Perhaps you’ve heard someone say, “The word Liturgy originally meant ‘the work of the people’.” Well, it’s still true! As we gather for worship, the work of the people begins in earnest. It takes many people to do the people’s work.
THE WORSHIP TEAM
In our short lifespan as THE LIFE Church, we have learned a valuable truth: Gone are the days when a worship service is planned by a Pastor, a Deacon, and an Organist.
It takes over 20 helpful people to organize and carry out each worship service, every week. This is not a bad thing; in fact it is a very good thing. The more the people are involved in worship, the more it reflects the Kingdom of God, where all are welcome, and everyone has a part to play.
THE READERS
The Readers are many. We believe, teach, and preach that the Bible is the very Word of God. At each worship service we have volunteers read the Scriptures and prayers. You need not be a perfect reader or have a radio voice. All we ask is that you have a desire to read God’s word to His people. If you’d like to be a reader, speak to one of the Deacons after worship sometime. The readers also help with the distribution of Holy Communion.
THE USHERS
The Ushers do more than collect the offering. They also hand out our worship folders and are the first ones to welcome people when they arrive at the service. Do you like to say hello and make people feel welcome? Then perhaps you’d like to usher sometime! Talk to one of the Deacons about helping out in this way.
THE ACOLYTES
Our Acolytes light and extinguish candles before and after the service, and also help around the Altar. They carry the processional Cross to lead our processions in and out on Sunday mornings.
THE ALTAR GUILD
The Altar Guild at THE LIFE has the very important role of maintaining our sacred vessels for Communion, as well as preparing the Altar for our worship services. They also have responsibility for switching the fabrics (called “paraments”) to coordinate with the colors of the Liturgical Year.
THE BREAKFAST HELPERS
This group of volunteers takes turns setting up for our parish breakfast on Sunday mornings after worship. It’s an important role because, even though we’ve just shared a “foretaste of the feast to come,” we still like to chat and share food and conversation together!
THE CHANCEL ASSISTANTS
The Chancel Assistants are a small group of people (Deacons and Vicars) who coordinate the logistics of our worship service. They work closely with the Pastor and assist with pastoral care; they find people to read the prayers each week, and coordinate with the Altar Guild to care for the Altar before and after the worship service. Their service makes the worship experience seamless and reverent.