For many years we ran a Spotlight On Service column in our newsletter, written and edited by John Daubney. John would interview members of the Unity community about their own sacred service to our ministry. This is a first installment in a new edition of Spotlight On Service by Peggy Kaufmann and perhaps other contributors.

by Peggy Kaufmann

Roger was a long-time congregant and leader of music at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church and he first connected with Unity when Debra Burger invited him to be a guest musician at a service in 2003.  Further invitations and a growing relationship with the church ensued.  Unity had been on his radar screen because of our connection to A Course in Miracles.

Eventually, he started doing music at Unity more regularly, but it took him a long time to make the complete shift over.  What finally convinced him was that Rev. Jim Fuller asked him to become music director, telling Roger that he didn’t have to leave St. Vincent’s to come to Unity.  He could do both.  So, in 2004 we were blessed and Roger became Unity’s music director.

Some years later, he and Mark Shepard began doing the multi-faith 6:00 PM Sunday evening service monthly, and as it grew, it eventually became a weekly service.  At that time, Rev. Jim and the board offered Roger a full time position with Unity.

Today, Roger’s deep spiritual being exudes into everything he does and he does so much more than he did in the early days.  Of course as music director, each week he plans the music, often learning new pieces, arranging them for the bands, teaching them to the team, rehearsing and then performing on Sundays.

But Roger does so much more.  He designs and manages our website, as well as creating the mailing list and, from time to time, writing a spiritual blog.  He now does the twice weekly newsletter on email, and he also edits the service each week in order to put it online in YouTube.  All of these tasks he does with love and the time necessary to do them right.

And maybe one of your favorite parts of what Roger gives is when he occasionally leads a Sunday service and/or does the talk for the service.  Part of his job is also his spiritual upkeep, which is an aspect of his work that he really enjoys.

Roger is also on the leadership team, which requires several meetings during the week as well as Board meetings.  And right now he is the de facto office administrator, until we are able to hire a professional to take that position.

So, why is Roger highlighted as doing service, you may ask?  Because for Roger, his gifts to Unity transcend way beyond doing his job.  He gives with his whole heart.  He is always available, even on his supposed days off.  He is a member and a central part of our spiritual community as well as an employee.  Roger says that it’s a joy for him to serve this community, especially being a part of the music team.  He especially loves bringing in guests like Daniel Nahmod or Jana Stanfield, which he finds truly inspiring.

We hope that Roger will always be fulfilled enough to play a central part in Unity, both as our assistant minister and music director, and also as a member.  Our community is truly enriched and fed through his being!