There’s Nothing Like Being Known

There's Nothing Like Being Known
By Associate Pastor Rev. John Uldrick

There’s nothing like being known. I experienced this feeling just over a month ago when I returned to my hometown to host an 80th birthday celebration for my father. So many of my parents’ friends came through to greet my dad and visit with my mother. I got the chance to be seen, patted on the back and encouraged by so many people I hadn't seen in decades. Time after time, conversation
after conversation, I realized that those folks—my parents' friends—were paying attention to what the Georgia Uldricks had been up to all these years. They asked about the new church I’d been serving. They remarked at how much Charlie and Annalise had grown as they pointed across the room at them. They knew me. They knew my family. I felt seen in a way that is hard to describe. These interactions and conversations reminded me of why community and care are so valuable.

In the Sanctuary, we are surrounded by Ambassadors! Did you know that? A dedicated group of SPdL members intentionally looks for guests in worship each week. The Sanctuary Ambassador team serves as a connecting point, representing the warmth and connection many of us value so much at Second-Ponce. These important ambassadors spread out in our worship space, look for new faces and purposefully greet those new faces, spreading the warmth and welcome of Second-Ponce. The team takes the good information they learn and shares it with the ministerial staff, too. The work of the Sanctuary Ambassador team enables the ministers to “meet’” more people from week to week.

The Sanctuary Ambassador team is building and creating community and care in our midst. They are working to learn names and life stories, attempting to make connections that might engage worship guests and encourage them to come back to worship again. I think connection is one of the most important things we do each Sunday morning. Sure, we study Scripture together and we worship the God we serve.  But we also share life and that is so valuable. 

I want to challenge you today to take on the role as an Ad hoc Sanctuary Ambassador from your seat in the Sanctuary. Don’t recognize a face? Introduce yourself! It’s ok. Learn something about a guest in worship? Share that information with Patti George and Juliane Watts. Most Sundays after worship, they’re huddled in the middle section sharing notes about the people they met. It takes each one of us to continue to build on the SPdL legacy of sharing warmth, connection and hope to our community. Won’t you join us?

To connect with the Sanctuary Ambassador team, email the Community Council at
community@spdl.org.