When I leave the credit union after making a deposit, I pass by the security guard in uniform, standing in the parking lot.  “Thank you for being here,” I say.  I do this to acknowledge the important role they are playing—helping to keep us all safer.  I can’t imagine spending a whole shift on my feet, watching for something to happen and hoping it doesn’t, and not getting paid a high wage to do so.  So I want to let them know it makes a difference.

I say the same thing when I finish my morning laps in the pool at the Sacramento YMCA and pass by the lifeguards watching over the pool.  Lifeguards play an important role as well—providing safety as well as hospitality to new and regular swimmers.  Their wages are not high, but most guard are college students and they need the work. Since they start their shift at 5:30 a.m.—at least an hour before I arrive—I want acknowledge who much that effort makes a difference, so I say, “Thank you for being here so early.”

This is how I feel about our many volunteers at UUSS: “Thank you for being here!”  Especially those who make Sunday happen, including our growing team of Greeters, who staff the Welcome Table, who hand out an Order of Service and hymnal, who usher folks in to a packed sanctuary, who graciously receive the generous donations during the offering time. You can add the Family Ministry/RE Table hosts, the Coffee Crew, Worship Associates, musicians, Bookstore staffers, Soup Sunday team, and so many more.  (Your name here!)

These folks provide a welcome to longtime congregants and curious visitors alike.  What is their message?  Not in those exact words but through their kind presence and generosity of time, all of these volunteers are conveying the same sentiment and message to everybody who shows up: “Thank you for being here.”  Blessed be!

Yours in faith,

Roger

Rev. Dr. Roger D. Jones