WEBVTT 00:00:03.665 --> 00:00:07.793 Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have conversations about faith and hope. 00:00:07.793 --> 00:00:14.503 Hope is one church made of people living out their faith through two expressions in person and online. 00:00:14.503 --> 00:00:21.545 We believe a hybrid faith experience can lead to a growing influence in our community and our world for the sake of others. 00:00:21.545 --> 00:00:23.760 Welcome to Hope. 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:32.360 Hi everyone. 00:00:32.360 --> 00:00:36.871 My name is Ashley Black and I am your host today on the Meet Hope podcast. 00:00:36.871 --> 00:00:39.366 It is so great to have you here as a listener. 00:00:39.366 --> 00:00:55.432 As you know, from time to time we talk to different staff people at Hope, and today I'm so excited because we're talking with two of our people who, I would say, are some of the first faces that you might see if you come into the building during the week, and that is Hope Furlow and Carol Boyton. 00:00:55.432 --> 00:01:01.825 They're both on staff here and I want them to share a little bit about themselves, so I'm going to ask them to introduce themselves. 00:01:01.825 --> 00:01:02.848 So why don't we get started? 00:01:02.848 --> 00:01:05.920 So who would like to go first? 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:08.007 Hope, why don't you tell us a little bit about? 00:01:08.027 --> 00:01:08.328 yourself. 00:01:08.328 --> 00:01:12.530 I have been married to my husband, jonathan, for 32 years. 00:01:12.530 --> 00:01:33.388 We have two daughters Lauren is 26, married, living in Kentucky and pursuing her doctorate of clinical psychology at Marshall University, and Kristen is 20 and she's a senior at Eastern University, majoring in early childhood education and special ed. 00:01:33.388 --> 00:01:35.093 And we have two cats. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:36.783 And what is your? 00:01:36.843 --> 00:01:37.727 role here on staff. 00:01:37.727 --> 00:01:52.430 My technical title is receptionist and care coordinator but that has kind of evolved into mostly offering administrative support to our unbelievable and huge food pantry. 00:01:52.430 --> 00:01:58.290 Helping with that there's a lot of paperwork, an organization involved. 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:07.689 I'm sure they're very grateful for you and I know I usually see you doing food pantry paperwork at the front desk and I think, while I'm really glad, we have Hope to do that because it looks like a lot. 00:02:07.689 --> 00:02:10.421 Thank you, you handle it well, carol. 00:02:10.682 --> 00:02:11.727 Tell us a little bit about yourself. 00:02:11.727 --> 00:02:13.947 Hi, I'm Carol Boynton. 00:02:13.947 --> 00:02:17.289 I'm married to Matthew Boynton for 29 years. 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:26.032 We have two children Christian, who is 24, and he is a graduate of James Madison University. 00:02:26.032 --> 00:02:47.469 He majored in international business and Spanish and now he's working for the Peace Corps in Guatemala he's got another year and a half to go and my daughter, olivia, she is also a graduate of James Madison University and she is right now abroad in Italy, and she is an au pair. 00:02:47.469 --> 00:02:54.223 Your kids are all over the world right now they are, they're graduated, and all over the world we are certainly empty nesters. 00:02:54.223 --> 00:02:55.085 Do you miss them? 00:02:55.085 --> 00:02:56.228 Oh, a ton. 00:02:56.367 --> 00:02:59.645 Yeah, yeah, so tell us what is your role here on staff. 00:03:00.661 --> 00:03:10.868 I am the administrative assistant to Pastor Jeff for 12 years and I'm also the office manager for the main office Awesome. 00:03:11.420 --> 00:03:22.527 So I wanted our listeners to have a little bit of an idea about how you wound up where you are, so would you both mind sharing with us how did you come to hope and how you wound up on staff? 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:35.569 I think it was around 2016, my family made a very difficult, heartbreaking decision to leave our previous church, so we were kind of church shopping and nothing was really sitting right. 00:03:35.569 --> 00:03:41.733 We came to hope and within five minutes in the service, I knew this was home. 00:03:41.733 --> 00:03:49.027 I mean, there was no doubt whatsoever and in fact, it was Carol's son, christian, who was the first person that greeted me here. 00:03:49.269 --> 00:03:49.808 That's so cool. 00:03:49.808 --> 00:03:50.330 Did you know that? 00:03:50.330 --> 00:03:51.812 I did know that. 00:03:51.932 --> 00:03:56.527 Yeah, did your family also feel like it clicked hope, or did you? 00:03:56.527 --> 00:03:57.629 Was it you first? 