Sunday Servants

ACOLYTE Responsibilities (5-21-2024)

Before the service:

• Arrive 10-15 minutes before the service.

• Check in with an usher and ask if there is anything special you need to know about the service.

Beginning of the service:

• Retrieve the candle-lighter from the stand at the back of the Sanctuary. An usher can help you light it.

• During the opening hymn, walk forward slowly. Stop before stepping onto the dais, and bow your head slightly. You are offering reverence to God by bowing your head towards the cross on the back wall.

• If at anytime the flame goes out as you are going to light the candles, stay where you are and an usher or pastor will help you relight the candle-lighter.

• Light the altar candle on your right first, then walk in front of the table and light the other candle.

• Step off the dais, turn to face the table, and bow slightly.

• Put out the candle-lighter by pulling the wick in and walk slowly back down the aisle.

• Push the wick out about one inch, which prevents it from sticking inside.

• Replace the candle-lighter in its stand and return to your seat.

End of the service:

• Before the sending hymn starts, go to the back of the sanctuary and retrieve the candle-lighter.

• When the congregation begins to sing, slowly walk forward. Stop before stepping onto the dais and bow your head slightly as before.

• Light the wick on the candle-lighter from the candle on your right, and then put out the candle. Walk in front of the table and put out the other candle.

• Step off the dais, face the table, and bow your head slightly. Walk slowly down the aisle with the candle-lighter lit in order to bring the Light of Christ into the world, leading us out of the service.

• Once out the door to the sanctuary, extinguish the flame as before and push the wick out again. Returning the candle-lighter to its stand.

Paschal candle instructions:

If there is a baptism, you will light the Paschal candle first at the beginning of the service. The Paschal candle will then be the last candle extinguished at the end of the service. During Easter, the Paschal candle will be lit prior to the service (probably before you arrive) and will be put out after everyone leaves, so that it looks like it is always burning during the Easter season.

(5-21-2024)

Before the service:

• On Thursday look for an email from the office that includes the Sunday

Servants and a link to other resources including the Readings and the Worship Folder.

• Practice reading out loud at least 2 times before Sunday morning.

• On Sunday arrive 15 mins. before the service to check in with the

Assistant Minister. If you have any questions about pronunciation, check with the Pastor.

• Confirm that a copy of the Readings are on the Lecturn. Position and test the microphone.

Review the Sunday Bulletin to identify when the readings occur in the service.

During the service:

• Come forward to the Lecturn at the appropriate time and read from the Lecturn.

• When you are done with the reading, pause. Then address the congregation, “ Word of God, word of life.” Or “Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.”

• Return to your seat.

Tips for effective proclamation of the Word:

• Be sure you know what you are reading; so that you are proclaiming it to the people, not just reading words on a page.

• Pay attention to diction and read clearly.

(5-21-2024)

Before the service:

• Commit to serve as scheduled.

• Arrive at least 20 minutes prior to the worship service.

• Encourage your family or others to greet with you.

• Station yourself by the front doors and remain here until after the service begins.

• Wear your name tag.

• As people arrive, greet them with a warm “Good Morning” and encourage them to fill out a name tag.

• Encourage guests to either sign the guest book or fill out one of the yellow cards that they can get from an usher or from around their chair.

• Look for first-time guests. Ask the ushers to help. If possible, try to sit near them. (After communion, walk to the back of the sanctuary to look for new people. Guests tend to sit at the back or on an aisle.)

After the service:

• As you leave the sanctuary, greet guests with the rite of friendship: Introduce yourself. Ask how long they have attended St. Andrew. Ask what you can uplift for them in prayer during the coming week.

• Introduce guests to a pastor or to church members.

(7-15-2024)

Before the service:

• arrive 20 minutes before worship.

• During the WHO season ushers are responsible for retrieving worship bulletins from the office and setting them on the table at the sanctuary entrance. They also set out the baskets of children’s activity packets on the lower shelf of the same table. During the rest of the year, these will already be set out.

• Open the sanctuary doors using doorstops and greet people with a bulletin as they enter the sanctuary.

During the service:

• Make sure that there is an acolyte. If one has not reported to you 10 minutes before worship, then recruit one or plan to light the sanctuary candles yourself.

• You will need to familiarize yourself with the acolyte’s duties. If the acolyte is a child then light the candle-lighter wick for them. The acolyte will light the altar candles during the opening hymn. The acolyte will remain at the altar and wait for assistance from an usher or pastor if their light requires relighting. The lighter and matches are stored on the right table as you enter the church office. Return the lighter or matches to the office for safekeeping. If a new wick is needed then you can find them in the box where the candle-lighter is stored. After use, the acolyte snuffs the wick by pulling it into the lighter. They will then need to push it back out so the wick does not get stuck inside.

• Count people in attendance no earlier than 15 minutes into the service of worship, including people in the nursery and Welcome area/Narthex. Record this number in the attendance notebook located on the wall next to the mailboxes in the Welcome area.

• Sit where you can be aware of activity in the Narthex during the service. (We have had unexpected visitors.)

• Offering: During the Musical Offering, both ushers will walk with an offering basket to the front of the center aisle, bow, and turn to collect the offering by passing the baskets to all persons seated in the rows (with the exception of the music leaders). Usher then put the entire offering into one basket. One usher leads the communion precession slowly bringing the offering basket forward (followed by the communion offerings) during the offertory.

