Serving the Church (When You Don't Have Time, Energy, or Money)

by Mindi Popovich-Schneider

It pretty much goes without saying that each Orthodox Christian is called to contribute to the life and health of their own parish–it’s part of our tithe, our almsgiving, and our prayer. It brings us closer to Christ and to those in our community by turning our gaze outward from ourselves to the whole body of Christ. And, of course, it’s simply a necessity if we want our parishes to operate smoothly and bear fruit. 

At the same time, it can be a challenge to find a ministry that fits well. It doesn’t make sense, for example, to join the cleaning rotation when you have to rush home to put grouchy toddlers down for a nap. Nor does it make sense to commit to something that you’re simply uninterested in and therefore have no motivation to help with longterm. And it definitely doesn’t make sense to make a commitment that you simply don’t have time for! And sure, giving beyond your normal tithe is always helpful, but not always possible…and monetary giving doesn’t help your family become part of the fabric of the community in the same way that interfacing with your fellow parishioners does. 

Each parish, though, has so many little needs and wants that there is something for every single member to help with! Here are some ways that you can serve the Church without time, money, or (much) energy:

1. Look for the small contributions. At my parish, coffee hour is a big deal. We have about 250 attendees per week, making up a close-knit community that cherishes fellowship. We always seem to be short on food and volunteers, and it’s no wonder. Preparing food for that many people is overwhelming, especially if you have little kids. You might have a similar conundrum at your parish. Still, there are a lot of ways to help out, even if you can’t commit to joining the rotation or bringing a meal for everyone to share. For example, you might replenish paper goods or tea and coffee. The little additions, such as coffee creamer or grapes, are always appreciated. You don’t have to be responsible for hosting an entire coffee hour by yourself, but there are lots of ways you can help out the ministry without breaking the bank–or your back! The same goes for the cleaning team. Perhaps they need refills of supplies. Maybe it would cut back the time they spend on the weekend if someone swept after weekday services.

2. Leave it better than you found it. For our Lenten retreat one year, my old parish invited Kh. Krista West to speak on beauty. Even though part of her discussion focused on having beautiful books in our homes, the part that stuck out to me the most was her exhortation to help beautify our parishes. All of us, she said, can contribute, even if we’re not on the cleaning rotation or beautification team. I don’t know about your parish, but every time I walk into our nave, I see picture books, toys, or papers left behind from the last service (a really good problem to have!). Since hearing Kh. Krista’s talk, I’ve tried to be intentional about picking up anything that isn’t where it’s supposed to be. Fr. Noah likes to say that when we come to church, we’re God’s children playing house–and shouldn’t our house be a tidy offering to God and a welcoming environment to guests trying to find Him? This isn’t a big time commitment–all it takes is thirty seconds here, one minute there–but it goes a long way to helping the community as a whole. This might be something you already do as you notice things, but making a personal commitment to going out of your way to tidy as you exit the nave, narthex, or great room will make a huge difference.

3. Pick one small project once in a while. If you look around your parish, you’ll probably see a lot of little things that need to be fixed–or could be improved! For example, when I found out that a couple of my friends were struggling to come to church because there was nowhere for them to nurse besides the bathroom or the (very exposed) library, I sought a blessing to hang a curtain and a sign in one of the classrooms that wasn’t in use. It took about two hours total to come up with fabric, a hanging system, and a sign. The next project I hope to tackle is our bulletin boards. The cork is cratered, the signs discolored and rippled, and the decorative ribbon unraveling. It won’t take long to cover the boards in some leftover fabric and make updated, laminated signs. My point is this: identify something that makes you wince a bit when you see it, get a blessing to work on it, and fix it. It probably won’t take long, and it will almost definitely provide a nice break from your other responsibilities! 

4. Make it part of homeschool. It can be hard to fit even weekday services in between homeschool, extracurriculars, and housekeeping–how on earth are you supposed to squeeze additional ministries in? Well…don’t! Make it part of your schoolwork. Choose a weekday–maybe once a week or once a month–and take your kids to church. Ask your priest what needs to be done (if he doesn’t have any ideas, cleaning the glass and candle stands in the nave is a great start!) and teach your kids how to do it. Cleaning something? That’s home ec! Organizing books in the parish bookstore or library? Literacy skills! Refreshing the flowers in front of the icons? Nature study! And let’s be real, you don’t really even need to justify your task. We’re here to raise Christians, not academics, and the lessons they’ll learn caring for God’s house are far more precious than any they will learn from reading a book.  