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:08.747 It was me first and then, as Lauren, had already gone off to college, so it wasn't her, but it was Kristen and she was upset to leave the youth group. 00:04:08.747 --> 00:04:18.610 She knew, but she came to love it here, absolutely Love the youth group, made fantastic friends and she feels very much at home here now as well. 00:04:18.930 --> 00:04:19.653 That's awesome. 00:04:19.653 --> 00:04:22.516 And then so how did you wind up working at Hope? 00:04:23.701 --> 00:04:38.764 I think my reputation for organizing preceded me, and when the previous receptionist decided that she was going to take another role here at Hope, Carol called me and said would you be interested? 00:04:39.701 --> 00:04:53.120 I do remember us talking about, like Carol asking about different people and I'm I know multiple of us at the time that were like Hope furlough, like at the time you volunteered for me in youth ministry and I was just like Hope keeps me so organized. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.120 If she wants to work here, I would take her in a heartbeat. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.711 It was funny because I didn't never really peg that I would have a spiritual gift. 00:04:59.711 --> 00:05:10.531 And I did a study with Marilyn and I finally realized, hey, my incredible organization is what my spiritual gets. 00:05:10.692 --> 00:05:11.560 It absolutely is. 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:14.117 This place would not run if it we didn't have you. 00:05:14.117 --> 00:05:14.540 Thank you. 00:05:15.081 --> 00:05:16.165 Place out every day here. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:17.524 Yeah, Carol, what about you? 00:05:17.524 --> 00:05:17.987 So how? 00:05:18.028 --> 00:05:18.819 long have you been on staff? 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:27.463 I've been on staff for 12 years here, and that is about the same time that we came over and, similar to you, we were church. 00:05:27.545 --> 00:05:39.088 We found ourselves church shopping and we had past Hope pretty much every day on the way to the skate zone from my house, driving my son to hockey every day. 00:05:39.088 --> 00:05:52.694 And so when we were looking for a new church, it was just natural to come here, and it was the summertime and we were probably here for the third Sunday in a row. 00:05:52.694 --> 00:06:15.204 We were sitting outside this one Sunday in the summer and the vans pulled up from the return of a mission trip and we saw multiple vans emptying out with high school or middle school I don't know which one it was, but my children saw that as coming into. 00:06:15.204 --> 00:06:42.387 They were about coming into middle school at the time and they saw that and it was so exciting that they were about to be a part of that, and so we made the switch, which was difficult, but both my children were part of youth group for seven years three years as middle school and four years as in high school and it was life changing for both of them. 00:06:43.461 --> 00:06:51.670 And then at some point along the way you went up, or yeah, so right when we came over I applied for a position in the preschool. 00:06:51.670 --> 00:06:58.213 First, heather was the director at the time and she hired me as the two and a half lead teacher. 00:06:58.213 --> 00:07:02.202 I lasted one year, that was it. 00:07:02.202 --> 00:07:17.451 And then there was a position open in the office and it had been vacant for a while for Pastor Jeff's administrative assistant and it was just clear that I was more. 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:30.211 It was a better fit for the office than the preschool and yeah, Well, I mean, I'm glad you ended up where you are and you've interacted with my now three-year-old many times and you love him very well. 00:07:30.211 --> 00:07:35.569 Sure, you were good at that also, but we're glad that you are where you are. 00:07:35.569 --> 00:07:45.920 So you both probably see more of what happens at Hope in a typical week than anybody else because of where you are positioned and we have lots of glass windows and walls here at Hope. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:54.786 And so if somebody who just comes on Sunday or they just pop in for a group, was wondering, like, what's a typical week like here at Hope, how would you describe it to them? 00:07:56.019 --> 00:08:01.680 We have the preschool coming in in the morning, which is definitely very lively and the kids are adorable. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:07.980 When we have our food pantry distributions it is quite hectic out in the parking lot. 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:11.913 We have a lot of outside groups that come in and meet. 00:08:11.913 --> 00:08:15.072 The phone tends to ring nonstop. 00:08:15.072 --> 00:08:17.060 Some days it's very busy yeah. 