#CHURCH USHER TRAINING FREE#

My family and I had arrived late (I’ll place my rant about accurate service times on church signage somewhere else) and tried to sneak in the back to find a seat.

#CHURCH USHER TRAINING FREE#

They ensure that we don’t rob ourselves of the majestic holiness of God through distraction, that we are free to feel his glory outshining all the petty cares with which we are burdened day in and day out.I had an enlightening experience while visiting another church the other week. Though God is everywhere, ushers remind us that we are entering a set-apart place for this hour a week-in these pews, with these people, at this table-so we can meet with the Lord. The courts into which we are welcomed belong to the great king. Ushers don’t leave you to wander about, disruptive-the holy one of Israel is in attendance, after all. Hospitality in the house of the Lord has an order to it, though. Much as our welcoming Lord makes space within his family for the broken, the hasty, and the sinful, a good usher will make space in the pews for all. Even when people rush in late, filled with haste, anxiety, and (possibly) anger over the Sunday morning rush, a good usher will assure, with an air of self-effacing competence, that they will not be without a seat for long. As we enter our churches, many of us are greeted by their gracious, restrained smiles, inviting us in to enjoy the hospitality of the Lord’s house. In many churches, ushers still capture the Levitical priests’ sense of solemn glory. Priests had a unique privilege and solemn glory: that of mediating the joyous, holy presence of God. Indeed, the two tasks went together-they were called to guard the house of the Lord from any defiling impurity precisely so the community could experience the blessing of his company. The heart of their work, though, was to bring the people into God’s presence while still maintaining the holiness of the Lord’s worship. Worship was serious work, and it needed to run smoothly. Like ushers, those men of old had a number of tasks around the temple courts.

I could not name it as such back then, but their presence to me felt like what I imagine the glory of the Old Testament priests and Levites felt like to Israel.

In my childhood eyes, ushers seemed like the most important people in the service, rivalled only by the pastor. In his charcoal grey three-piece, he used to diagram the other ushers’ respective territories and movement patterns with a geometer’s precision (he’s an engineer, so naturally he diagrammed everything). On Sundays, he and his fellows directed the seating, the offering collection, and the administration of the Lord’s Supper. I suppose part of the reason for my sense of awe at ushers is that my dad was one when I was a little kid-head usher, in fact. I’m talking about the old-school troop of reverend men who show up in suits every Sunday, keep watch at the sanctuary doors, and-in hushed tones and with sure gestures-direct you to your seat in the house of the Lord. Ushers have long occupied a place of solemn glory in the church-and by “usher,” I don’t simply mean “door greeter” (though these men and women are valuable servants as well).

Church usher training