Why Do They Volunteer ?
' Volunteering Is the Force of Faith and Love "
Advice to Volunteers and
Their Leaders
By
Robert R. Schwarz
As
each has received a gift, use it to serve
one
another, as good stewards of God's
varied grace . ( 1 Peter 4:10 )
A
volunteer: one who freely chooses to
to offer or give without being
asked or obliged.
(
Webster's New World College Dictionary )
The
Holy Spirit Can Motivate Our Whole Life .
(
Diane Adam, church volunteer )
Diane
Adam today is one of an estimated 62.6 million volunteers in America. ( 1 ) In 2012, the late Cardinal George bestowed
upon Diane and her husband Tom the prestigious Christifideles ( Faithful to Christ ) Award
for their 25 years ministerial service . She is among millions
who give energy and time to their church; and though the profiles of church and
labor force volunteer have much in common, there are profound
differences ( as Diane could point out) in their motivation and desired benefits. The volunteer spirit , as we know , thrives in a society where a woman, man or
child is free to give of themselves without being asked or obliged .
During
our interview in the Adam one-floor
modest home in
Arlington Heights, Illinois,
where she and husband Tom—both are 71—raised two
daughters and now baby-sit for four grandchildren, I asked what exactly does she do for her St. James Catholic church. Her list was ten minutes
long. I shook my head in disbelief and asked, "You get overwhelmed, don't you ? "
"
The apostle Paul said God will never
give you more than you can handle ,
" she replied. "But I
do get a good night's sleep. "
"
But what do you get out of it ?"
The question was a no-brainer for Diane.
" I receive more than I give. "
How
would she draft a church member who had never
expressed an interest in volunteering?
"
I'd tell them, ' you're going to feel
so good about yourself, like you're
walking around the world .' "
 |
| Tom and Diane Adam outside their Arlington Hts. home |
Diane's
current services to St. James are
being on a mentoring team ( which Tom heads ) for seminarians assigned to the church;
coordinating the 10 a.m. Mass every other week at which she is a Eucharistic minister and greeter; being an altar server for funerals ( one of
her favorite ministries) ; belonging to
five Bible study groups, two evangelization
groups, the Welcome Ambassadors
committee, and Earth Shepherds ( the St. James response to the pope's encyclical that urged " Care for Our Common Home ). " There's also those Mondays after the St. James school when she reads the Rosary to children. " I get such a blessing from this," Diane
said.
Diane
is a tallish brunette who is
quick to smile and who thoughtfully chooses her words. She considers babysitting the grandchildren as recreation
and enjoys an occasional television
program such as Madam Secretary . " We love to take the train to Chicago and
see things like the Art Institute. She
and Tom participate in travel programs of the local senior
center. Diane , who has a "back
problem, " also swims daily at a
Park District pool.
What Clergy Have to Say about Volunteers
Asked to describe the
volunteer spirit in his church as
exemplified by Diane, Fr. Matthew Foley
, Diane's pastor, put it this way: "
People use the word volunteer. I
prefer to the word Christian. Serving others is what we do. As Christians we serve to glorify God. " Fr.
Foley himself was a "volunteer" when he enlisted in the Army and
served four years as a chaplain in Afghanistan as a captain.
His predecessor at St.
James, Fr. Bill Zavaski, affirmed one of
Diane's convictions with these words :
" The bottom line to me is that when you volunteer your time and talent ,
you feel good about it. It's a way to use what God has given you, to try to be
the best person you can be. The
volunteer offers himself to another person ." Keeping in mind St. James' 800 to 1,000
volunteers and its membership of 4,000 families when he was pastor
there, Fr. Bill said, " No parish
or church could run without volunteers.
They couldn't afford it ! "
Among
St. James volunteers are 30 men and
women who help Mr. and Mrs. Tom and
Gheeta Chitta manage their Foundation for Children in Need (FCN)
in India. FCN is a not-for-profit organization serving hundreds of India's rural poor , including impoverished seniors,
and the country's disadvantaged youth
with health care, education, and other life necessities. Tom and his physician wife travel an average
of 20,000 miles each year across America to dozens of church parishes to raise
funds for FCN. While recently driving the Chittas to the airport, Tom told me,
" Our volunteering is the force of our faith and love." (2)
What motivates
the volunteer ? I asked Fr. Paul
Wachdorf, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church in Chicago and former director
of spiritual life and prayer formation at the Mundelein Seminary in
Libertyville, Illinois. "Ideally what motivates them is a desire to share their time and
talent with others out of gratitude for the ways in which God has blessed their
lives, " he said. "Ideally they would embrace a ministry from a
Christcentric rather than an egocentric point of view . Christ must increase
and I must decrease, " he said quoting St. John the Baptist. "Hopefully…
they want to make a difference in the life of their parish, in the life of the
larger Church, in the world in which they live, and in the lives of the people
they come into contact with. "
Fr. Paul explained why a church
member should volunteer: "There
is a verse in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 10, where Jesus sends out the 12
on their first missionary journey. " Before they leave, He gives them some
instructions. Among other things, He tells them, The gift you have received,
give as gift. All of our lives have been blessed by God with many different
gifts— physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. All that we have, all that we
are and all that we can become is a gift of God to us.
 |
| The Adam family on Mother's Day at St. James. Diane is in middle with while sweater. Behind her is Tom. |
Advice to Volunteers and
Their Leaders
As for advice to the volunteer and those who
manage them in the church, Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham
Center , wrote this on the Christianity Today website: "
Most of us know how essential volunteers are to making sure our churches are as
effective as they need to be. Churches need to develop an ethos of valuing
volunteers, but in order for churches to thrive, they would do best to raise up
volunteers who are leaders and choose leaders who have been volunteers.
"
When I look for a leader to oversee volunteers, or a leader to oversee leaders,
ideally I look for someone who has gone through all the stages of the ministry
he or she will be leading—someone who has set up the chairs if we're starting a
new church, led a Bible study, or worked in the children's ministry. Then, once
that person has volunteered in those positions, I say, "Let's see if you
can oversee others to do that."
"
Furthermore, I love to challenge volunteers to go a little deeper. Challenging
volunteers who show a potential for leadership to oversee other volunteers is a
great way to do that. If I’ve found a volunteer who has gone through the
different stages of the ministry he or she will be leading, then I want to be
sure to equip the person with some training. Many people do not know how to
delegate well. Have your leaders read a simple book on delegation. Send them to
training opportunities and give them the tools they need to do well as a
volunteer leader.
So,
volunteers are a vital part of our churches running smoothly. Something that
makes them even more remarkable is that they often go unrecognized. Volunteers
must be willing to humbly serve Christ and their brothers and sisters without
ever expecting to shine in the spotlight."
Diane indicated that many people who don't go to church volunteer for
many of the same reasons as church members do , such as a desire to help people, for a cause they
believe in, a desire to use a special
knowledge or skill they have, and to feel useful and needed. "The
Holy Spirit can motivate our whole life, " she said.
The End
_________________________NOTES
(1) website: bls.gov/cps
(2) website: fcnindia.org/
All
comments are welcome.
rrschwarz7@wowway.com
©
2018 Robert R. Schwarz
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