At New Covenant, everyone counts, everyone is needed, everyone has a place to participate – across every generation.
Mary Yeoman embraces that in everything she does. “My motto is if I see a need I can fill, then I fill it! God has been so good to me and I want to give back to show His love to others.”
Mary acknowledges that her stage of life allows a few more freedoms in her time, but she reminds us that no matter your stage of life, “everyone can do something… all of us can do one thing!”
Volunteering unites us as a church family. Mary explained, “I volunteer in lots of different areas so I can get to know my church family. When I volunteer in the nursery, I meet the young families. When I help at Fall Fest or Day Camp, I meet the teenagers that volunteer beside me. When I help in the kitchen, I meet new people young and old. And when I volunteer with The Young at Heart group (retired adults) or with We Can Soar (support group for widows) I have the opportunity to get to know and care for my peers."
There is such beauty in serving across the generations. There is someone always a little bit ahead of us or a little bit behind us, and it’s a blessing to interact with these people.
Back a few years, Mary ran a daycare in her home. Over the 25 years she worked, she took care of over 250 kids. “I felt like these young families looked to me as a mom to talk to. Of course, they all had problems - we all do, but I could speak God’s truth into their lives. Most were not church-going families, so I was able to teach the kids songs, and pray with them, and teach them that God was in their life and in their world.”
Years later Mary attended the wedding of one of her childcare kids. During the toast, the groom said, “I was one of the lucky ones that got to grow up at Mary’s house.” What a wonderful testament to boldly sharing God’s love through the generations, wherever God has you.
Have the COVID restrictions slowed Mary down? Yes! Many of her ministry opportunities aren’t currently meeting. She misses the friends she used to interact with via ministry. But God is still using Mary when she is at home. “I feel my biggest responsibility right now is remembering people in prayer – I have so many to pray for. That’s something we all can do.”
Mary attends services on Sundays and loves being around people and in the atmosphere of worshipping together. She wants to remind people to slow down, take a few minutes more than the quick ‘hello.’ She encourages us to stop and find out how people really are or take the time to just give people a call.
Thank you, Mary, for how you reach across the generations and share all that you are. We appreciate how you teach us to follow God more closely through your actions.