Grace Church Usher Guide

Thank you for being an usher at Grace Church. Yours is a very important role in making our worship a good experience, especially for newcomers. Think of yourself as the host/hostess for the service.

Before Your Scheduled Day:

If you can't make your scheduled day, make arrangements for a substitute. Make sure the office knows about a change. (You can see a list of ushers on the Grace website.)
Make sure you have a key to the lower Belmont door in case the church isn’t open.

On Your Scheduled Day:

Arrive no later than 20 minutes before the service.

Before people arrive:

Fans

In the summer, turn on the big exhaust fan in the hallway behind the altar using the switch just underneath the fan, and open the narthex doors (back/Hamilton Ave. doors) to allow air to flow through the church.
Turn on the ceiling fans using the switch on the wall to the right of the narthex.

Lights

Turn on the lights - see check list on switch box near sacristy (through door next to Peace Chapel). Don’t forget the light over the cross on the high altar and the three spotlights in the chancel area.

Doors

Make sure the doors are unlocked: the narthex door, the upper Belmont door and the lower Belmont door. (Use the chains on the Belmont doors so people can get in.)

Audio

Make sure that the audio is turned on in two places:

• In the audio room just outside the office. All the switches on the left side of the audio cabinet should be up. If you don’t have a key, there are keys in a locked closet in the office. 
• In the choir area, turn on the control panel.  Make sure the power strip is turned on and that the unit itself is turned on.
• Be sure the mikes are in place and working. There are written instructions next to the control panel.

Bulletins and Grace Notes

• Make sure there are bulletins out on tables at the back of the church (the Hamilton Ave. entrance) and on the table near the Upper Belmont sanctuary entrance.  Usually, there will be an issue of Grace Notes as well. 
• Neaten up the various tables and throw away outdated stuff.

Books in the Pews

• Check that all pews have
• i. Red Prayer Books (Book of Common Prayer – BCP)
• ii. Blue 1982 Hymnals
• iii. Green “Wonder Love & Praise” (WLP)
• iv. Black and red “Lift Every Voice & Sing” (LEVAS)
• v. Black and White “My Heart Sings Out” (MHSO)
• vi. “View from the pew” (yellow index cards) and writing instruments on hooks.

As people arrive:

Make sure everyone has a bulletin and a copy of Grace Notes
Greet visitors (everyone that you don’t know) and offer help as appropriate:

• Point them to the nursery/church school room(s).
• Offer to have someone sit with them to help with the service.
• Tell them that everyone is welcome to take communion or receive a blessing.
• Tell them that Healing Prayers are also offered at the side altar (Peace Chapel) after receiving communion/blessing, as well as after service, if requested.

During the service:

Be alert to people needing help/things needing attention.
Count attendance, as well as those who go for healing, record on attendance slip, and put into offering plate.
Take up offering.   If there are young people present, invite them to help.
Direct people to communion.

After the service:

re: Visitors

Request that visitors complete a Visitor Information Sheet (on the podium at the rear of the church).
Invite visitors to join us for refreshments (when available).
Let visitors know we’re glad they came to worship with us today and that we hope to see them again soon.

re: Housekeeping

Collect leftover bulletins and Grace Notes and put in the office.
Turn off sound system.
Turn off fans.
Turn off lights
Lock doors

8/25/2010 first draft - Ken Lyon
9/16/2010 edited - Judy Handy
7/09/2011 edited - Judy Handy
7/22/2011 edited – Ken Lyon, changed microphone battery instructions.
3/3/2013 edited - Ken Lyon changed disposition of bulletins & Grace Notes
1/24/2015 edited – Ken Lyon did general updates

Grace Church Seeks Music Leader

Grace Church Seeks Music Leader

Grace Episcopal Church in College Hill seeks a musician who will help build up our Sunday morning congregation by leading us in a variety of inspiring worship music.

This person will:

· Provide music (hymns, service music, preludes, interludes and postludes) for Sunday morning services (usually Eucharist) and about five other liturgical observances throughout the year using organ and piano.

· Select appropriate music from a diverse array of musical styles including traditional Anglican and gospel, in consultation with the worship team and clergy.

· Add variety by involving guest musicians drawn from his/her network, as well as parishioners whom he/she encourages to offer their music gifts.

