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Usher Instructions(2002 revision by Bryan)
Usher Intructions (draft from 1999)
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Ushering  Instructions 1999

Note: This is a Scanned copy and we will be working on correcting the errors from the scan for 2002. Patience please!

Chairman:
1. Assign ushers to the aisles, a minimum of two in
the center aisle and one on each side at the narthex entrance. For the 11:00 service also assign one or more on each aisle at door next to pulpit and lectern.
2.Assure bulletins are on the tables at the doors from the Sunday School] building, The ushers on the side aisles should be instructed to continually monitor for an adequate supply on the tables. Keep doors from sanctuary closed to preserve heating or air conditioning in sanctuary.
3.Assure that bulletins are placed inside hymnals on chairs for acolytes at both services.
4.Before the service begins, you should visually check, and count, that four collections plates are at the front for the offering collection, plus two in narthex for the balcony. The 11:00 Chairman must make sure that you have six plates in the narthex (4 for back collection plus balcony).
5.Check with the office secretary foranyspecial events, such as baptism. Make sure adequate reserved seat plaques are put at both ends of the pews. If you have a baptism, tell the ushers the name of the baptism party, and if more than one baptism, which family will sit on which pew row being reserved. Each family may reserve one pew row, and pews will be assigned alphabetically. Reserve seats plaques are in the narthex, bottom cabinet on left side.
6.Baptism: The escorting usher should be at the senior ministers office door in time to alert the family that “it is time’. The parents and child should be coming though the sanctuary door and escorted out as the minister comes down from the pulpit. The usher should escort them along the altar rail to the place where the minister(s) is standing, and then return to the side aisle. The parents and child remain at the altar rail through the singing of the baptismal hymn. After the hymn, the usher should escort the parents back to the door.

7.Assign ushers to take a head count, on each side plus balcony. The choir should be counted as they proceed in from the narthex. Report the count on

the proper reporting card, depositing the card in the collection plate.

8.A chairman, or designated usher, must remain in the narthex throughout the service. Emergencies do arise, and people come in and out during the service.

9.In case of an emergency, there is a cordless telephone in the balcony at the audio/sound technician station. Get the telephone, take it to the narthex, and call 911, staying on the telephone as requested to direct responders to the emergency. Do not place call standing near the sound equipment since it may effect sound in the sanctuary, all equipment being remote. Have an usher notice the duty office secretary of the emergency.

10.Designate the ushers to take up the plate collection, and the collection position, that is, front, back, or balcony; (also Chapel or Fellowship Hall on overflow Sundays).

11.Place additional chairs up front or on side as required. The chairs are stored either in the halt outside of the chapel or in the narthex. Fire Department Regulations permit only one chair at the end of the pew row in the outside aisle, and two rows of chairs up front. No chairs may be placed in the center aisle. Do not put chairs in the narthex. The Fire Marshall permits one row of chairs at the front of the narthex, not to be back beyond an imaginary line across between the side doors. This will require anyone sitting in the chair to be very close to the front cabinet and usually unable to see over the window into the sanctuary. Therefore, it is best to simply not put the few chairs permitted in the narthex. At the end of the service, during the last hymn, remove the chairs from the side aisles, being sure to tell the person who has been sitting there that the chair is being removed. Hymnals for extra chairs are in the bookcases at each side of narthex by the outside doors.

12.The needlepoint usher badges are located in drawer on left side of narthex. The color to be used is the color on the lectern.

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13.Unlock all wooden outside doors in the narthex, both doors of each set. Only one door is used for greeting people. Both doors are unlocked so they can be easily pushed open in case of fire.

14.Lighters or matches for the Acolytes are in the left hand drawer of the table on the left side of the Narthex. You may need to help the Acolytes with lighting the wicks of their candle lighters. This should be done during the Concerns of the Congregation.

