I grew up in the Bristol Universalist Church, a small country church nestled in the Bristol Hills. There I heard what Universalist preacher Hosea Ballou once said of religious belief, "If you can't reduce it to practice, have none of it." Those words have never left me - they are the center of my religious faith. In a word, Faith works.
In that church almost everything but preaching, marrying and burying was done by volunteers. There were no custodians, no secretaries, no music directors - just one - rather elderly - minister and a host of good country folk who knew if the church was to survive and prosper, they would have to make it so. Faith works.
Now I serve this large congregation with a staff of a dozen or so - we have a church administrator, custodians, secretaries and bookkeepers and two ministers. But the fundamental principle still applies. If this church is to survive and prosper it is the ministry of the laity that will do it.
Of course, your ministers do what we can and we do work hard. However, the church belongs not to us, but to you - the lay people of the congregation. Members and friends of this congregation have accepted almost 700 volunteers assignments. You volunteer approximately 3500 hours per month on behalf of the church. Faith works.
On this Volunteer Recognition Sunday we say thank you - to ourselves. We express gratitude for the ministry of the laity - a vital Unitarian Universalist principle. We are a priesthood of all believers - helping one another move through life; we are a prophethood of all believers - reaching out our hands to the world - we are a community of all believers - making faith work in the world.
This morning we meet some of those volunteers and hear their stories. I'll introduce each one to you, let them tell their story and then perhaps chat with them briefly about what their volunteering has meant to them.
There are many people living in the Rochester area that need transportation to medical appointments. Most live along in apartments. The number of volunteers is declining. Much of the dispatching and scheduling is done by blind people. Our church has the largest number of volunteers.
I have been working by driving twice a month, scheduling and dispatching for 15 years. I now serve on the advisory board also. Leigh drives regularly now also.
I worked at St. Joe's (St. Joseph's House of Hospitality) with our church group and many Catholic workers from mid 1980's until about 2 years ago. Leigh (McFadden) frequently joined me. We hope to return. Why? These are good people there who need support, caring and yes - food - and sometimes a bed. Many have mental disorders, drug problems or are just temporarily without a job.
Brother John came from Boston to run things for a bit. He was precise about how things should be done - ways to cut an apple, peel a hard boiled egg and so on. When things were stressful he might be found sitting on the stairs saying his rosary.
Charles, the school bus driver, with his great deep voice could keep tings on an even keel when our guests arrived. He made announcements and directed us all - one time leading us in singing "Amazing Grace" as my daughter-in-law played the piano - a very poignant moment.
Why go to St Joe's? You might help someone actually have a better day including yourself.
I think many people may not volunteer because they lack confidence. They're afraid they may fail in the setting they choose. Those of us who do volunteer can be effective recruiters - reassuring and supportive and just providers of information. Agencies that use volunteers need to say lots of thank-you's. When a person feels helpful it is so rewarding.
From the time I was a child I gardened. Near my house in West Brighton was a woods where I found many wild flowers which I transplanted to my hard. Some of their progeny is now growing in our church garden. I can share the results of my efforts from years ago. Church members are appreciative, but so are neighbors. When a man stops to meditate in the garden before going to temple, a woman lies on the grass meditation, a member hugs me for what I have done - all my work has been worthwhile. Numerous dogs also seem to enjoy our grounds.
Growing plants led me to study flower arranging through Federal Garden Club classes. I became a judge at flower shows and an instructor at local garden clubs for over twenty years.
Flowers shows are beautiful and instructive but cannot compare with the pleasure of going church arrangements that are not competing for ribbons. If there is any judging I don't hear about it. Our sanctuary is unique in that I am free to create without being restricted by ecclesiastical requirements. Often the sermon will inspire an interpretive arrangement. I find people often have unique interpretations quite different from mine. That's fine with me. I have the best of both worlds, I can grow plans and display them to my own satisfaction.
