Volunteer Opportunities
If you want to get involved in the life of the parish, there’s no better way than to do service. Here are a few of the many opportunities at Trinity to do God’s work:
- Acolyte
- Altar Guild
- CONTACT Rape Crisis Center
- Christmas Eve Annual Dinner
- Cridlin Food & Clothing Pantry
- Daughters of the King
- Eucharistic Minister
- Lector
- Office Assistant/Special
- Projects
- River Cities Ministries
- Usher
Acolyte
Acolytes have been a part of church life for hundreds of years. In fact, acolytes used to be an ordained ministry, just like a priest or a bishop. Acolytes assist the priest in leading the service, and so really they help lead the congregation, too. Trinity has an acolyte corps that ranges in age from 10 to 60+. Acolytes are an integral part of every service and add to the beauty of our liturgy. Training moves the acolyte from the first steps of torch bearing through crucifering and serving the priest during communion.
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
Altar Guild
The Altar Guild prepares the church for worship under the direction of the clergy. The Guild is also responsible for providing and caring for the furnishings and decorations for the altar. Members meet weekly to set the altar for Sunday services, and members of the Guild are present at all worship services. Guild members prepare the church for special music performances, weddings, and funerals, and a Guild committee serve as consultants to clergy and those being married at Trinity to make sure everything on the special day is perfect.
Contact: Cam Brammer at 304.638.0820
Contact Crisis Rape Center
While it is usually hidden from public view, sexual violence is of epidemic proportions in the United States. Survivors of sexual assault and victims of stalking often feel they must cope with the trauma alone, a difficult process at best. But the CONTACT Rape Crisis Center of Huntington has a vision: a community free of sexual violence, and the group’s mission is to provide advocacy and support for victims of sexual assault and stalking; prevention education services to people living in Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln and Mason counties; a 24-hour Suicide Crisis helpline; a Rape Crisis Counseling Team, and other services – all free and confidential.
CONTACT was originally a faith-based organization offering a variety of services provided mostly by volunteers. Today, six trained Staff Victim Advocates, along with Volunteer Victim Advocates, provide direct and follow-up services to clients. The group relies on private donations, community grants, and some state and federal money to fund services in a four-county area of Western West Virginia, Cabell, Wayne, Mason and Lincoln.
Contact: Sharon Pressman, Executive Director at 304-533-1686 or execdirector@contacthuntington.com
Christmas Eve Annual Dinner
Each year on the day before Christmas, Trinity offers members of the community a great meal and a warm place to eat at our Annual Christmas Eve Dinner. Inviting the community in to eat also gives the City Mission a break from having to provide a Christmas meal on Christmas Eve. Parishioners provide the turkey, dressing, potatoes, and green beans, and serve the dinner.
We receive guests starting at 12:30 p.m. and serve until 4:30 p.m. Turkeys and hams with all the fixin’s are prepared by church members at home. On December 23rd, the crew gathers at the church to prep side dishes. Many people drop off fruit and desserts at the dining hall early on this day. This is also a great opportunity for anyone interested to help decorate the dining room.
On Christmas Eve morning, the team is in place at 6:00 a.m., ready to receive the hot, fresh entrees. (Note to volunteer cooks: turkeys and hams must come from your kitchen, hot from the oven, in a disposable roasting pan. The birds should weigh at least 16 lbs. For families providing hams, pre-slice if you can.)
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
Cridlin Food & Clothing Pantry
The Cridlin Food & Clothing Pantry was organized nearly 35 years ago by the Christians Associates, a group made up of 12 local churches who saw a need in the community to provide immediate assistance with food and clothing to low income families and blankets and warm cloths to the homeless.
The Pantry was named after the Rev. Elwood Cridlin and his wife Dorothy, who contributed generously to the ministry. People who qualify for help from Cridlin include low-income families who live in Cabell and Wayne counties.
Prospective clients are required to register with Information and Referral , a service located in Huntington’s Cabell County Library. They must also present a valid ID and proof of residency. Depending on their income and family size, applicants are issued a referral slip that they must present to the Pantry, which allows them enough food to feed their families for two weeks and two clothing outfits each. Prospective clients can also be referred by a local church, the Red Cross, Branches, or other non-profit organizations.
Thanks to Cridlin’s compassionate staff, people are rarely turned away empty handed for lack of qualifications or referrals.
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
Daughters of the King
Members of the Daughters of the King are Christian women, both lay and ordained, who are committed to prayer, service, and evangelism. Membership is open to women of any age and at every stage of life. (Some chapters sponsor a Junior Daughters chapter open to girls 7 to 21 who make a promise to pray daily and to serve our Lord Jesus Christ.)
Prospective members go through a three-month period of study and discernment. Then each new member takes lifetime vows to uphold the two Rules of the Order, the Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service. There are DOK chapters around the world.
Contact: Susie Ferguson at 304.633.4953
Eucharistic Minister
A Eucharistic Minister is a lay person licensed by the Bishop to administer the consecrated elements (the Bread and the Wine) of the Holy Eucharist. Eucharistic Ministers may administer the consecrated Bread and Wine at any celebration of Holy Communion in the absence of enough priests or deacons to assist the Presider.
Trinity has six licensed Eucharistic Ministers. Every Sunday one Minister serves at the 8:00 a.m. service and two help with the 10:30 a.m. service. The responsibility of the Eucharistic Minister is to serve wine at the communion and, if the Minister is also an acolyte that day, to serve the priest during the consecration of the elements. One of the Ministers reads the prayers of the people following the sermon. Eucharistic Ministers may also help out during weddings and funerals.
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
Lector
Lector is the title given to those who read the assigned Scriptures for the day. The Ministry of the Lector is to proclaim the Word of God by reading from both the Old and New Testaments at church services throughout the year. A Lector may also leads the Prayers of the People. Lectors are scheduled to serve at both Sunday morning services. Lectors do not need to be licensed, and anyone with a love of Scripture and a good speaking voice is an ideal candidate for this role after a short training session.
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
Office Assistance/Special Projects
Office Assistance/Special Projects can be a wonderful ministry. Besides offering help with many of the necessary small and large tasks involved in running an office, there is often the chance to get involved in special, one-time projects that will keep your organizational skills sharp, get your creative juices flowing, or make new connections in the parish.
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
River City Ministries
River Cities Ministries is a food ministry that began more than a decade ago with two people passing out coffee and donuts to the homeless on the banks of the Ohio River. River Cities Ministries now serves an average of 125 people a week.
Every Saturday at 9:00 a.m. in Trinity’s parking lot, volunteers from Trinity and other local churches serve breakfast – eggs and biscuits and gravy – and give away toilet paper, oranges, dishwashing liquid, deodorant, and other small personal items. The fourth Saturday of every month, River Cities also gets support from Marshall University’s Marshall Medical Outreach, a free medical student-led mobile health clinic that provides people in need of health care with treatment by medical students and attending physicians.
Services include general medical care; free OTC and prescription medications; eye screening and free reading or prescription glasses; and dermatology, including biopsies.
Usher
The ministry of the usher is very important. It is a ministry of hospitality – seeing that communicants and guests of the church are taken care of and comfortable, and that the service is a meaningful to them. Ushers also help make sure that entering and exiting the church moving about during the service, is easy and orderly. The ushers, in overseeing the bringing up of the Bread and Wine and in bringing forth offerings of money and other gifts, serve the people of God by bringing forth the gifts offered to God for use in the
Holy Eucharist and in the work and mission
of the Church on their behalf.
Contact: The church office at 304.529.6084
