I enjoy watching children step onto elevators. If I’ve already boarded the steel box, I resist pushing any buttons. Inevitably, the child wants to push the buttons. The attending parent almost always allows the child to push ‘their floor,’ and then I politely speak the number of my floor. The child will look at the parent, receive an affirming nod, and get a double push. It was one of the simple pleasures of my childhood—pushing buttons. The vending machine at the local Esso gas station—push A 14 (two buttons), and BBQ Fritos were mine. The juke box at the Capri Sands Hotel restaurant—push B 6 (two buttons), and I could hear ‘Afternoon Delight’ by the Starland Vocal Band. (I know what some of you are thinking…don’t play B 17. The first person to email me and tell me why, receives a free bag of Funyuns—C 3 at the Esso Station).
If you are a button pushing person, we have a button we need you to push in days to come. It is the CONTACT US button on the homepage of our church’s website. This button may be pushed anytime you have a prayer need, you need to share feedback about one of our services/ministries, or you need to contact a specific minister. The emails generated by the CONTACT US button are regularly monitored, and we respond as quickly as possible. In the near future, however, this button will serve another purpose for us. If days and weeks pass, and we are still ‘sheltered in place,’ we will use the CONTACT US button to assist us with several administrative matters. In the not too distant future, you will need to nominate persons to the Deacon Nominating Committee, the Diaconate itself, and to particular committees. We will inform you—via announcements during Sunday worship and in print—of when these nominations are due and encourage you to make your nominations with the CONTACT US button. It will give you the opportunity to relive your childhood joy of pushing buttons on an elevator, getting your favorite snack from a vending machine, and playing your favorite song on a jukebox. It will also help us ensure the work of the church continues through people you feel are called to specific tasks and ministries. Watch for the announcements. Participate in the nomination processes,…and for goodness sake, don’t play B 17.
—Jim