St.

Paul's Episcopal Church

Katy, Texas

The St. Paul's Usher Ministry

The Usher Ministry is servant ministry of hospitality and caring. In 2 Kings 22:4, the
Bible refers to the "keepers of the threshold" who collected the offerings people brought
into the house of the Lord.

The purpose of the Usher Ministry is to assist the Rector in providing a welcoming,
comfortable, dignified and ordered environment for those who attend the liturgies on
Sundays and other various occasions at St. Paul's.

To fulfill this purpose, the ushers will do the following as assigned:

• Open the buildings for Sunday morning activities before worship by following an
opening procedures checklist.

• With friendly smiles, greet members and visitors as they enter the narthex,
giving each of them a bulletin and a peel-off name tag. For visitors, encourage
them to fill out a blank name tag.

• At the time for the service to begin, see to it that someone rings the church bell
at the cue of the priest.

• Around the sermon time, count all of the people in the church and all nursery
staff, children and Children's Chaplains. Don't forget to count the priest! Place
the total on the attendance board in the back of the church using the number
inserts found in the narthex. These counts go into the official service record of
the parish.

• Invite a couple or family to take up the elements of bread and wine at the
offertory. When doing this, they represent the congregation as they give the
offerings of bread and the wine for consecration at the altar. Have a team of two
ushers follow behind them to receive the offering plates.

• Take up the offering, pew by pew from the front to the back, and then take up
the plates to the altar on the cue of the priest at the Doxology. The cue is when
the priest asks everyone to stand.

• After the choir goes forward to receive Communion, guide people to the rails,
pew by pew from the front to the back in a way that helps the distribution of the
Sacrament to go smoothly.
 • Watch for individuals who are physically unable to move to the altar rail. Be the
last to receive the Sacrament and let the priest know if anyone needs to have the
Communion taken to their pews.

• Close the buildings at a time after Sunday morning worship, following a closing
procedures checklist.

An important role of the ushers is to be the first line of response if there is an unforeseen
incident in the Church, such as a medical situation or a fire. It is desirable that at least
one of the ushers each Sunday is trained and certified in the administering of CPR. In
security/safety situations, ushers will help people safely evacuate the building. In all
cases, a phone is located in the narthex to dial 911 for emergency responders. We hope
this never happens, but need to be prepared for the unexpected.