Sunday morning Greeters stand in the Narthex and warmly greet worshipers. It is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow church goers! Families can "greet" together, small children are a pleasure to have welcoming our parishoners.
Sunday morning Welcomers receive guests, help them acclimate and create an environment of welcome, so that God’s love can grow and the church can grow. Tasks of Welcoming: Seek out visitors. Introduce yourself. Talk with them and answer any questions. Offer crayons and paper to those with children. Give them a copy of the church’s brochure. Take them to Sunday school or the nursery for their children if desired. Offer a brief tour of our church. Introduce the visitor to another member of the congregation, to the Greeters, and to the Usher. Assist in writing out a temporary name tag or completing a form for a permanent name tag (located on the table next to the guest book). Invite the visitor to Coffee Hour or other upcoming church events such as a dinner or TELOS or PACE youth fellowship activity. Direct handicapped/impaired persons to the elevators for an alternate egress if they desire. Also indicate the removable chairs in the last row for wheelchair accessibility and other seating available there for those accompanying them
Prior to the rush of the congregation's arrival, check name tags on the display rack for errors in alphabetical order placement.
Suggested Ways of Starting a Conversation with a Visitor: Begin with a simple “Hello, my name is ….I don’t think we have met before.” This approach allows them to mention if they are visiting or a new resident and avoids possible embarrassment if the visitor happens to have been a member for twenty years. If the visitor responds with “Oh yes we met six months ago at the Strawberry Festival,” the Welcomer can respond with, “Yes, of course. Now I’ll be sure to remember you the next time we meet.”
Time and Locations for Welcomers: Before the Sunday Morning Worship Service: Welcomers should be in the Narthex at least 30 minutes before the service to assist visitors in picking up name tag and also to encourage members to use their name tags. Also encourage visitors to sign the guest book after church. After the service: Welcomers should remain in the Narthex to welcome visitors after the service. This is the best time to engage in conversation and escort the visitors to the Welcome Center and to coffee hour in the Social Room or other church functions if they desire to attend.
Ushers help to assist and make welcome each church worshiper. Their duties include the following: Prepare the sanctuary for worship Greet and seat people and distribute bulletins Collect the offering Return the sanctuary to original condition (pews neat, table and chairs covered, etc.) Ushers will typically meet at the beginning of the year for orientation and scheduling. Each member serves a term of 3 years.
Funeral Reception Ministry This ministry was started nearly 25 years ago. Its function is to provide a reception after a funeral for those families which request it. Whether the anticipated crowd is fifty, or one hundred and fifty, a carefully-planned hot or cold meal is prepared in the church's certified kitchen and served in the Social Room. This care provides great comfort to a grieving family.
Sunday Fellowship Ministry Every Sunday after the 8:45a.m. and 10:30 a.m. worship, our community gathers in the Social Room for coffee, tea, snacks, and vibrant fellowship. Often, information tables are present providing materials on ways to become involved in the church or wider community. Our Social Hour also provides time for celebration of particular people in our community. After worship, come on downstairs to meet and greet your church family. Interested in being a volunteer for the Sunday Fellowship Ministry? Contact Joann Scott at jmscott10@comcast.net
If you find that on any given assignment week you may have a conflict, please work with others on the list to see if they can either switch with you or take your place. Phone lists have been sent to all participants. If you are having issues after trying, please contact Joann Scott. jmscott10@comcast.net
Social Hour Information and Instructions
What does it mean to host Social hour? Each week there will be an Early Service Fellowship team, a Second Service Fellowship team, as well as a team of bakers. The Service Fellowship teams host the Social Hour. One member of the Fellowship teams will be assigned as a Kitchen Chief (KC). The Kitchen Chiefs are responsible for bringing Milk and Juice each week. We have one set of bakers each week to handle both services. As a SOCIAL HOUR HOST, we ask that you: Before Church: Arrive at church by 8:15 to help set up the Social Room, and prepare food and beverages for coffee hour. The set-up should be complete before the church service starts. At the start of the last hymn of the service: Return to the kitchen to move all of the food and beverages into the Social Room. During Social hour: One volunteer should be stationed to help pre-pour and serve juice for children. The other volunteers can socialize and ensure that we don’t run out of beverages. After Social hour: The volunteers should help clean up. All of the dishes will be washed in the dishwasher. Any leftover food needs to be put away. Coffee pots washed and set to dry. Tables need to be wiped off. Trash needs to be taken to the dumper. Clean-up is usually done between noon and 12:30. As a BAKER we ask that you: Bring 4 dozen baked goods, or if you prefer to bring some cheese and crackers, or fruit, or whatever you think the congregation will enjoy. Bring the goodies to the church for the first service (if possible)