Minsters have a variety of responsibilities. Within the church, we are preachers, priests, administrators, counselors, teachers and more. We also have a role in the community and world. A part of my work in the world is the time I commit to serving on non-profit boards. Of course, we’re often asked to serve on far more boards than we have time to spare, so I—like most people—am very selective regarding where I choose to serve.
In my early years, I served on the boards of social service agencies, children and family ministry organizations and hospitals. These boards were often stacked with ministers; I was one among many. In recent years, I’ve acknowledged the fact that art and music have the capacity to speak, build bridges, change perspectives and challenge our culture as capably as any other entity. I’ve chosen to serve on several boards of this nature…and the ministers are fewer—not absent, but fewer.
I serve on the board of the Greenville Jewish Film Festival. It fulfills a need for interfaith dialogue and service in a world rife with division and discord. On Sunday afternoon, August 25, at 5:00pm, the film Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles will be shown at the Greenville One Center, 2 West Washington Street, downtown. I have been asked to introduce and speak to the significance of this film—an incredibly moving documentary about the writing and release of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the
Roof. I hope you’ll purchase tickets at www.greenvillejewishfilmfestival.com and join me for a great evening of food and film.
I also chair the board of the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus. The chorus will launch with a reception and first sing-a-long on Thursday evening, September 12, at 7:00pm in our Fellowship Hall. Our own Shelton Ridge Love has been selected as Artistic Director! We are hoping this chorus will become ambassadors of hope and understanding in the upstate area and beyond. If you know of anyone who would love to sing in the chorus—straight or gay—please invite them to attend this gathering.
Thank you—the many of you—who serve on boards throughout our community. Let’s keep making the world a better place…one board meeting at a time…
—Jim