In Sunday service, we are focused on the message and the music, and we don’t necessarily take note of the hands that make it all come together. As we flow in and out of the sanctuary, enjoying the sound of the piano or organ preparing our hearts for worship, there is a corps of volunteers behind the scenes making services run smoothly. Harry and Sheryl Evans are two of the people who make attending Covenant that sweet experience.
The Evanses are fixtures at church, where Harry is in charge of the ushers and seating — a role rather like the “stage manager” of sanctuary services. Sheryl is a choir regular who plays the piano and organ beautifully when she substitutes for music director Michael Shuman several times a year.
Their service to Covenant is a continuation of a lifetime of service in the public sector. Harry and Sheryl are both retired from the sorts of fields that keep society afloat. He worked retired after 29 years with Austin Fire Department, where he last served as Chief of Staff, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department. Sheryl is a retired educator who taught in the classroom for 19 years, then served as the school librarian for 10 years. Meanwhile, she was the longtime principal organist/pianist at a Lutheran church in Austin.
After decades of active membership at their former church, where they raised their three children, the Evanses realized they were longing for a different, more intimate worship experience. They started visiting churches, found Covenant and joined within a year. That was October 2017.
“When we tried Covenant, it was so different,” Sheryl said. “I felt for the first time in years that I was worshipping. Not just doing ‘the things.’ It felt different than any place else we visited. The teaching was wonderful, the music was so good. Jill (Williams) and Jon (Wasson) were equally as skilled as Thomas (Daniel).”
Harry recalls, “We had no intention of getting involved right away. At first it was just, ‘Let’s enjoy sitting together for a change, enjoy worshipping together.’ “
But that November, the Sutherland Springs church shootings happened near San Antonio, and Harry, with his background in emergency planning, got involved as part of the necessary risk analysis and preparedness planning for the church. He helped to design and continues to implement the emergency plans that keep us safe each Sunday.
A little over two years later, COVID-19 came along, and Harry found himself on the church’s pandemic task force.
“Thomas said to me during COVID, ‘Harry, how do we get people in and out safely?’ ” In response, Harry accepted a supervisory role managing the ushers and directing sanctuary set-up, in order to implement safe traffic flows and social distancing. He’s still in that role today.
When over 2,100 people showed up for Easter and Christmas services this past year, the puzzle of where to safely seat everyone was Harry’s job. But he quickly points out that the work is teamwork: “It takes an army of people to produce that.”
“Covenant is very deliberate and purposeful about creating an environment where people feel valued and engaged,” Harry said. “Our leadership takes those extra steps to support the staff and volunteers and keeps it a great place to work and serve. What happens on Sunday is the result of a high level of professionalism the other six days of the week. That’s why you find some extraordinary people volunteering here.”
And it’s the volunteer teams where one really finds community at church, Sheryl added. “If you don’t get involved at a church as large as ours, you don’t get to know anyone, because community is everything.”
And recently, when their granddaughter miraculously survived a severe road accident, Harry and Sheryl saw the community turn and serve their own family. “It’s amazing to come to a place where people know you, and they love you,” Harry said. He attributes his granddaughter’s unlikely recovery to the storm of prayer that happened in response to her accident. “This year God showed us the power of prayer through our family at Covenant.”
This summer you’ll find Harry in the entrance hall of the Sanctuary, and Sheryl will be in the choir or at the piano. Please say hello to them as they serve at Covenant.
