Touching Lives

Do you know the names of everyone at St. Andrew’s?  Of course not!  However, even if you can’t name everyone, there are familiar faces every Sunday when you walk in the door.  Dave Klemmensen is one of those faces.  Dave is one of the people who welcomes you into the Sanctuary, hands you a bulletin, and helps you find a seat.  He makes visitors and members alike feel welcome at worship services.

Dave is a humble man.  He doesn’t think he does anything special.  However, watching this quiet man every Sunday shows how many people he has affected.  Watching him shows how Jesus can and does work through members of St. Andrew’s.  We don’t have to know his name to see how this man radiates Jesus’ love and caring to others.

People are important to Dave.  He knows that God works through people to transform lives.  He understands that personal attention to another person’s needs can bring comfort and joy to both people.  Dave has experienced both the joy of giving to others and the comfort others have given to him.

When Dave is not greeting and ushering people into the Sanctuary, Dave sits in the same place every Sunday.  He is close to the front, right side of the Sanctuary, on the end of the pew.  From this position, amazing interactions occur Sunday after Sunday.  Dave enthusiastically shakes hands with the people surrounding him when the pastor tells the congregation to stand and greet those around them.  You can see the warmth in his eyes as he greets both friends and visitors.  Dave is living out Jesus’ command to love our neighbor.  I have no doubt that by Dave shaking a person’s hand or saying, “Good morning,” with a smile, he has brightened others’ days and lifted their spirits.  In the same way, when a visitor, unsure of where to sit or what to do when they enter the Sanctuary, is guided to their seat by Dave, he is welcoming them in Jesus’ name.  However, those handshakes, greetings and welcomes are only one side of Dave’s story.  The result of his caring for others is often seen later in the church service.  It is then that wordlessly, love, caring and respect are returned to him.

Dave was married for almost 50 years.  He and his wife raised two children of whom he speaks lovingly.  His wife died a few years ago after a very short illness.  It was at that time that I first noticed the two-way connection between Dave and others at St. Andrew’s.  After Dave’s wife died, I began to notice several men walk past Dave as they returned to their seats from Communion.  Each man would pause, squeeze his shoulder, and move on.  It was a quiet testimony to how they were caring for him in his time of grief.  Since that time, I have noticed the men continuing to briefly stop and shake Dave’s hand or touch his shoulder and Dave doing the same for others in need of comfort or encouragement.  These little gestures live out a quote Dave likes from The Power of Becoming by fellow St. Andrew’s member, Paul Mork:  “Touch my hair as you pass my chair, Little Things mean a lot.”

Dave does not care for others in the expectation of receiving anything back from people.  He simply cares because he is living a life as Jesus would have us live.  As a result, time and time again, Jesus’ love comes back to him.  Dave, his friends, and countless others at St. Andrew’s, day after day, quietly care for one another and allow Jesus’ love to shine through them.  I’m proud to count Dave as a friend, a role model and a brother in Christ.