The ushers at my church do a fantastic job. I feel adequately ushed each and every Sunday. But I always feel like they are overlooked for their service. In a setting where thankless jobs unfortunately grow on trees, ushers are rarely, if ever, recognized for what they do.
As a person that thrives on encouragement, it is difficult for me to see ushers everywhere go unnoticed for their ministry. Thus, I have come up with the following list of things we could do to get ushers more attention. I am not sure they would agree to the things on this list, but it is worth a shot.
1. Unique Uniformity – I know that makes it sound like they would blend in, but hear me out. I’m talking about giving each of them the same article of clothing or a common accessory that stands out for all to see. Right now, the ushers at my church have a sticker on their shirt that has the name of our church and says “usher.” Boring!
But how about giving them all reflective “hunter orange” crossing guard vests? Or maybe providing them with top hats? Seriously, if you walked into a church and all of the ushers had on plum colored sport coats that said “You Got Ushed” on the back, you would never forget that.
2. Accents – This would take a little more work. I say we have an usher retreat where we teach everyone to talk with an Irish accent. Or a British accent. Or a Russian accent. Actually, let’s go with a Boston accent. Unless you live in Boston.
I think it would be awesome to walk into a church in Central Kentucky and hear all of the ushers speaking with a Boston accent. I would sign up for membership on the spot, regardless of denomination or worship style.
3. Give them their own event – I’m not talking about an ice cream social on a Sunday afternoon or a brief recognition before a service. I am talking about inflatables, live music, and all you can eat chicken. I am talking about engraved plaques thanking them for their service. I am talking about renaming potlucks. (Note: I think I was just fired from being Baptist.)
4. Usher moments – At least once per month, there should be an Usher moment where all of the ushers interrupt the weekly announcements with a flash mob. Are there any clean Usher songs we could use? Maybe “U Got it Bad” or “Let it Burn.” Seriously, that would be awesome.
There are so many groups that serve in our churches and communities that always go unnoticed. They do thankless work, and they never expect to be recognized for it. While that is 100% the right attitude to have, we need to make sure they feel appreciated and loved. So I hereby dub this coming Sunday “Thank An Usher Day.” Let’s make it happen.