#USHERING IN THE BLACK BAPTIST CHURCH HOW TO#

Sylvia Graves, a member of Perkins Square Baptist Church who has been ushering nearly 20 years, said people who are struggling will often seek out a church for comfort or aid. She said she pulled him into the foyer and quickly got the minister. She recalled the time when a man showed up at her church asking for someone to pray for him. “You don’t know what problems or concerns people have coming through that door,” said Vanessa W.

Often, ushers are the first face to greet those with serious issues. A bad first impression, they say, can quickly turn people off. The ushers take their jobs seriously because, they say, they are often the first connection people have with a church.

#USHERING IN THE BLACK BAPTIST CHURCH HOW TO#

On Saturday, they practiced proper procedures for signs and signals service and prayer positions ushering in the aisles how to collect the offering and duties and responsibilities of positions like the “doorkeeper” and “usher-in-charge.” There are about 400 people in Maryland and 15,000 in the nation who have been trained and certified by the National United Church Ushers Association. She was among several dozen ushers from African-American churches across Maryland who came early Saturday morning to the Huber Community Life Center on Loch Raven Boulevard in Northeast Baltimore to practice their skills. “We’re the ones who control the atmosphere of the church,” said Sandy Arnette. The 20-some gestures are painstakingly learned and practiced by ushers to communicate without causing distractions during services.

The signals are used to communicate with one another as they quietly and discreetly direct crowds from the doors and into the pews. The group - the women all wearing white dresses, the men in black blazers, all of them wearing white gloves - was practicing the standardized signals ushers use at church services.

The session was part of the Interdenominational Church Ushers Association of Maryland’s 67th annual convention being held this weekend. “Can I get a signal for ushers to take their stations?” McCorvey asked, prompting the group to make another gesture - brushing their faces with their right hands. Ladies, you have to pretend you have a tie,” she said, as members of the group clutched their right hands at the neck. “When you’re getting attention, grab the knot of your tie. They share a passion for traveling to state and national conventions.Colette McCorvey called out commands as she led a group of church ushers through their paces. “I’d rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked,” Lucas says, quoting Psalm 84. Members coast to coast have adopted a passage from the Old Testament as a kind of mission statement. All belong to a national association, the aforementioned National United Church Ushers Association (formed a few years after the Interdenominational Assn.) with chapters in locations from California to Maine.

Their Interdenominational Church Ushers Association of Maryland now includes 32 member churches in Baltimore and 92 in the state. Sharp Street, Ames and Enon churches remain in operation. By 1919, the Philadelphians had a similar group. He assembled the leaders of three Baltimore churches – Sharp Street United Methodist, Ames United Methodist and Enon Baptist – in 1915, persuading them to form the State of Maryland United Ushers. Sorrell probably never imagined such things, but he perceived a need.

Ushering in the black baptist church