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Note #7740 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Paid in other coin
GA03050

Paid in other coin

An army of volunteers, swapping stories in the mess hall

by Midge Mack

DENVER, May 27 - Their number is legion - and the newest recruits to their
number were commissioned during the Opening Worship Celebration of the 215th
General Assembly.

They got together later on Sunday for the official Assembly Volunteers in the
U.S. Luncheon.

While some in attendance swapped stories about the past, others came to talk
about the future and their dreams of serving - somewhere, somehow, sometime.

Nancy Cavalcante, the associate for national volunteers in the National
Ministries Division, who moderated the event, introduced the young adults now
serving as interns in the Louisville headquarters of the Presbyterian Church
(USA), and expressed gratitude to others who work elsewhere, in places from
Sitka, AK,  to Miami, FL.

Some are volunteering for terms of a few months, others for a year or more.
Some have gone abroad to work with PC(USA) mission personnel.

Older adult volunteers had stories to tell - the pediatrician who served in
Pakistan, the couple who went to Haiti to help a village solve a water
problem, the widow who became a hostess at Stony Point Conference Center in
New York, an adventure seeker who changed jobs and locations every year (who
said she relates well to homeless people because "I too am 'homeless.'"

Several speakers emphasized that volunteers are always needed in the church.
"Tell us what you can do, and we'll find a place for you to do it," said Ima
Stapleman, who is soon to return to the Menaul School in Albuquerque, NM,
after a stint at North Carolina's Warren Wilson College

James Matthews, the president of Presbyterian-related Pan-American College,
in Kingsville, TX, said volunteerism is "the foundation of our faith" and the
church is truly an "army of volunteers."

"Volunteers aren't paid," he said. "Not because they're worthless - but
because they're priceless."

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