Ushers

The chairman will assign you to an aisle for assisting the congregation in seating. As someone approaches, you should smile, say “good morning”, and ask “where would you like to sit?” Lead the person to the indicated area, giving them a bulletin as they are seated. It is desired to give out the bulletin as they are seated, not at the narthex as they are greeted. As you seat people, try to get them to move to the center.

2.Each time you go up or down the aisle, try to spot empty spaces for assisting the next person. The short pews hold eight people and the long pews ten people with comfortable sitting. You should not try to squeeze more than two additional people in the row and in the winter when coats are worn, thiswill not even be possible. When pews are crowded, go down side aisle and ask people to move in to the center. This works better than asking in center aisle for person to move to the outside..

3.The side windows should not be opened unless it has been confirmed that the air conditioning is not operating. If you do open a window, tell anyone sitting at the end of the pew row nearby that they should close the window if it becomes too cool. This shows your concern for their comfort. Please try to keep from opening the windows as the noise that comes in from street traffic can be very disturbing.

&The Chairman will designate which ushers are to be on the plate committee each Sunday. Four ushers go to the front at the proper time, two abreast. The leading two step aside upon reaching the altar railing and the back two step up in the middle.

After you have received the plate from the chairman, the chairman will nod, indicating that lou should turn to the outside and proceed to take up the collection. The outside ushers go the outside aisle. The center aisle usher should start the collection on the first permanent row to assure the outside usher having time to work around pillars. If there is only one row of temporary chairs up front, the outside usher should take up collection from this row as he goes to the outside aisle.

The center aisle usher must control the plate rotation, in particular making sure the plate is not started across a row before the outside usher has time to maneuver around the pillar post and be in a position to receive the plate. After taking up collection, andat the proper time, the four will take the plates back to the altar. Again, the lead ushers step aside for the back two to come between. In giving the plates to the ministers, put your plate on top of any the minister may already have in hand, not to bottom of stack. After presenting the plates and upon the minister's nod return, you should turn to the center and the original back two will lead from the altar, the two ushers standing at side falling in behind. In going up to or back from the altar, please walk at a brisk pace, being careful of the steps. Do not stand in the door to take plates forward until all four ushers are ready. The organist can only see the door and when ushers are in the door, assumes ushers are ready to come forward.

5.The plate collection .at 11:00 service may be different in that we may use two sets of ushers, each collecting one half of the sanctuary. The back ushers start at the first short row by the third pillar and the front ushers stop at the last long row before the third post. The back ushers start down the aisle with those going to the front to receive plates, but have they plates with them, stopping at their starting position, standing still upon arrival, and then starting collection when the front ushers start. The back outside ushers go down to the proper place, with their plates, also waiting to start when the front ushers start. The center aisle usher should start with the first short row. Their plates will be carried to the altar by the four front ushers. Only four ushers go to the altar, each carrying two plates

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6.The balcony requires two plate collectors. The seats to each side should be collected first, from the front to the back. After the sides have been collected breach individual usher, go back down to the front and work the center seats together from the front to the back. The balcony plates should be consolidated into the downstairs plates for taking the collection to the front.

7.Persons may be seated from the aisles once the minister begins the “Concerns of the Congregations.: Late arrivals may be seated from the side aisles following the processional.

8.It is requested that those ushers sitting with their families upon completion of the usher duties arrange to sit on the outside aisle. Please do not come back down the center aisle once the minister has started prayers or the sermon.

9.At the end of the service, the designated chairman or usher who has remained in the narthex during the service should open both thecenter aisle and the side aisle doors into the narthex. This will normally be during the final hymn. Also, chairs should be removed from side aisles at this time if so directed by the chairman. They may be needed at later service, so left in place.. In addition, open the outside doors as some elderly are not strong enough to both hold the door open and negotiate steps. After the service, close the outside doors to conserve heat and/or air conditioning.

10.Try and note where any medical physician you may know is sitting, so you will be prepared should an emergency arise during the service and a doctor be needed. The medical profession has been requested to identify’ themselves to the chairman.