We Need to Get Over Ourselves to Give Ourselves

by Cecilia, Intern

When I asked a chanter at my church how to get over my chanting nerves, he laughed and said, “Realize it’s not about you.” Ouch. This was a difficult comment for me to swallow because I realized just how self-absorbed I was! My fear and insecurity were preoccupying my ability to truly serve God and praise Him with my voice. I needed to come to the realization that it wasn’t about me: it was about God! I had to get over myself.

Coincidentally, just a few days before this conversation, my priest relayed to me a saying he had heard once: “you need to get over yourself to give yourself.” I was confused by this at first, not seeing how it practically applied to my life, but after hearing this chanter’s response to my question, I began to see the truth of this axiom everywhere!

Now, when we are told to “get over ourselves”, it’s usually because we are acting self-important or are obsessing about something that (in all likelihood) troubles us alone. In this phrase, “getting over ourselves” can also refer to being at peace with who we are: who God made us to be. There are things we don’t necessarily love about ourselves, but to fully surrender ourselves to God, we must work with what we’ve been given! Our talents, disposition, and personality can and should all be instruments in serving God. We also must be careful to not compare ourselves with others so critically! Perhaps others seem more talented or better suited to serve, but let us remember: life is not so much about what we are given, but what we do with what we are given. So how can we start to give ourselves?

What better example is there to look to but Christ? I am reminded of the verse in Philippians, telling us that He “emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant.” The Greek word used for “emptied” in this verse is ekenosen, which means to divest yourself of your prerogatives and abase yourself. What a contrast to what I do! Christ utterly emptied Himself of any prerogatives (and what prerogatives He as God has!) in order to endure the Passion and Cross, thus saving mankind. And to this great sacrifice, what do I give back? I am utterly nothing without God, yet I am so stingy in giving any efforts or talents back to Him. 

And when I do have opportunities to serve, I often consider them unworthy of my time or beneath my talents. Now, if you have watched Man of God (and if you haven’t, you must!), you may remember the scene of St. Nektarios on his hands and knees, scrubbing the bathroom floors. It is evident that he considered no task beneath himself, and served God joyfully in whatever way he could. He “got over himself”, so to speak, and refused to allow his ego to prevent him from serving the Lord. In the same way, let us follow Christ’s example, wishing to serve, not to be served (Matt 20:28). Christ set aside all of his glory and self-concern to serve us, so let us be faithful in the same way, in both small and great things. St. Nikon writes, “Perform every work attentively, no matter how unimportant it may seem, as if done before the face of God." So, for a start, we can let go of what we think we are worthy of doing, and try to fully give ourselves to God in every opportunity that arises. 

When we are so focused on ourselves (what we’re doing, or how we’re doing it, or what people are thinking of us as we’re doing it), we’re not focused on others. We must get over ourselves and make our lives more about others. Let us look around! Surely, there are people who we can serve right where we are, right now, if only we can overcome our fear of serving others, our insecurity, and our self-importance.

Second, we must try to refrain from projecting ourselves onto others. Thomas Merton wrote that “the beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” Thus, we should make a start in getting over ourselves by truly appreciating people for who they are. We can do this by genuinely listening to others with compassion and patience, instead of pouncing on any opportunity to share our (apparently so profound) thoughts.

I must mention my experience at my parish’s outreach ministry to the homeless in Philadelphia. A few teens from my youth group and I served a few weeks ago, and I was astonished by one of my friends who spoke to the poor as if genuinely on the same level as them. She did not view the outreach as helping the people per se, but rather as serving them as a completely equal neighbor. She conversed with them so easily because she was not overbearing, but completely just existing as a friend and neighbor. 

To serve is to imitate God Himself, for He came into the world to do so. Let us strive to imitate Christ’s example, giving ourselves to Him and to others for the glory of His name!