On Sunday morning, August 14, 2016, I took this photo of Sandy Holt with morning light coming from behind her left shoulder.
Sandy is an usher at SsAM’s 10:30 a.m. Sunday worship service. Someone asked her to do this task for a few weeks. That was years ago! Ushers do not serve every Sunday, but serve on a rotating basis, two or three each at the 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. services.
At the start of every service, ushers arrive early to collate the Sunday Bulletin with the Weekly Vision and any other printed materials. Then, as people arrive for the service, each is greeted by an usher and given the printed materials. Sandy finds this a pleasure, to say “Good morning!” to each new arrival. If they are friends and time allows, they can quickly catch up on each others’ lives. If they are strangers, they can get to know each other.
Other usher duties are to take up the collection during the service and, at the end of the services, to go through the pews and pick up any papers left behind.
It is not a glamorous job, even if the people doing it are glamorous.
Sandy has also been active in collecting Angel Tree gifts as Christmas approaches every year.
—Danny Schweers