Service
Altar Guild
The duty of the Altar Guild is to prepare all the things necessary for the celebration of Holy Communion or any of the other sacraments and offices of the Church.
Calling and Caring
The Calling and Caring Ministry helps the parish keep in touch with recently lapsed members of the congregation by contacting them through personal telephone conversation and reporting any important needs to our clergy.
Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
A parish-wide organization, the ECW at St. Paul's is an active energetic group that has sponsored many activities for our parish including Mother-Daughter Teas, Christmas Luncheons, and Fourth of July Celebrations. They have sponsored outreach projects to Camp San Joaquin, Youth with a Mission, Habitat for Humanity, and the Bakersfield Rescue Mission.
2005 Honored Woman
Eucharist Ministers
Trained and licensed persons who bear the Chalice during our Sunday and Holiday services of Holy Communion.
Eucharist Visitors
Trained and licensed members of our church, who take Holy Communion to our shut-in and hospitalized parishioners.
Greeter's Ministry
The purpose of the Greeter's Ministry is to welcome and assist the visitor or newcomer with answers to questions about our service or facilities, and to provide sincere hospitality in the name of our gracious Lord and Savior.
Intercessory Prayer Group
Meeting on Thursday mornings at 9:30, this group precedes our weekly Communion and Healing Service. Prayer is offered for special needs of healing, intervention, and guidance. All parishioners with the gift of intercessory prayer are invited, and your needs may be presented either by written note, or by calling the church office.
Lectors
This group reads the lessons at our Sunday Eucharists and holiday services. Along with public reading of the scriptures, they lead the Prayers of the People at both our 8 and 10am Sunday Services.
Music Ministry
St. Paul's has a variety of music ministries. See more at the St. Paul's Music Ministry page.
Music Ministry
The Order of St. Luke
The Order of St. Luke began as a Christian fellowship of clergy and lay people interested in sharing experiences of Jesus' healing ministry in 1955 with the Rev. John Gayner Banks and his wife Ethel Tulloch Banks. They shared a dream of drawing all those involved in the healing ministry under the umbrella of a world Christen healing fellowship based on the four Gospels of Jesus Christ. The Order is now international, and St. Paul's chapter is growing rapidly, meeting with the congregation after each service on Sunday.
The Order of St. Luke at St. Paul's
The International Order of St. Luke the Physician
Ushers
The history of ushers may be traced back to the age of Davis when "these ushers were assigned the task of receiving the offerings of the faithful." They were door or gatekeepers of the temple.
St. Paul's usher ministry consists of 26 dedicated men and women serving at least one service per month. Ushers are assigned to the 8 or 10am service, funerals, and other special church events. Duties include greeting parishioners and newcomers, taking attendance, collecting and counting the offering, maintaining order in the communion procession, and seeing that the Nave is in good order at the conclusion of the service.
Wine and wafer bearers are selected by the ushers. Any parishioner wishing to carry the wine and wafers to the altar may communicate this wish to an usher. Any parishioner desiring to receive communion in their pew, may notify an usher.
As Usher Chairman, I am very grateful for the time given by our modern St. Paul gatekeepers. Any parishioner wishing to volunteer as an usher should contact me at (home) 832-9661 or (office) 322-3011.