Many ask, “How can I help?”
There are many ways to help in worship at St. John’s:
- Acolytes
- Assisting Minister
- Cantor
- Choirs
- Coffee/Fellowship Server
- Communion Assistants
- Communion set up/clean up
- Greeters
- Reader
- Sunday School teachers/assistants
- Technology Help
- Ushers
- Youth Worship Jobs
What do you do?
ACOLYTES
Popular with our youth, an acolyte will light and extinguish the altar candles each Sunday. They will also assist with offering collection.
For more details and/or to sign up, please see Penny Johnson, penny@stjohnssaukprairie.org.
ASSISTING MINISTER
As an assisting minister, you will help lead our worship service. Please contact Pastor Sally, sally@stjohnssaukprairie.org, for a detailed description of the duties. She will
review the responsibilities in advance of your day of service to make sure you feel comfortable and confident in your leadership.
CANTOR
The role of a cantor is to lead the psalm. The cantor typically sings the odd verses solo, and the congregation joins on the odd verses. Sometimes, there is an antiphon (refrain) sung before the body of the psalm. In this case, the cantor sings it once through and the congregation joins the second time. If the lead musician plays downstairs, the cantor sings from the pulpit. If the lead musician plays upstairs, the cantor sings from the balcony.
Please contact Pastor Sally, sally@stjohnssaukprairie.org, to sign up or if you have questions.
CHOIRS
At St John’s, we have a few different opportunities to participate in a choir, such as Kids of the Kingdom (2nd-5th grade), Senior Choir, and the Handbell Choir.
To learn more about these and other opportunities, please contact Ruellene Seymour, ruellene@stjohnssaukprairie.org.
COFFEE/FELLOWSHIP SERVER
Please contact Linda Michaels, tmichaels8286@charter.net, if you’d like to serve coffee. She will talk with you before your day of serving so you can go through all of the details together. There are also multiple copies of detailed instructions about how/when/what to do!
COMMUNION ASSISTANT
Prior to the service, find a robe from the closet in the first room after the nursery in the education hall.
During the service, come forward (robed) to the altar area when the pastor extends the invitation. The pastor will serve communion to you and the other worship leaders first. Communion is by intinction: hold the wafer and dip it in the wine chalice.
When directed by the pastor, get a tray of wine/juice from the side altar and station yourself between the pastor and the cup discard basket. As congregants come forward, they first receive the wafer from the pastor, next they come to your station where they take a cup and you say “The blood of Christ shed for you.”
After people finish coming forward, you may be asked to go with a pastor to give communion to those in their seat. Either you or the pastor returns the tray to the side altar table and you return to your seat (you can take off your robe).
To sign up to be a communion assistant, please use this link: https://signup.com/go/mPmPubV
COMMUNION SET-UP/CLEAN-UP
There is a detailed description for setting and cleaning up communion located in the sacristy (little room off of the altar/sanctuary). If you are interested in helping with this, please
contact Marilyn Herschleb, mherschleb2@yahoo.com
GREETERS
Greeters are appreciated as individuals walk into church at the front door and Sanctuary. Greeters arrive 15 minutes before the early or late service. They welcome members and visitors with a smile and choice of welcoming words like “Good morning” or “welcome.” Volunteering as a greeter is positive experience.
To sign up to greet, please use this link: https://signup.com/go/bSyfOQC
READER
After the Prayer of the Day or special music, walk up to the pulpit with your bulletin or copy of the readings sent to you in the mail. Begin the reading by saying, “A reading from (name of book), the (#) chapter. End the reading by saying, “The Word of the Lord.” Then sit next to the pastor or assisting minister while the Cantor leads the Psalm. After the Psalm, return to the pulpit to read the second reading (say the same things written above before and after the reading). Then return to your seat. Sometimes biblical words and phrases are tough to pronounce and feel like a mouthful. Connect with a pastor if you need help before the service begins and do your best! Frequently the pastors have to look up the pronunciations too.
Contact Kathy Lovell, lovellkat@yahoo.com, if you’d like to be put on the readers’ list.
SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS/ASSISTANTS
Do you enjoy working with children? Consider teaching Sunday School! We need teachers and assistants for all classrooms, ages 3 through grade 6. You can teach every Sunday during the school year or team up with others to rotate Sundays. If you would like further details or would like to sign up, please contact the Sunday School Supertendent at sundayschool@stjohnssaukprairie.org.
TECHNOLOGY HELP
This team works in pairs to provide our Sunday morning Zoom broadcasts. You can work the 8:00am or the 10:30am worship service. Roger Seymour is the team leader and very knowledgeable at teaching you what is needed. Contact Roger at 608-588-3198 or rrcmor@gmail.com if you are interested.
USHER
Arrive 20 minutes before the service begins.
Hand out bulletins and greet the people as they come in. Let people know we have individual communion packs located on the back table by the sanctuary doors for anyone who desires to use them.
If service has started and people are having a hard time finding a place to sit, please assist them.
During the sermon, go up to the choir loft and count all the people in the sanctuary, choir loft, and nursery (including pastors, assisting ministers, and acolytes). Record the number in the little black book in the usher’s closet at the bottom of the stairs.
For the offering collection, two ushers walk up the center aisle to receive plates from the acolyte. The other two walk up the outside aisle. Plates are passed back and forth to collect offering. After the collection, two ushers take the plates back to the acolyte.
On the 2nd Sunday of the month, ushers bring forth the food pantry basket with the offering plates and place it in front of the baptismal font.
The pastors will commune those on Zoom and those using the individual communion packs first. Once they are communed, two ushers will walk up and down the aisles to collect any empty individual communion packs.
Then all four ushers walk up the center aisle while the pastors are communing the acolytes and other volunteers. The first two ushers commune first and then proceed to the altar to exchange empty trays with full ones, as needed. The back two ushers let the congregation out pew by pew. If there are more people on one side, the first usher finished starts in back on the opposite side and asks them to go down the other side to even things out. These two ushers follow them and commune last. If some people are unable to go up for communion, point them out to the pastors so they can receive communion in the pews.
When church is over, pick up bulletins and papers left in the pews. Check friendship folders and remove the first sheet of paper if they are signed. Put these papers and bulletins in the closet.
Refill friendship pads or Kleenex between services if needed. Both can be found in the ushers’ closet on the floor below the shelves.
Use this link to sign up to be an Usher: https://signup.com/go/UacpttD
YOUTH WORSHIP JOBS
Our youth can participate in many roles at St. John’s, such as acolytes, communion assistants, ushers, or technology helpers!
Each student needs to complete 3 Worship Jobs from October through January. Your student may complete multiple jobs on any one Sunday or spread them across several Sundays.
Students are welcome to complete more than 3! This is the time for our youth to learn the gift of serving others. Sign-up for the available spots at https://signup.com/go/bnkqjug.
Please contact Penny Johnson with any questions related to youth worship jobs, penny@stjohnssaukprairie.org.
If you prefer, you can still sign up on the kiosk, reach out to the church office, or directly contact the following people on the Lay Ministry Board to sign up:
Ushers: Gina Varley, glv1205@gmail.com 608-963-0325
Communion Assistant: Mary Weeks, meweeks0727@gmail.com 608-643-0656
Communion Set up/clean up: Marilyn Herschleb, mherschleb2@yahoo.com 608-943-6181
Greeters: Cheryl Sprecher, sprechercheryl@gmail.com 608-220-5494
Readers: Kathy Lovell, lovellkat@yahoo.com
Acolytes: Penny Johnson, penny@stjohnssaukprairie.org
Assisting Minister and Cantors: Pastor Sally, sally@stjohnssaukprairie.org
Choirs and Cantors: Ruellene Seymour, ruellene@stjohnssaukprairie.org
Sunday School Teachers/Aides: Sunday School Superintendents, sundayschool@stjohnssaukprairie.org
None of these jobs are very difficult and involve very minimal training. But it does take the help of others to make our worship experience enjoyable. Please consider these opportunities! Let us know how you would like to participate – it is also a great way to get to know fellow members.