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:18.807 It is very busy. 00:08:19.822 --> 00:08:22.172 It feels like it's very busy getting busier. 00:08:22.172 --> 00:08:39.139 We have Red Cross that comes in, lots of outside groups that are regular during the day, during the week kind of rotation that many people that don't come on Sundays will see Small groups too. 00:08:40.753 --> 00:08:41.620 We have Bible studies that come in, yeah. 00:08:43.729 --> 00:08:46.500 So because, like I mentioned, you guys are the first people that people interact with. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:53.375 Or if somebody needs something in one of those groups, the main office is usually where they wind up and they're asking you for help. 00:08:53.375 --> 00:08:53.919 In the morning. 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:56.850 They're asking you for help in some way or to point them where they need to go. 00:08:56.850 --> 00:09:05.594 You guys, you know you have this role of making a good first impression, of welcoming people. 00:09:05.594 --> 00:09:07.945 So what do you think? 00:09:07.945 --> 00:09:12.980 What do you do, what do you try to do that makes the impression you want to make? 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:16.871 What do you try to do so that you represent hope to other people? 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:27.695 Well, I am the person they're going to see first when they come in the door, just by my proximity in the office and to me it's really important to greet somebody. 00:09:27.695 --> 00:09:31.972 Some people come in and you can tell they know where they're going, they've been here before. 00:09:31.972 --> 00:09:38.029 And then somebody will come in and just hesitate a little bit and I get up and go out and ask if I can help them. 00:09:38.029 --> 00:09:40.683 And sometimes they don't even. 00:09:40.683 --> 00:09:47.751 They're not even supposed to be here, they've got the wrong building and it's just about always just smile and how can I help you? 00:09:47.751 --> 00:09:48.674 What can I do for you? 00:09:49.938 --> 00:09:51.422 Is there a question that you get asked the most? 00:09:53.905 --> 00:09:54.466 Where's Dave? 00:09:54.868 --> 00:09:55.087 Dave. 00:09:55.548 --> 00:09:58.975 Yeah, that is mostly the question that we get. 00:10:01.022 --> 00:10:01.724 That's great. 00:10:01.724 --> 00:10:02.144 I love that. 00:10:02.144 --> 00:10:04.110 So, Carol, what would you tell us besides answering? 00:10:04.110 --> 00:10:04.711 Where is Dave? 00:10:04.711 --> 00:10:05.961 What do you try to? 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.706 do To be a good first impression. 00:10:08.706 --> 00:10:15.688 So that would be answering the door, answering the phone Sometimes. 00:10:15.688 --> 00:10:33.451 Sometimes when you pick up the phone, you just don't know what's going to be on the other side, and sometimes it is a bride calling on the best days of her life and looking to set up marriage, mentoring and then a wedding. 00:10:33.451 --> 00:10:45.625 Or this is a time where you're going to meet somebody on the worst day of their life and they're looking to plan a funeral, and these are the types of calls that we get. 00:10:45.625 --> 00:11:13.044 So most often, as Hope said, the calls that we get are going to be for the food pantry and there's lots of listening and support to the needs that some people are asking for, and we try to be hope to all the calls that come in and direct them to where they're going to get the ministry support that they need or the resources that they're looking for. 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:20.869 And I feel like that's not just like knowing what to say or knowing how to act, but it comes from like a deeper place for both of you. 00:11:20.869 --> 00:11:28.168 Like I feel like I've learned so much about how to welcome people or how to greet people from being around you for a little while. 00:11:28.168 --> 00:11:33.648 My desk was directly opposite, carol, so I would listen to you and through the phone and just learn so much about that from you. 00:11:33.648 --> 00:11:41.467 And so is there anything more that you would say about that, about how it becomes kind of like a posture not just it's not just a script that you're working from? 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:46.567 No, every call, every person walking in it is never the same. 00:11:46.567 --> 00:12:02.966 Everyone has different needs and it's so much listening and not rushing somebody's story Because it might have taken them so much time to either come in or call that. 00:12:02.966 --> 00:12:22.610 This is the time you need to spend so, and I've learned so much from people who have come before me and Vicki, who was in the office for so long, and our friend Nancy, who was in the office for so long, and both have moved on from hope at this point. 