· Oversee the church’s music budget for guest honoraria and music purchase.

This position would be 8-10 hours per week with a salary commensurate with American Guild of Organist standards.

Mail or email questions or resumes care of Roger Perna to:

office@gracecollegehill.org or

Grace Episcopal Church
5501 Hamilton Avenue
Cincinnati OH 45224

About Grace Church.

Worship and Music:

· We have a core worshipping congregation of about 30 on a typical Sunday. We do not have a choir.

· Sunday worship is led by a rotation of celebrants or officiants. The worship team leads the planning process.

· Currently, music support is provided by supply musicians on a Sunday-by Sunday basis.

· We currently use music from four hymnals: the 1982 Hymnal, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Wonder Love and Praise, and My Heart Sings Out, plus a few other sources. We want to add “call and response” music to our mix.

· Most worship services are in our beautiful nave. Summer worship is in our air-conditioned Great Hall, which gives us the opportunity to do worship in less formal styles than is possible in the nave. Sometimes we worship outdoors.

· Instruments: The nave has a Moller pipe organ and grand piano. The Great Hall has a small grand piano. We also have an electronic keyboard with amplifier and speaker.

Outreach:

Through over a dozen partners, we support spirituality and healing ministries that bring hundreds of people to our facility every week. About 75% of our budget goes to support these partner ministries.

Our two most important outreach programs are:

· A monthly healing service offering a variety of healing modalities plus drumming that draws non-traditional healers and from 40 to 80 participants from all over the Greater Cincinnati area.

· A free weekly community dinner that feeds 50 to 100 people.

For more about Grace Church, see gracecollegehill.org.

11/24/2014

Acolyte Manual

Acolytes help create a worship experience that helps people have an experience of God. The only requirements to be an Acolyte are a willingness to serve and the ability to follow these instructions.  Note: This is a work in progress….

General Instructions.

You are a leader in the service. The congregation looks to you to help set the tone for our worship. Your demeanor and dress should show your desire to make our worship meaningful for everyone.

Participating: Follow the service, read the congregation’s parts, and sing as you are able. Participate fully, and by your example, show others how it’s done.

Sitting, standing & kneeling. During the liturgy, do what the celebrant does. If they are standing, you stand, if they kneel, you kneel, if they sit, you sit. Important exception: If the priest stands up to give the absolution after confession, you remain sitting or kneeling. Also, you don’t need to stand during the sermon, announcements or during the preparation or distribution communion, unless you are helping with them.

Moving. During the service, you don’t just walk somewhere, you process. By that, we mean that you walk slowly, formally, with an erect posture. Somewhere between normal walking and a military march.

Bowing: You bow once to the cross over thehigh altar before lighting or extinguishing the candles. During the processional, you bow to the processional cross. The person carrying a cross does not bow. (We used to bow more often, but these days, that seems to be overdoing it.)

Things do not always go as planned. Be prepared to be flexible!

Before the Service.

Arrive 15 minutes before the service starts so you’ll have time to introduce yourself to the other liturgists, vest (get dressed), light the candles and agree on who’s going to do what.

The crucifer should find out from the celebrant if there are any special requirements. Make sure the celebrant knows how many acolytes there are and what they will be doing.

· Every service has a crucifer who carries the cross.

· If there are two acolytes, one is the crucifer and the other is the Gospel bearer.

· If there are three acolytes, one is the crucifer, one is the Gospel bearer and the other processes the Grace Church. At the Gospel, process a cross and the Gospel book .

· If there are four acolytes, one is the crucifer, two are torch bearers, and one the Gospel bearer. At the Gospel, process the cross, torches, and Gospel.

· If there are five acolytes, one is the crucifer, two are torch bearers, one the Gospel bearer and one processes the Grace Church banner. At the Gospel, process the cross, torches, and Gospel.

· If there are six acolytes, one is the crucifer, two are torch bearers, one the Gospel bearer, one processes the Grace Church banner and one processes the second cross. (Or, process the cross, two torches, two flags and the Gospel). At the Gospel, process the cross, torches, and Gospel.

Dress using vestments in the choir room.

