Serving At The Festival

A few years back a gentleman and his family began observing the festival of Sukkot while we were meeting at the Lake Murray Lodge in southern Oklahoma.  I quickly noticed he and his family's zeal for the festival and God's way, and their willingness to help out in any way possible.  A couple of years later, about mid-way through the festival, this man and I were chatting and I mentioned that I'd like to for someone else to do announcements the next day, to which he replied "would you like for me to do that for you?"  Thrilled that he asked, I said "sure"!

The next morning, while giving the announcements, he discussed how even giving announcements can be a service and a help to the leadership, and that he did not volunteer for this service . . . but rather, he was 'voluntold'!  Since that time, this fellow, and his wife, have become a great asset to SOOJ and to those of us who coordinate this festival.

When you think about it, being 'voluntold' is what happens quite often . . . a person sees a need and asks if he can take on that load so another no longer has to lift it.  Yes - sometimes we at SOOJ do a little 'arm twisting' to get someone to volunteer, but in most cases, those who you see providing the services that help make your festival more enjoyable, have done so not because we asked them to, but because they saw a need and decided to fill it.

Season of Our Joy is staffed 100% by volunteers.  All of us have our own jobs and do what we do here as a service.  What you see and enjoy when you arrive at the festival - the stage, the sound system, the children's programs, the meal setup, and everything else - represents hundreds of hours of time dedicated to this festival by people who were willing to give of his or her time, sometime arriving days before the festival, so you could gain the most from Season of Our Joy.

Every year our "crew" changes.  Some who helped out in years past may be attending the festival elsewhere this year, or they may be unable to fulfill the same responsibility this year because of heath reasons.  Some people want to give up one responsibility so they can take on another.  Thus, we are always looking for volunteers in every area.  It's our hope to always have someone in training so they they might take over the responsibility the next year.

On the "Help Wanted" page, you will find a list of most of the areas where we need leaders and helpers.  We need just about as many leaders as helpers.  To lead in a responsibility does not require that you know everything about a specific task.  All that's required is a willingness to take on the responsibility, secure some help (we'll help you with that), and plan how you intend to get the job done.  We will provide drawings and diagrams, tools, utensils, and supplies.  For those of you who don't want the responsibility of leadership, but are responsible enough to be where you say you will be at an appointed time, by volunteering early we're able to put you in a crew and make that crew leader's job easier.

At the end of each job description on the Help Wanted page, you'll see that we've listed the amount of time we estimate this will take you during the festival.  Some jobs, like setting up for an event, may only take an hour or so before, and an hour after the event's over - then you're through for the balance of the festival,  On the other hand, helping serve coffee in the morning may require you to serve for a one hour shift, three times during the festival.  We're hoping that in most cases no person will need to serve more than six to nine hours during the entire festival.  This, of course, depends on how many volunteers we get.

So click on over to the "Help Wanted" page and look at all the opportunities to build "kingdom treasures".  If, by chance you find yourself becoming a SOOJ leader, just tell your friends that you were "voluntold"!

Shalom - and thanks in advance for your service!