00:12:22.610 --> 00:13:00.908 However, I learned just by being in the office and it's an open space so you can hear conversations no matter where you are in the office and I would hear them pray with people over the phone, because that's what somebody needed, and it's a blessing to me to be in the office and in that space and just to hear one side and to know that these people are being prayed for and to know that that is our responsibility too, being passed on to us, that this is what we have the privilege of doing now for people that call. 00:13:02.020 --> 00:13:02.383 That's so great. 00:13:02.383 --> 00:13:03.561 I love that, do you? 00:13:03.561 --> 00:13:11.346 I know hope you had been sharing with us a story, like a particular moment that came to mind that kind of relates to what Carol was saying. 00:13:11.346 --> 00:13:12.725 Do you wanna share that with us? 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:32.548 We have a lot of groups that meet here, like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Recovery International, and two women had come in for one of these groups and I was chatting with them it was their first time and she said to me very sincerely, she said thank you for letting us meet here. 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:42.105 She said a lot of people don't want us in their space and it just really got to me because I thought they've had the courage to come to these meetings. 00:13:42.105 --> 00:13:50.364 They're working on really hard stuff and it's not insignificant that we welcome them here just to use our space. 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:56.224 Yeah, carol, you were saying something that you heard Pastor Rick say recently that stuck out to you. 00:13:56.224 --> 00:13:57.788 That was kind of related to that right. 00:13:58.643 --> 00:13:58.745 I did. 00:13:58.745 --> 00:14:25.889 I was listening to a message he had, he had shared recently, that for us not to be a barrier to somebody who is trying to come closer to God and so for us being the front voice, the front face, the first of somebody coming into the building, we just wanna remove ourselves as a barrier so that and not be in the way of somebody trying to come closer to a relationship with. 00:14:25.931 --> 00:14:26.211 Jesus. 00:14:26.211 --> 00:14:26.841 I love that. 00:14:26.841 --> 00:14:27.344 I love that. 00:14:27.344 --> 00:14:40.725 I know Pastor Jeff often talks about the intention behind there being like, when you're in the building, that there's lots of glass windows and glass walls so that you can see worship happening, and so that's not a barrier to knowing what you're experiencing. 00:14:40.725 --> 00:14:48.967 But then I also love what you guys are saying about the way you interact with someone and any way you can being a safe space for them to. 00:14:48.967 --> 00:14:58.203 Not everybody has a positive experience when they walk into a church, and so to be able to be a place like that for people, I think, is that can be life changing. 00:14:58.203 --> 00:15:00.325 Yeah, so do you guys have? 00:15:00.325 --> 00:15:04.884 What is the favorite, what is your favorite part of your job here? 00:15:05.956 --> 00:15:07.940 My favorite part is my co-workers. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:10.303 Yeah, I love coming to work. 00:15:10.303 --> 00:15:12.729 I have so much fun here. 00:15:12.729 --> 00:15:15.341 It's not a chore, dude, we didn't pay. 00:15:15.341 --> 00:15:16.164 Hope to say this. 00:15:16.304 --> 00:15:16.586 We didn't. 00:15:16.586 --> 00:15:26.607 What is it that is fun about your co-worker, about our co-workers, about the environment here? 00:15:27.856 --> 00:15:46.724 we, just we support each other in every way, whether it's you know, there's a 600 letter mailing that has to go out, or somebody's having a life crisis a problem of sickness or something or just something great happen, like Carol's son got in the Peace Corps. 00:15:46.724 --> 00:15:51.860 I mean, it's not just the job, it's a family, it's our. 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:53.605 This Carol said, it's our small group. 00:15:53.785 --> 00:15:54.167 Mm-hmm. 00:15:54.167 --> 00:15:56.735 Yeah, I know I always appreciate like it doesn't matter. 00:15:56.735 --> 00:16:02.215 There can be something that I know like has to get done on my end and I'm like feeling really overwhelmed by it. 00:16:02.215 --> 00:16:03.399 I'm like how am I gonna do this? 00:16:03.399 --> 00:16:06.695 And I never run into someone saying like why can't help you with that? 00:16:06.695 --> 00:16:19.914 Like it may not be even related to what you need to do that day, and not just you guys, but our other staff, like will always Find a way to try and make it where they're helpful, and I always appreciate that and I love to do that. 00:16:20.054 --> 00:16:24.288 I love what I can help you or Jason or the preschool. 