Rita's Story
We have a lot of fantastic volunteers across the parish, but today I have pulled Rita into the spotlight to tell us a bit about her volunteering story. She is very modest and hates the spotlight!
Most of our Parish members will already know Rita and her amazing cakes which she bakes on request! She is our dynamic bundle of energy and joy that keeps us on our toes in our North Street Offices, where she volunteers for two mornings a week.
I asked Rita why she volunteers and what she loves about volunteering – we are hoping that others may be inspired by her story and offer to volunteer too!
I have been a volunteer at the Under 5s group for over 17 years now. When my husband, Paul, died a few years ago I decided to throw myself into volunteering to get me out of the house and to give me a new direction. It’s wonderful to see the children growing up and hearing about Jesus.
I volunteer for several things and I love each one. At the North Street Offices I do all sorts of things but am not great at clerical things so try and keep away from those jobs(!) but I help generally around the office – serving people with teas and coffees, chatting and being useful where I can. I see a lot of different people and, as yet, I haven’t minded any jobs I’ve been asked to do! It’s good to serve!
I also volunteer at Grubs Up and Welcome Cafe, I am also on the Welcome Team at church, and I am a verger for services at Keighley Shared Church.
I find it so rewarding helping others with little things that make a big difference to their lives. At Grubs Up I feel blessed to see people come to Jesus in a lovely way and listening and being calm. All this has made a difference to my life, I feel useful and part of something exciting. God blesses me every day that I can do these things! I also feel blessed that God uses me every day to something for Him through my volunteering.
I was brought up in Keighley and have seen how its changed over the years. A lot of work needs doing and we can all help our church. The team are wonderful and I can see the difference they are making in people’s lives. I am so glad I came to Keighley Shared Church and can be part of that story.
The only thing that stops me is when it snows! I live up a steep hill!
We are really blessed to have Rita working with us and she is such an asset to all the groups and activities she gets involved with. If you would like to be a volunteer somewhere in our Parish why not chat to me, or a clergy member or Adam in the office? We are always looking for people with different skills to help us out. Don’t hide your light under a bowl!
Paul
Interested in Volunteering?
If you’re interested in volunteering for the Parish of Keighley then please head over to our main Volunteering page for more information!