SEDER JOB DESCRIPTIONS
A Guide To A Christian Seder is the story of our first Seder at Northway Christian Church,
which was attended by almost 200 people. We decided to hold two separate dinners the second year.
If your Church plans an event of this size,
the following assignments may help your evening go more smoothly.
Each evening of the Seder will be under the general direction of the Senior Minister and the designated Seder Chair.
Each evening there will be a designated "Production Captain" who will oversee the service and a "Kitchen Captain" who will oversee the dinner details.
These are people who will greet participants at the doors as they arrive and help them find a place at a table. The Greeters are general helpers who insure that the gathering time before the dinner goes smoothly.
The Messianic Seder follows a written script (Haggadah). This script is divided into sections that are read by different readers throughout the evening. Each Readers assignment will be highlighted in his/her Haggadah.
At specified times throughout the evening there are songs that are sung. The Musicians are responsible for leading these songs.
Table Leaders serve as the host/hostess of a table. Table Leaders lead those seated at their table through the ritual actions of the Seder. They will follow a clearly notated script (Haggadah).
Four questions are asked during the Seder which trigger the telling of the Passover Story. Children are the ones who ask these questions.
Children in Sunday School will draw place mats with Seder themes, and the custodians will set up tables and put down table cloths. All other table and room decoration will be the responsibility of the Table Decorations volunteers.
There are lots of little details that need attending to at each of the tables during the Seder. The Seder Detailers will be the runners who take care of all these details behind the scenes during the actual Seder (e.g. The wash cloths for hand washing)
The Messianic Seder is an actual meal. We will observe it as a potluck dinner. The Kitchen Workers are responsible for attending to all the details of the serving of this meal.
At each table there is a candle, a wine glass and a plate of symbolic foods. These items all need to be put on the tables before each Seder. The Set-up Crew will make sure that everything is in place before the service begins.
Specific items need to be purchased in quantity for the Seder. The Food Procurement volunteers will work with the Event Leaders to prepare the list of the items that are needed and will then make arrangements to procure the items on that list.
Some of the symbolic foods of the Seder will need to be prepared the day of the Seder, and all of the symbolic foods will need to be dished out into bowls and put on trays to be set on the tables by the Set-up Crew.
After the Seder, all participants are invited to spend some quite time in the sanctuary in prayer and meditation. The intent is to move spiritually from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane. Indoor trees and plants from around the Church need to be brought to the chancel area and set up in such a way as to make it look like a garden.
These volunteers are responsible for all audio-visual equipment including room lighting, overhead projectors, etc. They are also responsible for working the overhead projectors and film during Seder.
After each Seder the rooms used will need to be straightened for other uses. The Clean-up Crew will remain after the Seder to do whatever it takes to make space available for the next scheduled activity.
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