My involvement with St. John’s ministry began in the mid 1990’s when Reverend Fred Foerster asked for volunteers to visit the homebound members of the congregation on a set schedule. At that moment in my life I was a part-time employee of the John Gould Pharmacy in Emmaus. My role was to deliver prescription medicine to the pharmacy’s vast clientele, many of whom were confined to their living quarters. Despite the wide disparity in ages I was able to forge a trusting friendly relationship with these senior citizens. As a result of this rewarding experience I was confident of my ability to relate to the homebound of St. John’s. For two years, I paid monthly visits to three homebound members and forwarded brief summaries of those visits to Eileen Gribben who was the project coordinator. For reasons, I cannot recall this outreach came to an end, and I was left in limbo until the late Richard Keim approached me one Sunday following worship and stated that there was a need for communion assistants and ushers at the early service. Would I help? After some thought I decided to serve in both capacities which I did until 2007 when I decided to focus solely on ushering. Two years later I slipped quietly into the role of full time usher at the eight o’clock service.
To be among the first to greet friends, acquaintances and visitors to worship on a Sunday is one of my joys in life. I look forward to this experience each week.