00:16:24.288 --> 00:16:25.955 That's a privilege, yeah. 00:16:26.797 --> 00:16:54.621 I think it's, it's the attitude of the front office, the main office, that it is an all hands on deck kind of experience that hope and sue and and myself share, that when there's a ministry having an event or there's something that is Churchwide, you know it's everybody's hands go towards that effort and and to get it done. 00:16:54.621 --> 00:16:57.711 And I love, I love that attitude, yeah. 00:16:57.791 --> 00:17:10.603 I mean, I, I know I'm, I'm so appreciative both of you and I know the rest of our staff would say that too that you both give off this attitude of like I feel like I can come talk to you about anything and like, carol, you're always excited for me, even though you may not know like what. 00:17:10.603 --> 00:17:12.780 It is that Exactly this that I'm talking about. 00:17:12.780 --> 00:17:12.840 It. 00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:25.214 Like you're, I know you're always be excited and hope, like I always kind of joke, you're kind of like our secret cheerleader, like you don't want people to see you, like when you decorate someone's desk, or Right now, uh, bodie is the employee of the month in the main office. 00:17:25.214 --> 00:17:37.116 But but you do, you both do these little things to just create this warm, welcoming environment, that like it's a little extra that you don't have to do, and then it just makes such a difference it does. 00:17:37.317 --> 00:17:41.146 Every day is fun and it doesn't feel like a job. 00:17:41.146 --> 00:17:43.199 Most days it just doesn't. 00:17:43.199 --> 00:17:48.815 I love the people I work with and and the people that I interact with. 00:17:48.815 --> 00:17:51.523 Yeah, it's great. 00:17:51.945 --> 00:17:54.734 So you both are experts at welcoming others. 00:17:54.734 --> 00:18:14.921 I would say I would like to call you experts, so you may not think that, but I think that um, and I know others would agree with me, but there are so many of us in hopes community, where they might people who might be listening, that we also desire to be welcoming towards others, to not be a barrier to someone in their faith and or their experience of church. 00:18:14.921 --> 00:18:16.344 And so what? 00:18:16.344 --> 00:18:25.548 How would you encourage other people to To practice being welcoming in their lives, whether it's at church, like if they volunteer here, or if it's in their own jobs? 00:18:25.548 --> 00:18:26.916 Would you say? 00:18:27.438 --> 00:18:36.567 it's very cliche, but you never know what someone is going through, so they may be abrupt with you, but you don't know. 00:18:36.567 --> 00:18:38.555 Did they just decide to get divorced? 00:18:38.555 --> 00:18:40.941 Did they just find out they had cancer? 00:18:40.941 --> 00:18:42.384 Did they just lose their job? 00:18:42.384 --> 00:18:51.547 I mean just always Approaching people as kindly and lovingly as you can, because you don't know their story. 00:18:51.827 --> 00:18:52.469 Yeah that's great. 00:18:54.215 --> 00:18:55.137 That's the perfect answer. 00:18:55.137 --> 00:18:55.719 I share that. 00:18:55.719 --> 00:19:08.887 Yeah, God is in these conversations and and it's a blessing to be able to share their stories sometimes. 00:19:09.976 --> 00:19:15.777 Yeah, and, and you, like you said, god is in these conversations, like God's in every conversation, right, and? 00:19:15.777 --> 00:19:22.439 And it can be so easy to forget that, even when you're just pointing someone like where I can't find this group, where's room 11? 00:19:22.439 --> 00:19:29.914 You know, like that, having that like lens through which you interact with people, yeah, definitely. 00:19:30.941 --> 00:19:33.194 Well, thank you both for doing this podcast with me. 00:19:33.194 --> 00:19:42.394 I know it was like you're a little nervous, but I think it was great to talk to you, so thank you for sharing your stories with us and teaching us how to welcome others listeners. 00:19:42.394 --> 00:19:44.608 We're so glad that you joined us. 00:19:44.608 --> 00:19:49.126 Stay to listen, and we hope that you are enjoying the meet hope podcast. 00:19:49.126 --> 00:20:03.046 If this is an episode that meant something to you, we would encourage you to share it with your friends or on your social media, or text it or email it to someone, and we will be back next week with another episode, and so, until then, we hope that you have a very great day. 00:20:07.715 --> 00:20:12.411 Thanks for being a part of the hope community as we continue our conversations about faith and hope. 00:20:12.411 --> 00:20:16.615 If you don't already, please join us for worship on Sundays or on demand. 00:20:16.615 --> 00:20:22.705 You can learn more at meet hope org or find us on socials at meet hope church.