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Like any organization, it takes a lot of hands to make everything work. Some of our volunteers help with our Sunday morning worship experience. Others help with facility upkeep.  As a church, however, some of our most important work is done in the community, sharing God’s love in real and practical ways.

The work of our church is done by our many Ministry Teams.  We have over 2 dozen teams with new ones being added on a regular basis.  Some teams work on a specific event once a year, others accomplish a single event or ministry and then disolve.  The majority of our teams, however, work on a weekly or monthly basis within our church and the community.

We invite you to peruse the list of teams below and, ask yourself if God is calling you to a specific ministry.   Please don’t hesitate to contact Pastor John or the church office and volunteer to help.  Every team listed is always open to more volunteers.

Worship Teams

Liturgist Team – If you are comfortable speaking in front of crowds, you can become one of our liturgists.  Every week, a liturgist assists the pastor during worship by reading scripture and leading the congregation in prewritten prayers.

Children’s Time Team – If you like having a conversation with children, you can become one of our Children’s Time leaders.  Every other week, one of our Children’s Time leaders teaches a special, interactive 3 – 5 minute lesson to the children during worship.  Often the congregation gets as much out of the Children’s Time message as the children do.  Patience and the ability to deal with a variety of ages in a concise way is essential.

Greeter Team – If you are a friendly person who likes to say hi to everyone,  you can become one of our greeters.  Every week, one or two greeters welcome everyone as they enter the worship space and help direct people to bathrooms and child care.  They are the face of the church and make great first impressions for visitors.

Usher Team –  If you are friendly and like to be helpful, you can become one of our ushers.  They help people find a seat, show people how to use our hard-of-hearing system,  bring handheld microphones to people to use during announcements and sharing prayer concerns or joys, and point the way to the bathrooms, child care, and other places as needed.  They also help collect the offering and are ready in case an emergency of any level occurs.

Acolyte Team  If you have someone special in your life that is between the ages 7 – 12, they can be one of our acolytes.  Every week, one or two acolytes help light the candles on the altar right before the worship service starts and then return to put them out at the end of the worship service.  It’s a great way to get the whole family involved in worship.

Fellowship Time Host:  If you like to make desserts and healthy snacks, you can sign up to be a fellowship time host.  After church, we gather on patio for a light snack and time to greet and meet each other.  Each week a host signs up to bring snacks and treats for this gathering time.

Altar Flowers:  Sign-ups are available for each week.  Once you sign up, simply show up that Sunday morning with a beautiful bouquet of your choice to help decorate the altar.  When church is over, you are welcome to take the bouquet home with you.   Flowers can be in memory or honor of a family member or simply to beautify the worship space.

Altar Care Team:  There is a small amount of maintenance required every few weeks.  The candles burn a liquid paraffin which needs to be refilled about once a month.  On the first Sunday of each month, we serve communion and the cups and plates used need to be washed and dried after church that day.  The altar is also decorated with a large colored cloth called a parament.  This is changed several times throughout the year to reflect the changing seasons of the church calendar.  We also set up the altar for special occasions and holidays throughout the year.

Music Teams

Our music teams have their own page to better explain who they are and how to get involved.  You can find it here.

Faith Development Teams

Sunday School Teams:  If you are good with kids and like to help them learn and understand God’s love, then you can become one of our Sunday school teachers.  Teams of two teachers volunteer for one Sunday a month.  After being a part of the church and completing a simple background check online, teachers are assigned a partner and a week of the month to volunteer.

Nursery Care Team:  We now have a wonderful room with closed circuit TV and all the equipment a parent of a young child could want just feet from the sanctuary doors.  This team helps maintain that room and help guide new parents to it.

Faith Weaver Friends:  This Wednesday afternoon program requires multiple adult volunteers to lead games, crafts, special projects, and provide a meal for the kids.  If you are a regular worship attender and are willing to do the background check, just stop by on a Wednesday afternoon and see how the program works. Faith Weaver Friends runs 2  14-week series, one in the fall and one in the winter/spring.

Facilities Teams

The Facility Team cares of the church structure and grounds.   Like your home, there’s always maintenance and upkeep to do, and you can help!

Work Parties:  Four times a year, the Facilities team organizes a Saturday morning work party.  They might weed, paint, clean, or work on any number of projects that require a large group to complete. Our March 17, 2018, work party focused on cleaning the sanctuary for Easter. Join the trustees June 16, Sept. 15, and Dec. 15! RSVP and get more information about the priorities here.

Projects:  The Facilities Team is also always looking for individuals to complete smaller tasks such as replacing light bulbs, hanging a paper towel dispenser, etc.  If you are handy and willing to help, the Trustees would really appreciate it. Volunteer here!

Outreach Team

Mission Fundraising:  During the fellowship time, members of the mission team sell special products such as “Free-Trade” coffee.  This coffee is purchased through a special program that pays the actual farmers a fair price for their product.  The proceeds from these sales go to support the other projects of the Mission team.

Mission Teams:  Through district and conference groups, members of our church and interested friends participate in short- and long-term mission teams.  The South District Mission team goes for a week somewhere in the United States to help rebuild homes after natural disasters. Smaller weekend teams are formed from time to time to work in Tecate, Mexico.

Open Door Dinner Team:  Volunteers from across Ramona help serve meals at the Grange Hall in downtown Ramona.  Our church is responsible on a quarterly basis for one of those meals.  On the 3rd Monday of February, May, August, and November, we prepare food at our church and bring it over to the Grange to serve members of the community, and help with clean-up.  Help in all of these stages is appreciated.

Food Pantry Team:  In the entryway of the church, we keep a small cabinet filled with nonperishable food supplies.  Volunteers are needed occasionally to restock when the contents get sparse.  Volunteers usually clean out the cabinet a couple of times a year to remove any outdated food items.

Heifer Project:  Primarily a children’s mission project, quarters are collected on a regular basis to donate to Heifer International.  This group works to send livestock to developing countries.  Their intention is to give families and villages an ongoing source of food and financial resources, rather than simply sending food supplies.

Turkey Feast Team: The turkey feast is held around the first weekend of November.  It serves hundreds of people from the community, many of whom eat for free.  It requires a great number of volunteers.  Volunteers take care of advertising, collecting food donations, buying supplies, setting up the room, cooking, serving, ticket collecting, and cleaning-up afterwards.

Rummage Sale Team:  The rummage sale usually takes place around the second weekend of September.  Volunteers come in throughout the week days to sort and price everything.  They also work during the event on Friday and Saturday to help customers find items, and load larger items as well as keep track of financial transactions.

Congregational Care Teams

Congregational Care:  This team is primarily run by our United Methodist Women’s Group.  They keep tabs on our shut-ins, help arrange rides for those who need transportation to church, and many other tasks.

Military Support Team:  When members or friends of our church are sent on deployments away from home this team keeps in contact and arranges for care packages to be sent on a regular basis.

Reconciling Ministry Team:   In our effort to be inclusive and welcoming of all people including our LGBTQA+ neighbors this team is working to make sure we welcome everyone and create a safe environment for all to worship together.

Breeze Team:  Breeze is our online church database management software.  The breeze team makes sure that the information is up to date and helps the congregation to use the information at home or on their mobile devices.  They also maintain our attendance records, so the other Team leaders can use the information efficiently.

Financial Stewardship Teams

Counter Team:  The counters make sure the money collected on Sunday mornings is safely stored and transported to the bank.