When I returned in 1975 to this church from 17 years away - one of the first things I did to reconnect was to volunteer in the office - which led to a part time job there and after a few years to a full time job as church secretary. Not a bad result from volunteering!
The Adult Programs Committee was running a course called Employing Your Total Self - and said you could take the course free if you would teach it later. Having never taught anything before I was petrified - but decided to try. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I love it - I had a co-teacher and that helped - but I forgot about being scared and just enjoyed it. It changed my feelings about my abilities!
After I returned from working in the office I missed being at the "hub" - the center of all church activities. So I had to get a volunteer job that would et me back "in touch." I chose the History and Records Committee - because we work closely with the office - and it worked. I felt connected again.
My advice - volunteering - Try it - you'll like it!
Volunteering at First Unitarian has become a way of life for me, from editing the newsletter, back when Cut and Paste was literally that, to serving as Group Leader for Office Operations Information, to two widely separated terms on the Board of Trustees.
Since my retirement, my volunteering has focussed on two activities which may sound mundane, but which I find endlessly interesting.
On Mondays I help Kay Cummings and Dorrie Meeker in the History Department. Most recently, my job has been making preservation copies of newspaper clippings about church members, some of which have been yellowing in our files for many years. I am now in the M's. If you or your parents or grandparents who were church members were written up in the newspaper, or wrote letters to the editor, you are welcome to visit us in the basement almost any Monday morning year round and see if you find yourselves.
On Fridays I answer the church phone and make the white-lettered signs you see in the Lobby on Sunday. While the Lounge sign stays pretty much the same, the other two are an ever-changing challenge. I also help stuff Sunday programs and do any other odd jobs that come up. I bring my lunch on Fridays, which gives me chances to talk with staff members and ministers.
My history job keeps me in touch with the church's past; my office job keeps me in touch with its present and future. I wouldn't trade either one. I believe volunteering for a socially active church IS serving the community.
Good morning I am Melissa Micciche, and I have been volunteering at 22 School since this last October. I've been able to be there two or three times a week for about two hours each time, and have two "jobs." I work with various small groups of students in a fourth-grade class, helping with English and math needs. I also work one-on-one with Maurice, a third-grader whose reading skills have yet to blossom.
I've done various types of volunteering in the past, mostly in my son's Honeoye Falls school (such as weekly help with their Good Books Good Times program, running the snack table at roller skating parties, and sharing music with his class). I'd been interested in helping at 22 School since hearing of the 221UU partnership. Children in the suburbs have such a "gifted" life in terms of environment, family, resources, and education. I wanted to share whatever I could with someone who might otherwise go without.
I grew up, as did many of us, in a creative, supportive environment full of people and experiences which fostered learning. I would help my mother in the kitchen, reading recipes and doubling ingredients. My father would ask to see my accounting book before giving me each week's allowance. My grandfather was occasionally a substitute teacher in my elementary class; knowing that I was the child of a CPA, he would call on me to give the correct answer to math questions. About ten years ago I heard a journalist comment on the lack of such stimulation in most urban areas - that children were entering kindergarten without having had anyone comment to them, "Hey - look at this can of green, round peas... let's see how many will fit on your spoon." I recall to this day the sadness I felt, and how I wanted to immediately become a Head Start teacher and open up cans of vegetables!
When I was asked to speak today, I had to really think about what led me to be a volunteer - it seems to have been such an intrinsic part of my upbringing. I recall my grandmother proudly telling me how in the early 1900's she had helped teach English to Native American and Chinese immigrant children in our town in Northern California. Both of my parents were involved in Scouting, Rotary Club, and other service organizations. I grew up with the notion that one of the most rewarding activities in life is to give of oneself. Sharing what we have (be it time, talents, or resources) is far greater than keeping it to oneself. It has been so rewarding to see steps of progress, to see a struggling student smile with pride at what he has just accomplished.
I suppose that, as overused as the phrase is, I am trying to make the world a better place. Perhaps the work I do will make a difference in a child's future, and years from now, someone I've helped will remember "that blonde lady," and will be inspired to go on to help someone else.
