What is your role in church?

Some of us are in leadership positions in our local churches.  Some may teach, play music, preach, or something else.  What is your role in your church?


In mine, I am the pastor. Because we are so small, I also wear other hats.  I painted the bathrooms this past year, mowed sometimes, and kept the hedges trimmed all year long.  I also play my acoustic guitar for Sunday services.

I was helping out with kids on Sunday nights but haven't done it in a long time due to kid's night being cancelled since Covid.

Right now "pew-warmer"
I have played guitar and bass (and mandolin 2 or 3 times, even though I had no idea what I was doing) in the church worship group.
I've also served as a teaching assistant with the junior high kids, and worked with an outreach group helping people in the community and serving to feed the homeless.

Since we are moving out of state in less than 4 months we will be looking for a new church.

I play bass on the worship team.

Over the years I've been doorman, soundman, powerpoint guy, communion server, website guy, and general helper.  At the moment I'm 'sit on the sofa and watch church on tv guy'

I haven't made it to church much this year. My medication usually knocks me for a loop.

I bought a cheap mandolin early this year.  I couldn't do much with it.  So, I read somewhere about someone retuning one string so you could play it in open G just like a couple of my cigar box guitars.  So, I tried it.  I can strum along with most everything now with no learning curve.  

Do you still have a mandolin?

alldatndensum wrote:

I bought a cheap mandolin early this year.  I couldn't do much with it.  So, I read somewhere about someone retuning one string so you could play it in open G just like a couple of my cigar box guitars.  So, I tried it.  I can strum along with most everything now with no learning curve.  

Do you still have a mandolin?

Oh no, it wasn't even my mandolin.  It belonged to our old worship leader (incredibly talented young man).  I was so inept at playing the thing they he had the chart out the chords for me and I would have to practice to a recording of the song at least half-a-dozen times to even be able to strum my way through it.

I help  to serve coffee after the service.
But because of the corona measures, we don't drink coffee after the service anymore.

I'm in the choir and have served as liturgist as well.

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

I'm in the choir and have served as liturgist as well.

Ok, call me stupid (I don't mind).  What is a "liturgist".  I'm assuming it would be an individual called upon to read the liturgy?
I've only attend one church that recited/prayed a liturgy and it was the entire congregation that did it.  (It was a Lutheran Church, not sure of which synod)

Staybrite wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

I bought a cheap mandolin early this year.  I couldn't do much with it.  So, I read somewhere about someone retuning one string so you could play it in open G just like a couple of my cigar box guitars.  So, I tried it.  I can strum along with most everything now with no learning curve.  

Do you still have a mandolin?

Oh no, it wasn't even my mandolin.  It belonged to our old worship leader (incredibly talented young man).  I was so inept at playing the thing they he had the chart out the chords for me and I would have to practice to a recording of the song at least half-a-dozen times to even be able to strum my way through it.

With the way I have mine tuned, you would be strumming it in no time.  It is tuned G D G F#.  One finger and you will have a nice pretty chord.

Staybrite wrote:

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

I'm in the choir and have served as liturgist as well.

Ok, call me stupid (I don't mind).  What is a "liturgist".  I'm assuming it would be an individual called upon to read the liturgy?
I've only attend one church that recited/prayed a liturgy and it was the entire congregation that did it.  (It was a Lutheran Church, not sure of which synod)

Yes, as a United Methodist, the liturgist would read the liturgy for that day, usually a passage from the Old Testament and another passage from the New Testament along with the passage for the message that day.

alldatndensum wrote:

Staybrite wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

I bought a cheap mandolin early this year.  I couldn't do much with it.  So, I read somewhere about someone retuning one string so you could play it in open G just like a couple of my cigar box guitars.  So, I tried it.  I can strum along with most everything now with no learning curve.  

Do you still have a mandolin?

Oh no, it wasn't even my mandolin.  It belonged to our old worship leader (incredibly talented young man).  I was so inept at playing the thing they he had the chart out the chords for me and I would have to practice to a recording of the song at least half-a-dozen times to even be able to strum my way through it.

With the way I have mine tuned, you would be strumming it in no time.  It is tuned G D G F#.  One finger and you will have a nice pretty chord.

One finger you say?  That is totally my speed!  

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

Staybrite wrote:

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

I'm in the choir and have served as liturgist as well.

