Usher Manual

Fall 2017

“Belong entirely to God through love, entirely to your neighbor

through a gracious charity, entirely to the divine Eucharist by the
offering and sacrifice of your whole self. Bear with yourself in the
patience of our Lord.”
-St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest and Apostle of the Eucharist

CO-HEAD CONTACT INFORMATION

Chris Figueroa Gaby Taylor
520-288-3667 714-209-8199
fusushers@gmail.com
 MISSION
Usher Ministry is dedicated to serving the faith community with authentic humility, in
imitation of Christ. The work of ushers involves attention to the logistical preparation of,
and assistance at, Liturgical functions. Usher ministry attempts to facilitate the prayerful
attitude of the congregation by minimizing distractions.

CHAPEL MINISTERS DRESS CODE

Sundays, Feast Days, and Fieldhouse Masses

Men
 Men must wear dress pants with a dress shirt and tie.
o The only exception to wearing a tie is if a nice crew neck sweater is worn.
 Suits and sport coats are encouraged, especially for special liturgies.
 Jeans, sweat pants and cargo pants are never to be worn.
 Shoes must always be worn, but tennis shoes, flip-flops, Crocs, or other athletic type
sandals/shoes are not allowed.
 Jewelry, including crosses, must be tasteful and discrete.
 No piercings are allowed, not even earrings.
 Tattoos must be covered at all times.
 Beards and mustaches must be neatly trimmed.

Women
 Women must wear a dress or skirt/dress pants with blouse.
 Dresses and skirts must be to the knee or below. This means it should touch the floor
when you kneel.
 Dresses and blouses must be modest and without low necklines or midriff tops.
 Shoulders must be covered at all times. Cap sleeves are permitted, but sleeveless,
spaghetti strap, and strapless, etc. are not.
 Dress pants and dress gauchos are permitted, but this does not include cargo pants or
shorter capris.
 Shoes must always be worn, but tennis shoes, flip-flops, Crocs, other athletic type
sandals/shoes, and winter boots are not allowed.
 Jewelry, including crosses, must be tasteful and discrete.
o No piercings are allowed except for earrings.
o Tattoos must be covered at all times.
Household Life Masses
 Household shirt, not hoodies, may be worn with nice pants/skirt.

Confessions
 Remember, the goal is to keep it classy without being a distraction to others.
 Nice jeans are permitted with a nice top/sweater/blouse.
 No holes, faded, or colored pants are allowed.

SUNDAY CHAPEL MASSES

Arrive 15 minutes before Mass starts; head usher arrive 20 minutes before Mass starts.

Before Mass
 Head Usher signs in in the sacristy
 Check in with the Head Usher
o Set up folding chairs in the Eucharistic Chapel (EC) for the 10:30 and 12:30
Masses.
o Pick up your usher nametag in the Sacristy
o Make sure RESERVED signs are on TWO front far left pews for Extraordinary
Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) - should be taken care of by the sacristan
 Start Seating aggressively 5 minutes before Mass, or when the chapel starts to fill up.
 Head usher needs to check with reader to make sure they make the “squish
announcement” (to move towards the center aisle).

During Mass
 Close the back doors as soon as the procession is through.
 Seat people while the congregation is standing (e.g. from the Introduction to the first
reading, and then during the Alleluia if necessary)
o Never seat during the Gospel!
 Count people during the first reading (head usher tells total to Sacristan)
 Meet in the sacristy during the homily to be assigned stations for collection and
Communion.
o NOTE: The Sacristy is not a place for idle conversation.
 Prepare for the collection at the General Intercessions
o The far left, far right, and the Eucharistic Chapel get one collection basket
each.
o The center Right and Left get two each.
 If needed, sacristans are usually able to help out as well. Be sure to ask politely!
 Communion Time & End of Mass
 After the Sign of Peace, ushers will ensure that no people are standing against the back
wall of the Chapel if there are to be communion stations in the back. Ushers will then
prepare to go to their appropriate stations.
 One or two Usher(s) go to the front, one or two remain at the back, and one (if
applicable) goes to the Eucharistic Chapel.
o Front Usher(s) should proceed to the front during the Agnus Dei. When they
reach the altar they should genuflect and then stand in front of the first row
facing the altar, leaving space for the back station ministers to pass through the
aisle. All ushers kneel with the congregation and stand once the celebrant has
received from the chalice. Once all ministers of communion have reached their
stations all ushers will begin directing each pew to communion.
 You receive after your section is done.
 Block people from crossing the back ministers (usually back usher or sacristan)
 After the priest gives the final blessing, one usher should go open the back doors and
all ushers should prepare to pass out the bulletins.
 After Mass, the head usher for that Mass gets a collection bag from the drawer of the
sacristy and organizes the collection money.
 12:30 pm closing: stack the chairs in the Eucharistic Chapel.
 After Mass, turn in usher tags, meet in the Chapel Office, and pray
the Anima Christi!

