Audrey Engdahl is the Volunteer of the Month for March. Audrey grew up in local UU churches. Audrey and her husband Rick first came to UUCSS when Rev Liz Maclay was preaching her candidating sermon and were married by Rev. Liz the following year in 2001. They chose to join UUCSS because of Rev. Liz’s sermons, and the church’s commitment to children and social justice. Audrey quickly became very engaged in both music and RE. She and Rick agreed to be youth advisors in 2002. She enjoyed getting to know the youth so well, although helping youth manage the transition to youth leadership sometimes proved challenging. Audrey also has contributed substantially to the UUCSS music program, as a solo player and in a duo with Rick, and now also as one of the leaders of the children’s choir. Her work with Micheal Holmes has allowed UUCSS to develop a stable and ongoing children’s choir.
Audrey believes that UUCSS’s services provide perspectives, words, and uplifting emotional content. When she is the music performer, either individually or as part of a duo, she considers the theme of the sermon, and works to contribute to the arc of the service, starting with a song that lightly introduces the theme, then music that allows the listeners to dig deeper into the theme, and finally closing with music that sends listeners out into the world with movement, action, and a sense of being in the world. She believes that this arc is why people come to church–they come in solo and leave as part of a larger movement.