Marie a most Courteous Clerk!
The Gang from the Back Row Before Worship
Marie is a very familiar face in our neighborhood, she works as a courtesy clerk at QFC grocery, she lives just a few blocks from our church castle, and she is a member of our congregation. She knows soooooo many people in the neighborhood not only from her job serving customers at the grocery, but because she is always about the neighborhood and on our local buses. Marie knows every barrista in the area and is frequently invited to area events because she is so well known and loved.
Marie has moved around the Seattle area since early childhood, but she and her mom Shirley returned to our neighborhood when purchasing a home because it was a place where she felt welcomed and cared for when she was a child at Green Lake Elementary. In turn Marie now is a member of our children’s ministry team, caring for some of the youngest in our congregation.
One of the beauties of being in the neighborhood in so many ways is that Marie truly connects with some folks that seem to fade in an out of the neighborhood scene. I can think of how a member of our congregation had been dealing with health issues, but Marie stayed in touch with them via the grocery, and staying connected to their family, even when they weren’t able to get out. Marie has a gift, a skill, a charming way about her that keeps her connected and connecting our community.
I had the privilege of traveling with Marie to eastern Washington for a training and learning the depth of commitment and love she has for our community, stories of her friends at Bus Stop Espresso, Peaks Custard Shop and the folks she works with at our neighborhood grocery, stories peppered with laughter and joy. Marie has that gift, to share her laughter and joy around the community as someone who is truly connected to the people that she meets each day!
How can all of us get more connected to the various levels of neighborhood we live in? How do our lives reflect a sense of appreciation for the place we call home? Why do we choose to live somewhere, is a spiritual sense of place that draws us in, a place of welcome, a place of beauty or something else, more or less?!?!?! How thankful are we of the place we call home and the people we can call neighbor?
Marie, Playing with our boys in the nursery, caring for all!