• Communion: Starting on opposite outsides of the sanctuary, you will begin to usher people forward to receive communion once the pastor and assistants are in place at the front of the table. People will exit the processional communion down the center aisle.

• Serving communion in the congregation: After all those coming forward have been served, indicate to the pastor which persons wish to be served communion in their seats (by standing next to these people in the aisle). You will receive communion yourself at this time.

• Make sure the acolyte is ready at the sending hymn to snuff the sanctuary candles and then put the candle-lighter away.

• Open the sanctuary doors using doorstops with the door stops when the acolyte goes forward to extinguish the candles.

After each service:

• Handling offering baskets: BOTH ushers should work together to take the offering into the church office. On the back wall is the safe. No one should handle offering alone. Locate a bank bag to the left side of the safe and place the offering envelopes and cash in it. Then place the bank bag into the slot in the safe. Make sure that the bag successfully goes down into the safe. Place all yellow cards and forms on the office manager’s desk.

• Please take a few minutes at the end to straighten the sanctuary - straightening chair rows and picking up paper, bulletins, children’s packets, sanitizer, etc.

• Close the sanctuary doors when you leave.

(7-15-2024)

Before the service:

On Sunday morning, the Assisting Minister arrives 30 minutes before the service.

• check-in with the pastor

• make sure that other worship assistants are in attendance - including ushers, reader, communion assistants, and greeters. (Please review the Thursday email for names of your Sunday Servants. Also review the Sunday Servant board in the Welcome center/Narthex.)

• Recruit additional Sunday Servants as needed. Youth may be recruited to serve wine and children may be recruited to carry baskets.

The Assisting Minister is responsible for retrieving the communion elements from the Sacristy.

• Communion is prepared on Saturday, so you will find the elements on the counter.

• Place them on the back table in the Sanctuary.

• Also confirm that a copy of the Prayers and the worship folder are on the altar table.

During the service:

• Head to the front of the dais during the final verse of the sermon hymn, bowing slightly, then proceed behind the table, where you will turn on the microphone and lead the Prayers of the People.

At sharing of the Peace:

• the Assisting Minister and Communion Assistants meet at the sanctuary entrance

• Use the sanitizer on the back wall and distribute the communion elements to Communion Assistants.

• During the offertory hymn, the usher (with the offering baskets) leads the procession of elements to the table in the following order: Bread carried by the Assisting Minister, wine chalices (common cups), flagon (pitcher), trays, baskets for sealed elements and baskets for used individual cups.

• After setting the bread on the table, the Assisting Minister helps the pastor take the elements and place them on the table. After taking the elements forward, Communion Assistants may return to their seats.

• The Assisting Minister will then lead the offertory prayer from behind the table.

• The Assisting Minister remains behind the table but steps to the right, for the pastor to lead the Great Thanksgiving and the Eucharistic Prayer, keeping their eyes on the elements and pastor.

After the pastor’s congregational invitation to the table:

• the Communion Assistants will come forward and be handed the elements by the pastor and Assisting Minister.

• They will take their place to serve communion (per the pastor’s instructions).

• The order is bread, common cup, tray, and basket.

• Those serving bread say to each person “The body of Christ, for you.”

• Those serving wine say “The blood of Christ, for you.”

• Persons taking communion in their seats will be served after those who have come forward. They will be indicated by an usher, who will stand next to them in the congregation.

• Communion servers will be served communion last by the pastor and Assisting Minister in front of the table and then return to their seats.

• The pastor will serve the Assisting Minister communion and the Assisting Minister will serve the pastor communion.

• They both return behind the table for the closing prayers.

• After which the Assisting Minister will return to their seat for the announcements, taking the microphone with them.

The Assisting Minister comes forward with the pastor during the sending hymn to reverence the table. The Assisting Minister then walks out toward the Servants Entrance, where they will lead the dismissal near the baptismal font.

At the end of the service, the Assisting Minister returns the microphone either to the table or the AV booth.

After the service:

The Assisting Minister and Communion Assistants take all the elements off the altar table to the Sacristy.

If there is an additional service, then the elements need to be refreshed and returned to the table in the back of the sanctuary:

• Any wine in the common cups needs to be disposed of and the Chalices cleaned for the next service. New cloths need to be placed on the Chalices.

• Ensure that there are enough individual cups for the next service. For a normal Sunday service there should be two full trays.

• Replace the bread with a new loaf.

• Throw away all used individual cups and clean the plastic bowls and return them to the baskets.

• Then return all the items to the table in the back of the sanctuary for the next service.

If this is the last service, then the following clean up is required:

• The wine in the Flagon/pitcher can be poured back into a marked wine bottle. Dispose of wine and grape juice in the individual cups, as well as wine in the Chalices. Disposal can be done by returning the wine to the earth or pouring it down the drain.

• Left-over bread must be disposed of by feeding it to the birds, your family, or putting it in the organic recycling bin. Do NOT leave the bread on the counter in the Sacristy.

• Clean the Chalices, the plates, and plastic bowls. Wipe the communion trays as needed.

• Place items in their labeled storage places - putting the Chalices on the lower shelves.