Ok, call me stupid (I don't mind).  What is a "liturgist".  I'm assuming it would be an individual called upon to read the liturgy?
I've only attend one church that recited/prayed a liturgy and it was the entire congregation that did it.  (It was a Lutheran Church, not sure of which synod)

Yes, as a United Methodist, the liturgist would read the liturgy for that day, usually a passage from the Old Testament and another passage from the New Testament along with the passage for the message that day.

Okay, so not quite what I was exposed to in the Lutheran church.  That sounds really cool, I don't think I have ever been to a Methodist service, would love to come to your church some day.  90% of my exposure has been with "non-denominational" churches... oddly enough most of them started by an out-reach of the SBC (Southern Baptist Conventions for those of you following at home).  The vast majority of churches in Western Washington seem to be those non-denomination style churches.  You do catch a Catholic or Foursquare even true Baptist church here are there, but most of them are full of older adults with few younger families (not that I head a young family myself....but having only been a Christian since 2005 that is where I started).

Liturgists will also lead the congregation in any special liturgical components of worship (reciting a creed or confessions before communion).

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

Liturgists will also lead the congregation in any special liturgical components of worship (reciting a creed or confessions before communion).

Very interesting.

Have done many things over the years from usher to sound guy but mostly I have played guitar in a home church then do outside stuff backing other worship artists. Was the house electric guitarist in a mega Church that ran about 3500 or so in the sanctuary for about 6 years until it imploded that have done some large events with some groups as a part of a team.
 Sunday night live clip from the old Mega Church it's been gone since 2010 or so
https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=4453782
  The remnant of this team had a small church for a while up and running with the former MOM as the pastor but we never got it really up and running. Here is a live clip

 Now play on Sunday in a local church and then will back whoever needs me in events like this one with a Brazilian Worship artist who is engaged to a close friend.

Mostly music and youth. ATM, not much of anything though.

Years ago in our small-town church, I was one of the back-up singers. We had two teams of three, and rotated weekly. I don't know that I'm that great a singer (maybe the sound guy had pity on the congregation and turned me down), but I do add some bottom, and the leader liked the way we engaged in p&w. I could just double the leader's part an octave lower, so that made it easy for me. 

Was also one of the youth sponsors there. The youth pastor and his wife worked with junior high and middle school age, and I was with the senior high guys. Occasionally I'd share a message for youth Wednesday night if he was away.

After moving to a bigger city and bigger church, I was in choir for two or three years.

I keep meaning to learn how to help in the AV booth, but never quite get there. Additional time commitments when you have five kids is a tough one.

Got my boys into scouting, and had committed as a leader for that. Had a good troop, sponsored by a church, that emphasized the faith aspect more than mine ever did growing up. That ended unexpectedly in 2013. A few years later we gave Trail Life a try for a couple years until my illness and operation, and that was a great experience. (TL, not the illness!)

I was never allowed to be a Boy Scout growing up and never understood why until I was a teenager.  My dad had been friends with the local troop leader.  They went fishing a lot.  One day, the man tried to have his way with my dad and my dad came home with a busted ankle.  The other guy didn't look too hot, either.  He kept that quiet until after it came out my freshman year of high school that this troop leader had molested 5 guys in the troop that I went to school with.  He then told my mom who in turn told me but asked me to keep it quiet around Daddy.  I was never so glad to NOT be a scout!

I had never heard of Trail Life.  I had to look it up.  It appears to be a great organization and a great replacement for the once great Boy Scouts who now don't have the C.O. Jones to still call themselves that.  They are just Scouts as females are now allowed in.

Do boys who think they are girls join the Girl Scouts?  Why do they keep calling themselves Girl Scouts?  Shouldn't they have a non-gender specific name as well?  Anyone see the irony?  How many more questions can I ask?  How long will you read them?

Staybrite wrote:

The vast majority of churches in Western Washington seem to be those non-denomination style churches.  You do catch a Catholic or Foursquare even true Baptist church here and there

I'm not sure why there are far fewer UMC in the western US given the grassroots, circuit-rider nature of the denomination. I would have thought the "wild west" would have been prime ground for expansion. They are all over the eastern US, with plenty of small ones in the middle of nowhere. Many of those have shut down now (or will in the next couple decades) as farming families have moved away.

alldatndensum wrote:

I was never allowed to be a Boy Scout growing up and never understood why until I was a teenager.

Not to derail the thread, but it's truly sad that bad apples like that ruined a decent organization though it was a perfect playground for those mis-oriented folks. BSA has also cowered to societal pressure to be more inclusive recently, which has quickened their demise. My youngest son and I are still active, though this year has obviously not seen much activity other than working on stuff over zoom. We're supposed to go to Sea Base this summer.