If you cannot make Sunday Mass or a Confession time, please

contact Chris, Gaby, or your head usher!!

FIELDHOUSE MASSES
Before Mass
 Please arrive 20 minutes early if at all possible; please let us know if you will be coming
straight from class. Usher ministry is NOT a reason to skip class or to leave class early.
 When you arrive, check in with one of the head ushers to find out what your assigned
station for seating is. If you are assigned a section, you are responsible to seat people
there. Otherwise, you should be greeting & seating.
 Seat aggressively!
During Mass
 At the beginning and end of Mass, we will 'block' for the procession – this involves not
letting anyone cut the procession off; if someone needs to get to the other side, they
can wait or they can go through the lobby.
 We will continue to seat until the first reading, and during the alleluia if necessary.
 At the homily we will meet for a few minutes in the racquetball court to assign
communion stations and to discuss collection (if applicable) and any other special
duties for the second half of the Mass.

For Communion
 Line up during the Our Father
o The line order should be: Head ushers, A, B, 1, 2, 3, …
o We will then process to the front of the Fieldhouse, next to the EMHCs.
o Everyone should kneel at the end of the Agnus Dei.
o Everyone should stand up when the head ushers stand (after the Chalice is placed
on the altar again once the main celebrant has received from it). The aisle-clearer
should begin clearing the “Jesus aisle” at this time (from the front, to the back).
 The usher for 'A' will proceed to meet the celebrant, who will be coming off of the other
set of stairs & distributing to music ministry.
 The usher head will 'assign' each usher to a priest or minister. The usher should bow as
the minister comes down the stairs, and then proceed across the front aisle OR down
the 'Jesus' aisle as appropriate.
 The head ushers will give a gesture to stations A+B to signal the start of Communion
(all stations begin once these stations do).
 When your station is finished, receive last, and then wait for a clear aisle (the front or
Jesus aisle) to return back to the altar.
 When you return to the stage, motion to your priest to return to the altar, and then bow
before going back down the aisle.
 At the end of Communion, all ushers block out for the Eucharistic procession.
 At the end of Mass, all ushers block out for the procession.

After Mass
 Bulletins are handed out at the end of all Sunday Masses (even in the fieldhouse). The
usher heads will inform you if there is anything else that needs to be passed out.
 Please check with one of the usher heads before leaving so that we can get your
nametag back, and answer any questions you may have.
 Weekday Confessions
 Please wear confession dress code.
 Arrive 15-25 minutes before scheduled Confessions.
 Set up: close the “doors of mercy”- inside chapel doors, begin the Gregorian chant
(using the equipment by the soundboard), make sure the confessionals are unlocked
(the key is available from the student working the desk in the office), and that the white
noise machines are in place (2 in the front of chapel Chapel, 1 in EC). Put confessions
signs on the 2 glass doors, the 2 main doors and 1 outside CTK.
 We will be counting three things during confessions: Number of priests, number of
people who have their confession heard (use the counter for this), and number of
people sent away (if the line has to be closed early)
 We have a log in the back to keep all this information. Please fill it out before leaving, as
well as noting any comments. (The Black Binder)
 It is sometimes necessary to remind or tell priests confessions are heard in the front
portion of the chapel, not the back. Also, remind them about the confessionals.
 Keep confession line moving at all times, if a priest is open, send someone to that
priest. If someone is waiting for a particular priest, skip that person in line and go to
the next one.
 Encourage people going to the Portiuncula or the Eucharistic Chapel to pray, rather
than praying in the Main Chapel.
 Confessions need to be completely done at the scheduled ending time - this is the
primary reason you are here. Make sure that the line is cut off so as to allow for this. (If
someone has been waiting for a specific priest for a while, and the time is up, have
them ask the priest if it's alright to stay late. Some of them will be, but others will not,
and we must respect their time.) Put “Confession is closed” sign on door.
 Clean up afterwards and re-open the doors of mercy.