St. James Storytelling – September

Seventeen Years of Service
by Tom Bender

My journey has an employee here at St. James began rather auspiciously. After losing my job at the car dealership and being unemployed for several months, the news of full-time work came as a blessing and I started three days before Christmas 2008. Tim said it would be a trial by fire, but I quickly settled in to the daily routines. One might think that life surrounded by mundane tasks would be free from out of the ordinary excitement. I would beg to differ. I was about to see how St. James embraced the unexpected.

It was a familiar morning for me as I had prepared the worship space for a funeral service and set up the dining room for the reception following the service. I would be offering my voice in song for the family and making my way into the service in white robe and music in hand, yet a familiar young woman’s cry for help came from the lower level of the church, “Mr. Tom, come down here! There is water coming in the basement!”

The timing of the event could not have been worse. The church reception caregivers had only minutes before finished up their preparations, and the children were scurrying to find safe harbor amid the ensuing flood waters, making their way across the dining room floor. Some how through the assistance of childcare staff, caregiver volunteers, property committee members and the Holy Spirit, we managed to relocate the reception, bring order to the children’s safe space, and clean up all the water and salvage the day. It is just one example of how the St. James community came together in a time of crisis.

A few years later, after learning there would be an extensive recovery following my shoulder surgery in 2017, the people of St. James again rose to the occasion. Several volunteers painstakingly took over my schedule for several weeks until I could return to my duties following my rehab. 

Over the years, my relationships with staff members, childcare personnel, and the children in the childcare continued to flourish. Some of my interactions come to mind. There aren’t many places where you can be vacuuming the carpet as you enjoy the sounds of the pipe organ or be mopping the dining room and be asked by a three-year-old “What are you doing Mr. Tom?” or better still, “Hey Mr. Tom we are out of soap in the bathroom!” Imagine a three-year-old boss! To be assembling the Christmas tree in the worship space and out of the blue be serenaded with the old time favorite “Oh Christmas Tree” from the organ console.

The St. James family is one that has reached out to me in so many different ways, and so it is with a heart of gratitude that I am announcing my intention to retire at the end of this year. It has been my great pleasure to serve as the building superintendent here at St. James for the past 17 years. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside many gifted and dedicated staff members and caregivers who have been so supportive and appreciative of me and the work I have done. There has always been a thank you or a kind word of appreciation that has meant the world to me. Lastly, I am grateful to the people of St. James who have always so graciously and generously encouraged me to serve in this capacity. The blessings I have received through this experience are ones I will cherish throughout the coming years in my retirement.

May God bless all of you and continue to bless the mission of this wonderful place.