My Experience as a School 22 Volunteer: Virginia (not her real name) called me her desk as the 4th and 5th grade class in which I volunteer began to review the branches of the US government.
Yes?" I asked.
"Isn't it true that the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech? she asked.
"Yes," I responded.
"Then why do I have to be quiet when the teacher says so?"
I enthusiastically answered, "Well, the Constitution guarantees us the right to express our opinion, that we cannot be punished for expressing our opinions, but (and here I hesitated) how and when you and I express our thoughts depends on the situation
As I was pondering the adequacy (and accuracy) of my answer, Virginia nodded in agreement. "When I told my mother that the Constitution says I have free speech, she said not around me you don't, and told me to shut up."
I volunteer one afternoon a week at School 22. Today we watched a slide show about the Executive branch of the government. One student proudly advances the film when prompted by a beep from the phonograph which I man from the back of the classroom. The teachers and I breathe a combined sigh of relief that the outdated equipment still works. After I leave School 22 today, I will pick up my daughter Leslie from her 5th grade class at French Road Elementary School in Brighton. I will proudly watch as she shows me the power point presentation she has produced on one of several classroom computers. . She and her classmates long ago learned the intricacies of the three branches of the government. They have also conquered and left far behind the books that the children in Room 210 are just now tentatively sampling.
The students I have encountered at School 22 are a delightful combination of energy, respect, enthusiasm, and need. The teachers are patient, earnest, hard-working arid kind. Their lessons are offered with the tools at hand. I ache with awareness at the racial and educational inequalities, and the financial disparities so plainly evident on my Wednesdays. Though the task before us is daunting, I am proud to be a part of this volunteer effort. I delight in the weekly opportunities to "make a difference" in the lives of the children of Room 210 at School 22, and am grateful for a renewed awareness which allows me to continue to educate my daughter about the disappointing disparities before us.
I was lucky to be raised with lots of books, weekly trips to the library and educated parents. Unfortunately, these things are not true for many of the children who attend Rochester's School 22, so they start school behind.
This is my second year volunteering in Mrs. Petkus' first-grade classroom. I do it because I want to help the children succeed. I do it because my son's first-grade suburban class room has plenty of parents who volunteer, but this classroom at School 22 has none. I do it to set an example for my 6-year-old son, to show him that we all have a responsibility to help others; our community. And I do it because it's fun.
The first-graders' faces light up when I walk into their room. They eagerly ask me if I'll listen to them read. They love the attention. I hope that the extra time reading with me (in a cozy corner of the classroom) in' proves their skills.
I spend about 2 1/2 hours a month at School 22, usually two visits a month. It's not a lot of time, but it's the time I've been able to carve out of my schedule at work and at home at hours that fit the teacher's schedule. I also volunteer in my son's classroom and I deliver food once a month from our SEM food cupboard to three older ladies who can't make ends meet otherwise.
In 1988, William Johnson, head of the Urban League (now Mayor) issued a "Call to Action," asking the clergy of Rochester to enlist their congregations to help the children of the City School District to attain greater scholastic achievement. Rev. Gilbert passed the message on to us, and Barbara Binder and I planned an exploratory meeting. About twelve people attended, and it was decided that we should offer volunteer assistance to the staff at School 22.
It was just the kind of worthy activity I was looking for after following the saga of the declining quality in the city schools. Having just retired, it was time to stop reading about the problems, and time to DO something about them in whatever way I could.
Now in our thirteenth year of the 22-UU-CS Partnership Program has thirty-one classroom volunteers in School 22 and The Children's School. There also about ten volunteers who also support the program in a variety of ways.
