CHRISTIAN REFORMED
Volunteer Opportunities
Unlike some larger churches with several paid staff members, we rely on volunteers for a number of activities related to providing a pleasant environment for worshipping God. Three times each year (typically, June, September, and January), regular attendees—often in pairs—volunteer their time and effort as a contribution to the functioning of the church. There are six major categories in which one may participate: tending the grounds by mowing in summer, clearing snow and ice in winter; cleaning the building in preparation for the Sunday service; greeting worshippers and welcoming visitors as they arrive on Sunday morning; ushering worshippers to seats in the sanctuary, ensuring that they--especially visitors--are aware of the order of worship and where to find bibles and hymnals; providing refreshments for the fellowship time that follows the morning service; and tending the nursery during services.
Following are brief descriptions of those activities:
Greeters: Greeters are the first contact visitors have with Hessel Park Church. They act in an official capacity, on behalf of God and the congregation, to greet and welcome all who have come to worship. Greeters are expected to bring an attitude of joy and expectation, exhibit a warm and friendly attitude, and greet with a smile and an extended hand. Greeters assess any special needs (e.g., nursery, Children's Worship, special seating needs). Greeters remain at their post until about 10 min. after the beginning of the service, to welcome latecomers. Greeters should also be prepared to talk with guests after the service and to introduce them to the pastor or someone of similar age or interests
Ushers: Ushers distribute bulletins and help worshippers find suitable seating, giving special attention to guests and making sure everyone has a bulletin and access to a Bible and both song books. They help people find appropriate seating, make sure families with children know where the nursery is, offer children's bulletins to all children. An usher is prepared to set up additional chairs when the sanctuary seating is full, and to make sure songbooks and Bibles are available. Be especially aware of visitors, give them extra attention and assistance. Like greeters, ushers should remain at their posts for the first 5-10 minutes of the service.
Cleaning: This activity typically takes 2 - 3 hours late in the week (usually Friday or Saturday, but be aware of other scheduled uses of the church during these times and be prepared to work around them), preparing the building for Sunday's services. Bathrooms, kitchen, hallways, sanctuary, nursery, and the rooms around the perimeter of the building need to be vacuumed, mopped, dusted, etc. Not a "glamorous" task, it is nonetheless important in providing a pleasant environment in which to worship.
Grounds: Like cleaning, this is a 2 - 3 hour effort best done late in the week. In the summer, it involves mowing the grass and cleaning the walks, to provide a pleasant and inviting appearance around the outside of the building. In winter, clearing snow and/or ice from the walkways and making sure access to the building is safe and unobstructed are the primary activities. (Occasionally, but rarely, this requires some early morning work on Sunday, depending on weather conditions.)
Fellowship Hosts Before the 10:30 service on Sunday morning, prepare hot and cold drinks for fellowship time. Bring home-made or purchased (at your expense) treats for about 65 (winter) or 50 (summer) people. As the service is ending (usually during the closing hymn), set up food and drinks in the fellowship area; after the fellowship time, clean up, wash dishes, tidy kitchen, turn off lights/fans, and see that the building is locked.
Nursery/Nursery helper: Provide supervision for structured or unstructured play activities for infants and toddlers (includes changing diapers as necessary). **New nursery volunteers must undergo a criminal background check.** When there are more than 4-5 youngsters in the nursery, a “nursery helper” may be required. This is typically an older pre-teen or a teenager.
Other volunteer activities and roles:
•Scripture readers: The Hessel Park tradition is that members of the congregation read the scripture passage(s) as a part of the service. We usually have two readers, who share the activity.
•Food deliveries: As a part of our community outreach/benevolence activities, we collaborate with empty tomb to make food deliveries to individuals or families with an exceptional short-term need. Referrals are made by empty tomb to one of the deacons, who then identifies someone to make the delivery. This requires gathering food from the Hessel Park food pantry (located in the basement), purchasing perishable items (most often from Kirby IGA, where these purchases can be charged directly to the church), and scheduling a time when the recipient will be available to accept the delivery.
•Providing rides: Some of those who worship with us do not have transportation to and from church. We have ride coordinators to connect those needing a ride with others willing to provide one. These arrangements are made on an ad hoc basis each week.
•Music performance (instrumental and/or vocal): We endeavor to incorporate the musical talents of our worshippers in our services. We are always eager to include those who play almost any musical instrument, as well as those who are willing to sing solo, duet, …, and choral music.
Committee service: We have a few committees that meet with varying degrees of regularity to plan and carry out parts of the church mission. There is a worship committee (oversees and reviews the worship services, suggests changes, evaluates innovative efforts), a worship planning committee (meets with the pastor to draft worship services periodically through the church year), a visual arts committee (suggests and carries out activities to enhance the visual aspects of worship: flowers, candles, banners, other), and an evangelism committee (plans and organizes outreach activities, such as the information table for Quad Day on the U of I campus each fall).