11.We have emergency assistance available. The office secretary should be notified. A stretcher is mounted on the wall in the ball from the sanctuary to the office, beside the door going to the pulpit and choir. Resuscitation equipment, first aid kit, and blanket are located in the bottom of file cabinet on the right in the narthex. Fire extinguishers are mounted near the steps to choir loft (organ side) in halt outside office (near the stretcher) and in the Narthex. The Chairman will direct ushers as to additional action required.

12.Rest Rooms — male, female, unisex, and handicapped facilities are located in the hall opposite the library and outside the office. A water fountain is located in the hall outside of the office.

13.Handicap ramps are located at the steps near the chapel outside doors, coming from Queens Road. Large print hymnals are in the narthex next to extra collection plates. Please ask persons using them to return hymnals after the service.

14.Please remember that when you are in the narthex during the service you are very visible from the pulpit and choir. YOUr moving around, or allowing others to move around, can be very disturbing to the minister and choir. Also, your voice carries up the stairs.

15.Nursery and Worship Care is provided for 8:30,

9:00, and 11:00 services in the Snyder Education Building as follows:

Infants through walking Room 104

This room is in the basement, Queens

Road side.:

Walkers through Age 4 Room 211

These rooms are on the first floor, Queens Road side,

At the 8:30 and S ~00 services, children 1-4 years. old should be directed to Room 211, and infants to Room 104. At the 11:00 service, they stay in their own Sunday School class for extended session. Visitors should be directed to rooms down the hail in front of the office to find room for proper age. Over age four, the child is expected to go to church

Greeters:

FAs someone comes in the door, extend your hand for a handshake. You should then say a friendly greeting, such as ‘good morning” or “glad to have you with us”. Say what makes you comfortable in making a friendly greeting.

2.Weather permitting, you should block open the door so that you can be seen, and the person entering can get around the safety railing.

3.If the door is closed, you should not attempt to open the door into someone approaching. Wait for

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them to open the door. The problem is that you must be careful not to open the door suddenly on someone coming up the steps around the safety hand railing and risk knocking them down.

4.The Greeters should stay at the door until the first

indicated break in the bulletin for ushers to seat those arriving late. This is usually at the second hymn. You may then go sit down, telling the chairman that you are leaving. You maybe needed for assistance in the plate collection.

Issuance of Hearing Assistance Receivers

The Hearing Assistive Receivers are stored in a case on the lower shelf of the table on the Providence Road side of the Narthex. The receivers consist of a device about the size of a Walkman style radio receiver, which can be. clipped to a person's clothing or held in the hand, and a Stetoclips dual ear set with a wire running from the receiver to the ear set.

The following procedure is suggested to be followed at ‘all services where the Sound System is being operated.

1.The Usher Chair or his designated usher will remove thecase with assistive devices fromthe lower shelf and place on the top shelf of the table. Take one of the alcohol swabs and wipe

off each of the stetoclips ear pieces. Then wipe off the ear pieces with a Kleenex. This will be

• done before each service.

person requesting a device uses a hearing aid, it probably will have to be removed for best reception.

4.Record on the sheet with the receiver number and name requesting the device.

case the date, of the person

2.Upon request from a person attending a service, remove one of the assistive hearing devices from the caseand plug in the cord from the stetoclips ear set to the assistive hearing device. Be sure that the plug is fully inserted into the receiver since there is a positive lock for the cord so that it will not pull out.

3.Explain to the person requesting the device how the volume control on the personal receiver operates. It has ~ volume wheel which has an off position and numbers on it. The higher the number the louder the reception will be. Each person using the devices can set the volume control at the level which suits them best. If the

5.‘Check with the sound technician to be sure that they know the assistive hearing devices have been issued.

6.After the service,. collect the devices and record on the sheet that the devices have been returned. Check to see that the volume control has been turnedoff. If the devices are not returned, please give a note to the duty secretary that the devices were not returned so that she can notify Carla Cornelius.

7.Return the assistive devices case to the Cabinet.

January, 1999