Light the Candles

If one acolyte:

1. Light the two candles in the Peace Chapel. Right first, then left.

2. Enter from a side door, process to the front of the high altar and bow to the cross.

3. When the Pascal candle [tall candle in the aisle] is out, light it first.

4. If this is a Eucharist, process to the low altar to light the Epistle candle (on the congregation’s right) and then the Gospel candle (on the congregation’s left).

5. Go to the high altar and light the office candles starting with the candles closest to the cross and work your way out. Right side first.

6. If the torches are out, light them.

7. Bow to the cross over the high altar.

8. Process out the side door to your left.

If two acolytes:

1. Light the two candles in the Peace Chapel.

2. Enter from a side door, and process together to the front of the high altar and bow to the cross.

3. When the Pascal candle [tall candle in the aisle] is out, light it first.

4. If this is a Eucharist, turn around and proceed to the low altar to light the Gospel candle (on the congregation’s left) and Epistle (on the congregation’s right) candles in unison.

5. Go to the high altar and light the office candles starting with the candles closest to the cross and work your way out.

6. If the torches are out, light them.

7. Bow to the cross over the high altar.

8. Process out the side door to your left.

Prepare for the Procession.

1. The crucifer should make sure that all the acolytes know what their duties will be during this service.

2. Get the objects to be processed from their places.

3. Assemble in the hallway inside the upper Belmont door.

4. At this time, the celebrant may lead the liturgists in a prayer.

5. Line up in the order of procession (all except the first cross are optional):

a. The first (or only) cross.

b. Two torches, processing beside the cross.

c. Two flags.

d. Grace Church Banner

e. Choir

f. Second cross.

g. Gospel Book.

h. Chalicer

i. Officiant(s).

6. Go to the back of the church.

The Procession.

1. Begin the procession when people begin singing the first hymn.

2. The crucifer processes slowly to the low altar, turns around facing the congregation so those following can bow to the processional cross. If there are torches, they stand beside the crucifer.

3. If the Gospel book is being processed, place it on the altar.

4. After all have bowed, process the cross to its holder at the end of a choir stall, and then process to a seat near the other worship leaders.

5. If there are torches, they follow the crucifer and place their torches in the holders at the end of the choir stalls.

6. Go to the seats provided for the chalice and acolytes.

At the reading of the Gospel.

If there is one acolyte:

1. During the Gospel hymn, go to the front of the low altar, pick up the Gospel book, and process it to the middle of the congregation.

2. Turn around facing the celebrant and hold it so that the celebrant can open it to the correct page.

3. After the reading, process the Gospel Book back to the low altar and replace it on the altar.

If two acolytes:

1. One processes the cross and the other follows carrying the Gospel book.

2. When they reach the middle of the congregation, they turn around, facing the celebrant.

3. Hold the Gospel book so that the celebrant can open it to the correct page.

4. When the reading is complete, the crucifer goes first, followed by the gospel book, followed by the celebrant.

If four acolytes:

1. One processes the cross, followed by the torches, followed by the Gospel book. At the reading of the Gospel, the torches stand to either side of the Gospel book.

2. When they reach the middle of the congregation, they turn around, facing the celebrant.

3. Hold the Gospel book so that the celebrant can open it to the correct page.

4. Following the reading of the Gospel, the celebrant will stand aside, and the crucifer will pass between the torches to return the cross to its place. The torches follow and return the torches to their places. The acolyte carrying the Altar Book processes it back to the low altar. .

Prepare the Elements

After the offertory sentence, acolyte acting as server should be ready to assist the celebrant in setting up the elements on the low altar.

1. Hand the pall (tent) with the chalice, etc. under it to the celebrant.

2. Take the Host Box (the round silver box with the wafers in it), remove the lid, and be ready to hand the host box to the celebrant.

3. Get the wine cruet (the larger one), and be ready to hand it to the celebrant with the handle toward them. The celebrant will return the host box to you at the same time as they take the wine cruet. Put the cover back on the host box and put it back on the credence table.

4. Get the water cruet and be ready to hand it to the celebrant with the handle toward them.

5. The celebrant will return the wine cruet to you at the same time as you hand them the water cruet.

6. Replace the wine cruet on the credence table.

7. Pick up a towel from the credence table and place it over your left arm (like a waiter), hold the lavabo (bowl) in your left hand and face the celebrant.

8. The celebrant will hand you the water cruet, and place their hands over the bowl. Pour the water over their hands until they begin to rub their hands. They will then take the towel from your arm and dry their hands. They will then place the towel on your arm.

