![]() There was an usher book, a manual you had to go through before they would let you out on the floor and you had to go to usher school. You had to be trained because everything was intricate and there were expectations as to how you were to act and look. And my aunt was one of the instructors at the usher school in Cincinnati.īut know that even if this was something you wanted to do, you couldn’t just stand up and be an usher. ![]() So I came from a family where my momma and brothers ushered. No one in my family was going to sit on a church bench and do nothing. If you didn’t sing in the choir, then you ushered. I became an usher because there was a rule in my house. Crisp uniform, white gloves-snap, snap in the military style. She was always on the back door and on guard. Nothing like what you see today! My momma was an usher. It was military! It was order! No kids running down the aisles of the church all willy-nilly. Although she no longer participates in the ministry, she recounted fondly how important it was in shaping her maturation in the church. This account represents Tonya Jones’ experience as an usher and her observations regarding the ministry in the church she grew up in during the 1970s in Cincinnati, Ohio. An Usher’s Story - “It was military!”Įach experience as an usher, or the perspective of others about ushers, is vastly different. 2 For more information regarding more traditional practices such as the “Grand March,” which was an important part of Usher Day celebrations, see Ralph Wheeler’s contribution to the lectionary from year two. For additional information on the etymology and history of organizations such as the National United Church Ushers Association of America, see the cultural unit written by Bernice Johnson Reagon. Manuals and help aides, as well as “usher schools” and “conventions,” which instruct beginner and veteran ushers in the intricacies of this ministry have also shaped a code of conduct that stretches across generational and denominational lines.Īlthough many usher boards have moved beyond the traditional white dresses and black suits that defined the traditional view of ushers, their role as one of the foundational ministries within the worship life of the church remains. This is done through intricate practices that range from rules for walking down the aisle to the proper manner for distributing offering plates. This ethos is constructed around the belief that the usher is there to maintain order within the context of the service, assist as necessary as the Holy Spirit moves, and welcome parishioners and visitors into the sacred space of the sanctuary. This orderly way extends beyond just philosophy and is at the center of an ethos that has developed within the auxiliary. Leslie Parrott asserts in the book Serving as a Church Usher, “The usher board is now generally viewed as the fourth great ministry of the church, behind preaching, teaching and music respectively.” Participants within the ministry of the usher board view their primary responsibility as tending to the details of each service and insuring that, as the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 14:40, things are done “in a fitting and orderly way.” 1 Similar to other auxiliary roles like that of deacons and trustees, certain spiritual attributes have become criteria for acceptance onto usher boards in a small number of churches. But over the years, as pastors and parishioners have come to understand the function of the usher, such practices have been restricted. The usher board has historically been a “catchall” for those who did not know exactly where they fit within a particular congregation. While it is one of the familiar symbols of the Black Church, few understand the cultural importance of the church usher. This level of importance of ushers/doorkeepers can still be witnessed today. It becomes clear that if the doorkeepers failed to function properly the day-to-day operations of the Temple would have halted. In the selected lection for Usher’s Day, we find an account that speaks to the importance of the doorkeepers and how their ministry impacts all of the inner workings of the Temple. The Old Testament is full of references to those individuals referred to as the doorkeepers of the Temple. Kernodle, Guest Cultural Resource CommentatorĪssociate Professor of Musicology, Miami University, Oxford, OH
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