April DISCIPLE OF THE MONTH:
Nancy Bowman
How long have you been a member of Saint John’s?
I joined Saint John’s 32 years ago when Bill and I moved back to New Jersey.
What is your main focus in volunteering your time at Saint John’s?
The church archives interested me because of its history. While in college I worked in the library and learned how to do research. Being new to Saint John’s, when Betty Peterman asked me to join her in restarting its archives, I thought it a good way to get to know Saint John’s history and to help preserve that history.
What made you decide to offer this skill/talent to the Saint John’s community on a volunteer basis?
Growing up in a large family and seeing my parents along with my 19 aunts and uncles volunteering in the church my family helped found, volunteering just seemed natural. Caring for the needs of the church makes it yours and working with family makes it easy.
How long have you been volunteering your services to Saint John’s?
I have volunteered since the day we joined — doing the linens, making baptismal napkins, working in the archives and the church library, teaching vacation church school, Sunday school, and things as simple as washing dishes.
What advice can you give folks who are thinking about volunteering at Saint John’s in some way?
There are so many ways to help, so give volunteering a try and bring along your family. As the PA Dutch saying goes, ‘Many hands make light work.’ You will enjoy a job well done.