9. Return the bowl, towel and water cruet to the Credence table.

10. Return to your seat.

Collect the Offering.

1. At the presentation hymn (typically the Doxology), the acolyte appointed should go to the front of the low altar to take the plates from the ushers.

2. Turn around and give the plates to the celebrant, who will probably raise them up and then return them to you.

3. Put the plates on the high altar.

4. Return to your place.

At the Communion.

1. Before the celebrant starts with “The Lord be with you” chalice bearer and all the acolytes should be standing in a row not far from the altar, with the chalice bearer on the right, closest to the celebrant.

2. After the chalice and acolytes have received communion, sit down.

3. If you wish, receive laying on of hands for healing.

After the Communion.

When the celebrant returns to the altar, the acolyte acting as server should be ready to assist the celebrant in returning the various items on the altar to the credence table.

1. If the celebrant extends the chalice or paten (bread plate) towards you, he or she probably wants you to pour some water in them to clean them. Do so.

2. The celebrant will take items from the altar and hand them to you to place on the Credence table.

3. Once the altar is cleared, sit down.

4. During the closing hymn, the crucifer gets the cross from its stand and processes to the back of the church. If there are torches, wait for them to join you. Others who processed should recess in the same order.

5. At the back of the church, crucifer turns around so that those following him/her can bow if they wish.

6. After the dismissal words, return the cross, torches and Gospel Book to their places.

Extinguish the candles:

1. Come in a side door, process to the front of the high altar and bow to the cross over the high altar.

2. If this is a Eucharist, turn around and process to the low altar to extinguish the Gospel (on the congregation’s left) and then the Epistle candle. (The rule is that the Gospel candle should never burn alone.)

3. Process to the high altar and extinguish the office candles starting with the outside and work your way towards the cross.

4. If there are torches, extinguish the torches.

5. When the Pascal candle [tall candle in the aisle] is out, extinguish it last.

6. Bow to the cross over the high altar.

7. Process out the side door on your right.

8. Extinguish the two Peace Chapel candles (leave the red candle burning)

9. Return the candle-lighters to the acolyte room, and your vestments to the choir room.

KWLyon from various sources. 1/25/2014

Flower Guild Job Description

Grace Episcopal Church

Job Descriptions

Flower Guild

The purpose of the flower guild is to provide flowers for the altars and other appropriate locations in Grace Church for various regular and special worship services and activities. When possible and flowers are available, the Guil may provide flowers for members of the parish and community who are ill or for some special reason the receiving of flowers would be appropriate. The flower guild will work cooperatively with the Altar Guild not only on a weekly basis but especially on special occasions such as Easter and Christmas

Duties of the Flower Guild.

1. To be responsible for all flowers in connection with all worship services scheduled for Grace Church, including special seasons such as Christmas, Easter, and other appropriate times. This does not include activites where the church is used for another church or organization, such as a wedding or concert unless those arrangements are made in advance and are agreed to.

a. Secure flowers for use in the decoration of the sanctuary. The flowers may be purchased, donated from another source, or cut from those on the grounds of Grace Church.

b. Arrange and place the flowers in the appropriate locations.

c. Arrange for any special flowers or seasonal decorations that may be needed.

2. When possible, distribute the flowers on the Altars to the sick or other persons for appropriate occasions.

3. When possible, provide flowers at other times of the week for those who are ill or for other appropriate occasions.

4. To work with the grounds committee in creating the cutting flower beds so that the flowers selected and planted will be appropriate for the use of the Flower Guild.

5/24/2007

Worship Volunteer Scheduling

The volunteer scheduler will:

● Create a schedule for all the participants in the Sunday and holy day services except the organist and clergy. The schedule should go at least one month into the future. Use names from the list of people that are approved for each task (list is posted at the bottom of the schedule).

● Email graceleaders when each new schedule is made up.

● Post the schedule online in the Grace File Cabinet and keep it uptodate.

● Add service type, celebrant and organist information when provided by others.

● Email graceleaders each week what the assignments are for the next couple of Sundays.

● Remind the volunteers that they need to arrange for their replacement and they need to tell the scheduler. Remind them that in our Common Ministry church, there is no one to check up on them to make sure that they will do their jobs. That if they don't do their job, we'll have to scramble on Sunday morning.

