Nebraska Synod ELCA

by Amy Buch, Communications Manager

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” – John 10:3

Growing up on a farm, I took many animals to the fair. The judge that often came to Nuckolls County was a man named Dr. Keith Gilster. To this day, I am impressed how he called us all by our full name and not by looking down at a card, a list, or a name tag. “Amy Epley with her tabby cat” he’d announce. My encounters with Dr. Gilster didn’t stop there. In high school, I got involved in livestock judging. Dr. Gilster seemed to be the judge at almost all the events. When he’d see you, it was “Hello, Amy Epley from Nora, NE,” always your name and hometown. As a little kid it took me awhile to realize he was also a professor in the Animal Science Department at UNL. Well, I ended up at UNL in just that department, and he became my Academic Advisor. And guess what? He called every student by their name and where they were from. How? How does one man remember all those names? I don’t know what his superpower was, but I do know one thing. He made us all feel important, even as a little farm kid who fed her cat an egg to enter them in the fair.

I was thinking about this in terms of our theme this month, “Go and… Be Church.” I call those in our congregation my Church Family, but do I know all their names? I don’t. I know many of them… and I do think I try, but so often I fail. I called someone in the church office the name of her sister-in-law just a few weeks ago. God knows all our names, and Keith Gilster’s superpower seemed to be remembering everyone he encountered with great ease. How does it feel when someone calls you by name? Take that one step further… how does it feel when they remember something about you or someone you love? Keith Gilster didn’t have to remember our full names and where we were from, but he did, and it made us feel important. A few weeks ago, shaking hands at church, someone said to my husband, “Good morning, Marshall. How is your mom? I’ve been praying for her.” What’s the super-power in that? She was invested in Marshall, not only his name but something about him and someone of special importance to him. A whole new level. She cared.

Now, thinking of the opposite, how does it feel when someone doesn’t know your name. You THINK they will, and you get a “Do I know you?” or they call you the wrong name. (Sorry, friend in the office.) How often do you hear someone tell a story with a, “Oh I can’t remember their name, it doesn’t matter” and they go on. Your name matters. You were given it at birth. God knows it. Keith Gilster would remember it. We aren’t all superhuman, and we need some grace when we know it’s in the back our brain, but we can’t bring the file up fast enough. Even so, your name matters. When someone remembers it, you FEEL it. It settles a whole lot better in our hearts than a “Hey You!”

The Nebraska Synod’s theme for May is “Go and… Be Church.” The church is us, not the building that we are in. Synod Assembly is coming up and we are all church together. Will I know your name when I see you? Maybe! I also just might be super glad we have name tags. 😉 I’m no Keith Gilster, but each day, I can learn one more name, one more story, and make a conscious effort to connect whether I see you at Synod Assembly, at “church” on Sunday morning, or at the grocery store.  Why? Because you are important and together, WE are the church.