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Pastor's Perch
There are various boards and committees that serve our church. Pastors’ Perch continues to highlight these groups. Each month, look for a description of one board or committee, the roles that board or committee plays, and ways that you can serve in connection with that board or committee. We hope you learn something about the work that goes on behind the scenes and appreciate the service so many are rendering. Just as many parts make up a healthy, functional body, var-ious talents are needed and used in the Church. Watch carefully for ways that you can serve and help build up the body of Christ.
The Parts of the Body of Christ - Ushers
The average worshipper comes to church each Sunday and, for the hour he or she is there, assumes that things will run without a hitch, almost effortlessly. That’s what we have come to expect. But much planning, preparation, and practice goes into every worship service to ensure that things do run smoothly. Besides the pastors, organists, and choirs, a part of the body of the Christ that plays an important role every Sunday is the group of men serving as ushers.
It is the duty of the ushers to assist in any way necessary to ensure a smooth service. An ushering team, led by a head usher, is assigned to each worship service. The head usher is often the first one to arrive at church and the last one to leave. He is responsible for turning the lights on or off, clearing the sidewalk of snow or leaves, opening or locking the doors, posting the hymns on the hymn board, and general preparation or clean up of the church.
The head usher then leads the ushering team in carrying out duties that are both visible and behind the scenes. Your ushers hand out bulletins and inserts, assist those using the elevator, collect the offering, direct communicants to the altar, dismiss the congrega-tion, and collect hymnals. Ushers also ring the bell, control the lights, and record the attendance. During the service, they keep a watchful eye from the back, ready to take charge if there is an emergency or security issue. Besides all these and other miscella-neous duties, the ushers are there also to worship and be fed with God’s Word and Sacrament.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? You can contribute to a smooth worship service by becoming an usher or a greeter. If you are interested in doing so, contact the ushering committee chairman, Pete Matson, or one of the pastors. Any confirmed member can be a greeter. Any confirmed male can be an usher. Both ushers and greeters are important because they are usually the first personal contact a guest will have with our church. Wouldn’t you want to be warmly greeted and assisted if you visited an unfamiliar place?
Finally, say thank you. The pastors certainly appreciate what the ushers do every service. A smooth worship service is often taken for granted because the ushers carry out their duties faithfully. A word or gesture of thanks and appreciation will reward a job well done.
Ushering Committee Chairman: Mr. Pete Matson
Head Ushers: Paul Herman, Jeff Hill, Tom Hunt, Robin Jacobsen, Kris Koykkari, Randy Pope, Scott Thieme, Pat Vandenberg
Ascension Worship – Thursday, May 13
Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples saw him ascend into heaven and heard the angels promise his return. We celebrate this important day in order to proclaim the completion of Christ’s ministry on earth, his victorious coronation at the right hand of God (where he continues to rule all creation), and our ascent with him to the heavenly places.
As we have in the past, we will join with Epiphany and New Hope for worship with Holy Communion on Thursday, May 13 (forty days after Easter) at 7:00pm here at First Evan. Come celebrate this festival. Hear the importance of Christ’s ascension for your daily life and praise God that he has exalted your brother Jesus to the highest place. Join the brass and organ in singing triumphant songs of praise to our Savior. WLS grades K-3 and a joint choir will also sing.
Examination and Confirmation
Every year the month of May means the entrance of young adults into communicant membership of our congregation. This year twelve young adults from our congregation are ready for this next stage in their lives. They have been trained in the basics of Lutheran Christian faith and life as presented in Luther’s Small Ca-techism. They have the opportunity to demonstrate that they have learned the Catechism when they are publicly examined before the congregation on Sunday, May 9.
The following week is Confirmation Sunday, a significant day in the lives of these young Christians. On May 16, during the 10:45 worship service, they will stand before God and before the congre-gation to publicly profess their faith. They will announce that they believe the things they have been taught, and they will promise to remain faithful to God and his Word forever, even if it costs them their lives on earth. This is a serious promise! We would do well to show our support, to pray for them, and to do whatever it takes to help them keep those promises. This includes using our words, prayers, and the examples of our lives to encourage them as they continue to live and grow in faith and fight off the enemies of Satan, the world, and their own sinful nature.
Since they have learned the truths of the gospel of Jesus, under-stand what the Lord’s Supper is and does, and will have publicly confessed that they are in agreement with those truths, these twelve young adults will receive the Sacrament for the first time on Confirmation Sunday. Welcome them warmly into communicant membership and pray for God’s continued blessings on them!
First Evan on Facebook
First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Racine is now on Facebook! A page has been created to post news and updates about our congregation and happenings at church. If you have a Facebook account, look us up and click the “Like” button. Then stay connected to your church with this popular social networking tool. Thank you to those members of the technology committee who created this page.
A.J.Dolan
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262-633-8267