When the Sunday bulletin or Sunday Grace Notes is made up, the volunteer schedule for the next few Sundays will be included, using the online schedule as of the time the bulletin is printed.

12/25/2010 Ken Lyon

3/23/14 small modification by Ken Lyon

Program Leadership at Grace Church

Motion passed by Mission Council on January 20, 2014. Effective at the 2014 Annual Meeting:

1. The two people responsible for Grace Church programs are the Mission Program Leader and Parish Life Program Leader.

2. They are elected at the Annual Meeting for 1-year terms, limited to 3 consecutive terms.

3. The Program Leaders and the Wardens make up the Executive Committee, along with any other member(s) nominated by the Senior Warden and approved by Mission Council.

4. Each Program Leader is responsible for seeing that the program ministries of Grace Church are carried out in their area. The Program Leaders carry out their responsibilities in partnership with the Wardens and Mission Council.

5. Program responsibilities be divided as follows.

a. The Parish Life Program Leader is responsible for the health and growth of the Grace Church Congregation and its members. Responsibilities include:

i. Worship

ii. Pastoral Care

iii. Christian Formation/Education

iv. Newcomer/Hospitality Ministry

v. Healing Ministry

b. The Mission Program Leader is generally responsible for the health and growth of the outreach/partnership ministries of Grace Church. Current ministries/partnerships include:

i. Wednesday night Celebration of Wholeness and Healing.

ii. Interfaith Hospitality Net

iii. Parolee Ministry

iv. Community Dinners

v. Life Renewal Church

vi. Mount Echo Tribe

vii. Rainbow Band

viii. Yoga

ix. Tai Chi

x. Oneness Blessing

xi. Narcotics Anonymous

xii. Zumba

6. Program Leaders are expected:

a. To be faithful in worship and prayer and to communicate regularly with church members.

b. To report regularly the goals and progress of their area to Mission Council and the Congregation. If not members of Mission Council, they would still be regular attendees with a voice.

c. To delegate his or her responsibilities appropriately, forming, staffing, overseeing and coordinating the work of the individuals or teams needed to carry out his or her responsibility.

7. The responsibilities of Mission Council remain unchanged and are those outlined for a Vestry in The Vestry Handbook by Christopher Webber. These would include: stewardship, business & finances, maintenance of the physical plant, administration and oversight of the office, hiring new staff and appointing leadership as needed.

8. The responsibilities of the Senior Warden remain unchanged, and include

a. Chairing Mission Council and Executive Committee meetings.

b. Being the primary point of contact with the Diocese,

c. Scheduling services and officiants, unless he or she delegates this responsibility.

d. Ensuring that lay ministry licenses are uptodate with the Diocese.

9. The responsibilities of the Junior Warden remain unchanged, and include

a. Overall responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the building.

b. Forming and leading and Buildings and Grounds Committee.

Grace Church Lector's Guide

Thank you for using your gifts and talents to serve as a lector at Grace Church.  You are an integral part of our service of praise and worship to God. Following are some thoughts on how you can make the readings come alive for your audience.
The schedule for readers is in the bulletin each Sunday; a month in advance.  If you are unable to read on the Sunday assigned to you, please extend the courtesy of informing the office and if possible finding another Lay Reader to read for you on that Sunday.

Before the Service
The readings for each Sunday can be found at http://www.lectionarypage.net/.  If you do not have access to a computer, call the office and ask for the readings.  If you are unable to practice before the service, please arrive at church early enough so you can review the readings and the psalm.  
If you have not been a lector before, get out a Bible and practice reading in front of a mirror or try reading to your family. This is also a good way to practice some of the techniques listed below.
When approaching how you will read the text aloud, reading meanings rather than words. There is no magic formula, but using these techniques will help you improve your skills.
1. Become familiar with the reading. Get the feel of the content and style of the selection. It may be helpful to read the passage before and after your reading to get its full meaning and context.
2. Think about its meaning. What is the author saying on the surface? Are there any underlying messages? What are his feelings about his message? What feelings does he want to communicate to his audience? What parts does he want his audience to remember?
3. Study the words. Check the dictionary or a concordance for the exact meaning and pronunciation of any unfamiliar names and words.
4. Mark your copy of the text as an aid to expression where pauses and stress might be used.

a. Underline each word or phrase to be stressed.
b. Underline twice parts that have greater stress.
c. Pauses can be indicated by a slash (/).

