Some of you know that I can be like Jesus’ disciples when it comes to taking a long time for things to sink in and reach that ‘ahah’ moment.
I know that Old First is down two staff, Tony and Natania. I know that we are in the midst of two major building projects, the Sanctuary renovation and preparing for the construction of Old First House, emptying the Fox and CE Buildings, moving the office to the Social Hall and much more. I know that we are in a pandemic that each person has a different opinion about. So why have I been interacting with our church staff with expectations based upon the ways we’ve always done things in the past?
This occurred to me recently when I needed more keys for a new Volunteer Leader at the Saturday Morning Cupboard. In the past, the Outreach Coordinator handled these things. When Natania left, Devan graciously took on the administrative Outreach duties on top of her normal workload. So, I began asking Devan for keys, and other things. She never complained. She just did whatever was needed quickly and sometimes she used her creative talent for a better result.
Finally, considering the keys, I realized that I could do that! I took my Outreach keys to the hardware store, had the keys made, and labeled them. I can’t set up a new Outreach Group on Breeze as Devan recently did, but I can go to the hardware store for a few keys.
What can you do? Perhaps each of us can look at circumstances as they really are and help out based upon our abilities or those of people we know. Going forward, I invite you to look for ‘ahah’ moments when you need or notice something related to church that needs to be done. It will take some time and maneuvering, but every little effort adds up and counts. Let’s work together and be creative in finding ways to support our terrific staff, especially during this time when things are so different than the past and construction is approaching.
Clark, Outreach SLG Chair
