Jennifer Lambert
Every church has its unsung heroes.
They are the people who arrive early and stay late. They set up tables, fold bulletins, prepare Communion, water plants, straighten chairs, sing in the choir, serve on committees, make phone calls, visit someone who is lonely, bring food to a reception, count the offering, fix what is broken, teach a class, greet a newcomer, and do a thousand other things most of us never notice. They are our volunteers.
The writer of 1 Peter tells the early church, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV). God’s grace comes to us in so many forms—and sometimes it looks remarkably ordinary.
Sometimes grace looks like someone standing at a door with a warm smile on Sunday morning. Sometimes it looks like a meal delivered after a hospitalization. Sometimes it is a Care Caller picking up the phone, a choir member showing up for rehearsal, someone preparing the sanctuary for worship, or a volunteer answering the phones. These acts may seem small, but together they make ministry possible.
Churches do not thrive because of pastors or staff alone. They thrive because people offer what they have—their time, experience, creativity, compassion, patience, voices, wisdom, and prayers—and trust God to use those gifts. That may be especially important to remember in retirement. Retirement may bring an end to a particular career, but it does not bring an end to vocation. We never retire from being people through whom God’s grace can reach the world!
You may no longer use your gifts in quite the same way you once did. Perhaps you cannot serve as many hours as you used to. But the wisdom, experience, compassion, and abilities gathered over a lifetime remain gifts that God can use.
At Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, I see those gifts offered every week. Much of what happens here happens because someone quietly says, “I can help.” So, to all of our unsung heroes: thank you. Thank you for the hours no one counts, the tasks few people notice, the prayers no one hears, and the countless ways you make Christ’s love tangible.
Perhaps there is an invitation here for all of us. What gift has God placed in your hands for this season of your life?
It doesn’t have to be extraordinary; it simply has to be offered. When we serve one another with whatever gift we have received, something beautiful happens: ordinary acts become expressions of extraordinary grace.