During the Service
When reading the lessons, use this form:  A reading from; insert the name of the book of the Bible, for example "A reading from Revelation."   At the conclusion of the lesson pause briefly before saying "The Word of the Lord".  
Decide ahead of time how the psalm is to be read. For information, consult the BCP pp. 582-584. Please make sure your selection is appropriate to the psalm and simple enough to explain. There are three general approaches:

• Unison
• Alternating verses
• Splitting verses at the asterisks

The second and third approaches are most frequently done with the lector reading one part and the congregation the other. However, it can also be done with men and women alternating verses or the two sides of the congregation. Another option could be the congregation (and the lector) reading one part, and the choir the other. Be aware that the terms can be confusing to the congregation, and that it may be best to describe the pattern without using the term. For example:
After the first lesson, announce that the psalm will be found in the bulletin, if in the prayer book, give the page number and how the psalm is to be read, for example "Please read Psalm ___ found in your bulletin. I will read up to the asterisk and the congregation will complete the verse."
Establish your own personal ritual to use before you start to read. Pause, take a deep breath, and slowly exhale, knowing you are in control. Look around at the congregation.  The purpose of this is to help you get centered. If you are uncomfortable making direct eye contact with the audience, a useful technique is to look around, but gaze directly above their heads.
If you make a mistake or mispronounce a name, don't get rattled. If it changes the meaning of the text, correct it. If it doesn't, gloss over it and keep going. Probably no one will notice it anyway.
There are six tools you can use to make your reading more interesting and varied: volume, speed, tone, emphasis, eye contact and enthusiasm. When you read, try to read as if you are normally talking to someone and telling a story. Use a "talking" voice rather than a "reading" voice. Make some parts a narrative, some parts intense, and accent some parts with a dramatic silence.
1. Volume - Your voice should be loud enough to carry to the back of the room. A good technique is to pick out a person in the back of the room and pretend you are reading to them. You can start loud, but later tone your volume down. As you are reading, put a little more emphasis on verbs and words that show action.
2. Speed - A common mistake is to read too fast because of nervousness. Read at a moderate speed, fast enough to move along, but slow enough so your audience can understand you. A good technique is to sometimes slow down just a bit to emphasize a particular part of a sentence, especially an ending. You can also slow down if you want to enunciate a word so the audience will understand what you are saying.
3. If you are reading a narrative with a quotation, or another person starts to speak, pause for a moment, change the pitch of your voice and your tone before reading the quotation. Pause at the end of the quotation to let the audience know the quotation is finished. Then return to your normal narrative pitch and tone.
4. Tone - Tone gives your voice melody, and can be like the spice in a good dinner. Tone is a combination of pitch, quality, and strength. You want just enough to make the taste interesting, but not overly strong. Vary your pitch enough so that you don't read in a monotone. You can also change pitch and volume slightly when two people are talking during the narrative so the audience can distinguish between the two.
5. Emphasis - For more effective reading emphasizes verbs and nouns. De-emphasize articles, especially "a" and "the". You can use emphasis by inflection, by force, by change in voice quality, by means of pitch, and by means of pause.
6. Eye Contact - Periodically, as you are approaching the end of a statement, read far enough ahead so that while you are finishing orating the sentence, you can look up and make eye contact with the audience. Once you have perfected this technique, while reading, you can occasionally direct your gaze to the left, right and center audience, and make direct eye contact with them or look just above their heads. You can also read ahead if you are coming to the bottom of a page and the reading continues on the other side. If you read ahead, you can turn the page and continue the verbal reading without a pause while you are turning the page.
7. Enthusiasm - Have enthusiasm for what you are reading! Prepare to read by looking at the passage before and after the lesson to get a sense for the passage.  Get excited about the message you are reading or the story you are telling. Enjoy the process of reading it. This enthusiasm and enjoyment will reflect in your voice and pass on to the audience.

Revised 4/22/2010 by Ken Lyon to reflect current practice.
Revised 6/2013 by Ken Lyon to update lectionary link

Job Description: Communications

Responsibility: See to it that Grace Church’s particular story is communicated coherently to members, visitors and the world at large, at zero dollar cost to the church, excepting use of the copy machine.

