Ushers: A Ministry of Connection
Lead usher Brian Matusek said whenever he has found himself in a new place he has tried to get involved where he can. This led him to serving as an usher at five Episcopal churches. “I looked for ways to participate and got involved almost immediately when we came here, he said.
Why an usher? Matusek said there are a multitude of reasons and that everyone is motivated and encouraged by different things. But he describes being an usher as mostly a welcoming ministry. “For me this is a fellowship of people and in order to make this ministry work it takes more than just the clergy. In participating with other parishioners, I get to know people. It gets you attached to the church.”
He describes the role as the easiest ministry to get involved in. “All it requires is coming in a little earlier before a service that you would be going to anyway.” He added that there’s also some participation with the offering plates and handing out leaflets, but said the role is really to help people.And he said for him that’s an important way to assist the church beyond just giving your tithe.
“Every church needs people. Every church needs volunteers, and the usher ministry is a great group of people and a great group to get involved with, he continued, noting: We had a very vibrant ministry pre-COVID. We had two complete rotations of ushers.” But that changed during the pandemic and now there’s a need for more help. “Everyone saw the Sunday service on Easter – it was huge and frankly we could have used more ushers.”
Matusek said they would love to welcome any parishioners interested and will offer training and answer any questions.
On May 28, there will be a table in the cloister between services where you can meet with ushers and ask questions about how to get involved. But you may also find an usher at any service on Sunday and ask for more information and they will get you in touch with Matusek.
“You can come to church and you can experience the benefit of the Word of God, Matusek said, plus, you get to meet people, and that’s been the greatest gift to me. “
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