we head into the fall, Pastor Heidi and I are working on ways to engage more people in our worship. As you might recall from our stewardship campaign, this was one of the goals our congregation lifted up heading into 2018. At the moment, we need more people to sign up to volunteer to be ushers, greeters, lay readers, communion assistants and altar guild members. All of these positions are things that are done during the worship service and simply require you to come a few minutes early or stay a few minutes late. At the bottom of this article, you'll find a brief description as to what each job involves. If you're willing to get involved, simply send me an email and I'll get you connected. 

I am especially looking for someone to step up into the volunteer role of "Worship Scheduler." Quarterly, the Worship Scheduler would put together and send out a schedule of volunteers. Weekly, they would look over the schedule prior to Wednesday to make sure that all of our volunteers have agreed to serve and are in place. The time commitment would be about an hour a week with it taking a bit more time once a quarter to get the schedule out. You could do everything at home from the comfort of your computer with an occasional email or phone call back and forth with me and the office staff. If you're reading this thinking, "That's something I could do!" then I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for jumping all in at Abiding Presence to make our worship and liturgy the work of our entire faith community!

Usher 
Time commitment in addition to worship: 15 minutes before and after service
Job: Greet worshipers at sanctuary doors, pass out bulletins prior to the service, collect offering, dismiss people to communion and make sure sanctuary is picked up following service
Who Can Volunteer:  Senior High through Adults; Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

Greeter
Time commitment in addition to worship: 15 minutes before service
Job: Greet worshipers at the main church doors
Who Can Volunteer: Anyone with a smile! Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

Lay Reader
Time commitment in addition to worship: None
Job: Read the assigned lesson which is emailed to you in advance
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults

Communion Assistant
Time commitment in addition to worship: None
Job: Distribute either the pouring chalice or common cup at the time of communion
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults

Altar Guild
Time commitment in addition to worship: Approximately 20 minutes before or after the service
Job: Set up or clean up the altar from Holy Communion
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults; Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together