What this entails:

· Work with the congregation in groups and as individuals to ascertain what the congregation’s story is.

· Develop images and phrases that express the congregation’s story for consistent use in all communications.

· Seek out what’s going on in the congregation, community and diocese that deserves communication to this congregation and its audiences.

· Carry a camera to all congregation functions and take pictures to illustrate important events and themes.

· Publish eGraceNotes weekly. Elicit email addresses from visitors and others to build readership.

· Publish Grace Notes weekly as an addition to the Sunday service bulletin, and for possible mailing to shut-ins who don’t have email.

· Implement and support email groups to facilitate internal group communications.

· Design, implement, edit and support GraceCollegehill.org website.

· Create, maintain and feed the congregation’s Facebook page.

· Create and implement internal signage (bulletin boards, free-standing signs, signs over doors. etc).

· Create and implement external signage.

· Create picture post cards and picture cards to mail to visitors, et al..

· Create and update brochures.

· Maintain the five flags over the front entrance, repairing and replacing as needed.

Time required: About two days a week ongoing.

Out-of-pocket cost: About $500/year.

Ken Lyon
3/22/2012

Treasurer Job Description

The Treasurer is the Chief Financial Officer of Grace Church, and has the duty of handling Grace Church's monetary affairs. This duty may be divided into several categories:

Monitoring cash flow
          * Keeping track of current income and expenditures;  
          * Arranging for deposit of monies received;
          * Arranging for payment of salaries, bills and other expenses;
          * Keeping all financial records up to date;
          * Performing other activities as may be required|
           * Monitors income from worship services

Reporting financial information
          * Preparing monthly financial reports for presentation at Mission Council meetings;
          * Preparing and presenting  a yearly financial report to the Annual Meeting;
          * Preparing and transmitting such financial information as may be required by the Diocese;
          * Receiving and reporting other financial information as necessary;
           *Prepares information for annual audit due to Diocese September 1.

Advising and planning on financial matters
          * Providing financial advice and/or recommendations to the wardens or other church officials as needed
          * Preparing an initial draft of the annual budget for the following year;
          * Aiding in preparation of special budgets for grant requests, special programs, etc.
          * Providing alerts and/or warnings about potential or impending financial problems;

Functions, Duties, and Responsibilities of the Senior Warden

The Senior Warden at Grace Episcopal Church is the primary elected lay leader of the congregation and serves as the principal liaison between the parish and the clergy. At the present time, Grace Church is employing supply priests; it is noted that even though these supply priests are not serving in a “full-time” capacity at Grace Church, they are never-the-less representatives of the Bishop and the Diocese. Technically, in the absence of a full-time priest, the Bishop is our “Rector.”

The role and responsibility of the Senior Warden is to lead the Mission Council in meeting the following criteria:

1. Be responsible for issues pertaining to all legal aspects regarding properties and legal contracts of the church.
2. Ensure that the parish functions with regular services and acts on behalf of the supply priest(s) that we employ, and assists and supports the supply priest(s) in their roles and responsibilities.
3. Articulate the mission and vision of the parish.
4. Manage the day-to-day operations of the parish.
5. Identify and nurture the leaders of the parish.
6. Empower the members of the congregation to live out the Gospel in their daily lives.
7. The Senior Warden also serves as liaison between the Mission Council and the members of the congregation.

Role, Duties and Responsibilities of Junior Warden

The Junior Warden of Grace Church has the duty to lead parishioners by good example, encouraging unity, peace and prayer. In addition, the Junior Warden has the responsibility of supporting the Senior Warden, all members of Mission Council; and being supportive of all approved Grace Church endeavors.

The Junior Warden shall substitute for the Senior Warden in circumstances that require it: e.g. by leading Mission Council meeting when the Senior Warden is unable to do so. The Junior Warden shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee.

The Junior Warden has the responsibility for overseeing the maintenance and repair of the church building and grounds. This responsibility may be delegated to the Building and Grounds Committee with the Junior Warden as the ex: officio member. Recommendations by the Buildings and Grounds Committee for necessary improvements will be reported by the Jr. Warden to Mission Council.

The sexton reports to the Junior Warden.

November, 2012