It has been a most rewarding experience working with dedicated teachers, and with the children that they teach. I must admit however, that it is discouraging to witness the handicapping conditions from which so many children come. Not only are there many disfunctional families, but it is also a high unemployment, high crime area. In my judgement,plans to syphon off the children of the more savvy parents to places such as charter schools, will only further exascerbate what negative conditions exist for those children left behind. And for all employees and volunteers this means that we will have to work even harder to help and inspire those children left behind.
Ellen and I have been coming to this church for 20 years, since shortly after we moved to Rochester. We were attracted here by the orientation of this community toward social action, and that (and the religious education experience for our kids) is what has held us here. I was a member of the Reproductive Choice Task Force for many years and continue to participate in social action activities, such as the School 20 Playground Project.
I've found, however, that I tend to gravitate toward more routine volunteer opportunities, things that just need to be done to support the church community overall. I guess I feel that by doing these things I help contribute to the good things that community is doing.
Most of my volunteer time has been spent in finance; I've been a member of the Finance Committee since the early 1990s and its chair for several years. Some of the work is interesting; every year there are a few new problems to solve, and a few years ago we devised a real innovation, a functional budget breakdown that's been very helpful (particularly to the canvass folks) in explaining how our expenditures support church activities in the four major areas of congregational life: justice, learning, worship, and caring. But most of the work, including the task of annual budget development, is pretty routine. Still, there's a certain pleasure in getting the system worked out so that those routine tasks run smoothly.
There are also a lot of committee meetings involved. Now if you were to ask me, "don't you get *enough* of committee meetings during the week at Xerox?" I certainly couldn't say no. On the other hand we have an interesting and entertaining group of people on Finance, and I can honestly say that I enjoy more of those meetings than not.
Another area of volunteer activity has been the bookshop. Several years ago, when Steve and Mary Lou Miller moved from Rochester, it looked like the bookshop might close. Ellen and I didn't want that to happen; people look forward to browsing in the bookshop on Sunday morning, and it contributes between $2000 and $3000 toward the church budget each year. I think we'd both idly considered the possibility of one day running a bookstore. Perhaps a used bookstore. Perhaps a used bookstore on Cape Cod - the kind of fundamentally marginal enterprise consistent with the life of genteel poverty members of our generation can look forward to in our postindustrial retirement experience. Anyway we stepped up to the plate to run the backoffice operation so the bookshop could continue. There are a lot of other volunteers involved in running things on Sunday morning, and Ellen does most of the rest; I've managed to define my contribution down to keeping records and paying the bills and taxes. But that keeps the creditors and the State of New York happy, at least.
Finally, I'd like to mention the church web page. Back in 1995, when this Internet thing was just taking off, several people started asking whether the church should have a web presence. Some of them mentioned it to me, because I already had some experience in the area. (I had my own web page by then, and also had been involved - though it wasn't my regular job - with the development of web-based collaborative tools for the Xerox intranet.) I initially resisted the idea, but by 1996 the Web had grown so rapidly that there was a significant amount of Rochester content, and it began to make sense to look to the Web for local matters. So we built some pages and went live that July. The site has grown a lot since then, we've got all of Dick's sermons online plus most of those by Helena and by others who have visited our pulpit. I view it primarily as an outreach vehicle, aimed at potential newcomers. It's pretty simple and straightforward, with no fancy graphics and no Shockwave plug-in needed to view all-singing, all-dancing content. On the other hand anyone attracted by that kind of flash would most likely be disappointed by the subtle understatement of the Louis Kahn grey wall at the front of our auditorium. So I think it's best to stick to truth in advertising!
Faith works in our midst. We have heard stories and reflections from a few of our volunteers, and we've talked with them about the meaning of their experience.
I think of the story of the man at a Unitarian Universalist revival. He worked himself up into a frenzy - if you can believe it - and then said, "Use me, O Lord! Use me in an advisory capacity!"
These volunteers have been advisors from time to time - but they are far more than advisors. They are people who want to be used in the important work of this congregation and the world.
Marge Piercy's poem, "To Be of Use" sums it up. Faith works.
"The people I love best jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals bouncing like half-submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real."
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