An article on volunteerism by Rosalind P. D. Eaton, CVA
COVID-19 changed everything. We say it often; it’s been three years, and it feels so much longer. We are still struggling to get our feet back under ourselves. Some people still wear masks. Many don’t. Some people haven’t come back to church. Some won’t. Some join us for worship services from across the globe thanks to our streaming platform. But those joining us digitally can’t participate in other programming or opportunities because we haven’t found a solid way to be hybrid.
We offer service and virtual service, in person and virtual coffee hour. There isn’t a religious education option for children online.
We offer Zoom meetings for many committees and groups because it’s convenient not to drive into or out of DC during rush hour. Some groups do so because they have homebound members who are unable to travel.
Some volunteer opportunities we have listed can be done from home. Many more are in person.
Let’s explore this together, as we’re preparing for the new church year. I’ve got a couple ideas, and I’m hoping this article will encourage some from others as well.
Services
We have in person Ushers and Greeters at the church each Sunday. We could also have virtual Ushers and Greeters to assist with running the Zoom streaming each week. We also have opportunities for virtual coffee hour hosts. Another opportunity for the tech savvy – if you’d like to run the Zoom for us, we would love a couple more volunteers!
Another option I’m going to float is a hybrid coffee hour. We’ll invite our virtual congregation to stay online, set up the OWL conferencing camera we have in another room and invite our in person coffee hour attendees to come chat with our virtual attendees. We could use some in person hosts – email me interested!
Welcoming Wednesdays
This fall, Membership is going to be sponsoring a midweek drop in at the church, and the goal is to use the OWL conference camera as much as possible to make them hybrid. I can’t guarantee every offering will be hybrid, but the goal is for several each month to be in meaningful ways with thoughtful participation.
So, these are my initiatives, and I list them here as examples to get you thinking about your ministries! The questions I want you to ask yourself are:
- Is my lay group/ministry/committee/activity in person, online, or is there an opportunity for both?
- If there is an opportunity for virtual volunteerism, how would it be different from the in person opportunity?
- Is my opportunity something that can be done anywhere in the world/virtually? How do I make it accessible to as many people as possible?
- How many volunteers do I actually need? Does it need to be hybrid?
- What age groups is this opportunity designed for? Is it good for individuals? Is it a good fit for families? Children? Young Souls? Silver Souls?
- Are there mobility constraints? Physical needs that can only be accomplished in person?
- What type of technology does this opportunity need? Does it make sense to be in person? Does it make sense to be virtual? Can it be both with the technology available to me/the church?
Take some time and brainstorm your volunteer needs. Write out a job description for each position you need to fill. Be thoughtful while you describe what you need. Include a description of who might be best suited to fill this role. Include some benefits the person volunteering will get from participating. Outline your technology needs, you’re in person needs, and if applicable – your virtual opportunity needs. Be as specific as possible – this description is for you. Once you have all your information, you’ll create an outline to use to advertise your open positions.
Why is it important to include virtual opportunities?
When you look for volunteers only in your physical space, you’re missing a wide demographic of people who aren’t coming in person. The church averages 100-150 screens on Zoom, many with two or more people watching. That averages 150-300 people attending church virtually. Some of these folx come and go between in person and virtual attending. But many of these people are only attending virtually for a variety of reasons and are still looking for meaningful ways to be engaged with their church. You have an opportunity to help these folx bring All Souls home while they engage in the spiritual practice that acts of service can be.
If you limit yourself to in person volunteers, you’re often asking the same people for things over and over. It increases the opportunity for volunteer burn out. By widening your pool of possible volunteers, you spread the ask out and pull in a variety of capable people ready to answer the call.
Some people just can’t come in person. This could be for health or mobility reasons, scheduling reasons, or other aspects beyond their control. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to participate; it just means that we as volunteer coordinators just need to be flexible and a little creative. It’s time to let go of our traditional norms when it comes to volunteerism and find ways to engage people where they are at.
You might need an ESL tutor. No one is available in person for the time you need filled except for a virtual church goer in California. By connecting the student and the virtual volunteer over Zoom on a laptop at the church, you’ve made sure the volunteer need gets filled and the church goer gets to volunteer in a meaningful way for a cause that is important to them.
Creating dual opportunities doesn’t have to be intimidating. Part of it is just finding the right fit for the people who are already reaching out to get involved. The other part is being open to integrating a little more technology into what is already being done. The church has three paid Zoom accounts available for lay group use to host longer meetings if needed. We have equipment at the church that enables hybrid options. We have computers and wifi ready to help.
Please reach out if you need assistance in thinking through hybrid options. I’m always happy to help!