Sharon Snyder is the Volunteer of the Month for April. In 1997, a good friend’s mother told Sharon she needed to join a UU church or a synagogue because she needed a community. At that time UUCSS was advertising its services in the Washington Post. Sharon saw that Rev. Jim Bank was preaching a sermon on the book The Shipping News, which she had read. She came to the church, liked the sermon, and stayed. Shortly afterwards, she went to her first Women’s Retreat up in the mountains of western Maryland, where she got to know UUCSS women like Maud Clark, Janet Coffin, and Hank Dahlstrom. She continued to attend Women’s Retreats and was on a small committee that organized one. She has helped with the auction, led the Suite Treat with Carey Schneider, and four years ago she joined the choir, which has been an absolute joy. Sharon would recommend that anyone who is interested in making music speak to our choir director, Michael Holmes.
Sharon has given of her organizational expertise and interest to the church in several vital ways over the years. She served on the personnel committee in the early 2000s. Subsequently, in 2015 Kathy Lorr, who was then the VP of Personnel, persuaded Sharon to join the board in that role. Serving as the VP was a great way to get to know Rev. Liz Maclay and Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley and other staff; serving on the board lead to getting to know other members of the congregation that she might not otherwise have met. While her term on the board came during a difficult time for the church and it was a lot of work, it was also very rewarding. Sharon is glad that she was able to be on the board at that time and provide some continuity when other members of the board had to step away. During her term she was on the team that hired our two interim ministers, Rev. Evan Keely and Rev. Lyn Cox, as well as our DRE, Catherine Boyle. Now Sharon leads the negotiating committee as part of our search process for a settled minister. Sharon believes it is an honor to be able to serve UUCSS. She believes that everyone should raise their hand when the time comes.