Don't volunteer! Those words are certainly not coming from me to you. They were spoken more than once over the years by my now deceased uncle, Paul Biltz whenever I volunteered for "extra duty" as a priest. Since my undle was a career Army man (21 years), I think he was speaking from his own perspective (though he retired with the rank of Major, which I would think means that he volunteered for some duties that went above and beyond what was expected of him). Of course stepping forward to volunteer in the military, in the Church or in other areas brings blessings to those we volunteer to serve AND blessings to us who give of ourselves as Jesus said and did throughout his life. When we volunteer to serve th Lord in a variety of ways, including this parish and ministries and activites here, we are especially blessed because we are doing the Lord's work and in so doing, are evangelizing the Good News of Jesus Christ to fellow parishioners and sometimes non-parishioners as well!
Among the many people who could and/or have shared with me the blessings of "stepping forward" to serve is our V.I.P for the month of June, Rebecca Huber. Rebecca initially offered herself as a choir member at Sacred Heart Parish way back in 1987. Admittedly, her involvement in the parish was limited to participation in the pews regularly at Sunday Mass for quite a period of time. Then at some point, she joined the St. Anthony Guild (in large part since her mother was a member of that guild) and got involved in preparing and serving food for funeral receptions. She volunteered for the ministry of altar server (something that wasn't available to girls when she was growing up) and loves being on the altar and participating in this special way in the Mass. She has subsequently become a lector and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (as she takes Communion monthly to the residents at Mt. Carmel Senior Residence). She was on the ParishCouncil, representing the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach Commission for two consecutive terms (a total of 4 years), and served for two years as parish council president. She still serves on the Social Justice commission and is currently the chair of that commission. Rebecca has also been involved in efforts to raise funds for cancer research and is a cancer survivor herself.
Rebecca is a wonderful volunteer who has discovered that serving the Lord in various ways as a "volunteer" is really answering the call that she AND ALL OF US received at our Baptism, which means answering the Lord directly (in prayer and reflection) or indirectly (through me or someone like Rebecca who talks the talk AND walks the walk happily in service to the Lord. I know she invites everyone to do the same)!
Among the many people who could and/or have shared with me the blessings of "stepping forward" to serve is our V.I.P for the month of June, Rebecca Huber. Rebecca initially offered herself as a choir member at Sacred Heart Parish way back in 1987. Admittedly, her involvement in the parish was limited to participation in the pews regularly at Sunday Mass for quite a period of time. Then at some point, she joined the St. Anthony Guild (in large part since her mother was a member of that guild) and got involved in preparing and serving food for funeral receptions. She volunteered for the ministry of altar server (something that wasn't available to girls when she was growing up) and loves being on the altar and participating in this special way in the Mass. She has subsequently become a lector and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (as she takes Communion monthly to the residents at Mt. Carmel Senior Residence). She was on the ParishCouncil, representing the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach Commission for two consecutive terms (a total of 4 years), and served for two years as parish council president. She still serves on the Social Justice commission and is currently the chair of that commission. Rebecca has also been involved in efforts to raise funds for cancer research and is a cancer survivor herself.
Rebecca is a wonderful volunteer who has discovered that serving the Lord in various ways as a "volunteer" is really answering the call that she AND ALL OF US received at our Baptism, which means answering the Lord directly (in prayer and reflection) or indirectly (through me or someone like Rebecca who talks the talk AND walks the walk happily in service to the Lord. I know she invites everyone to do the same)!