The Name Tag Advantage

January 29, 2020

Now thus says the Lord, he who created you, he who formed you: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” – Isaiah 43:1

Every week we have fifty to sixty volunteers. As they arrive, they sign in and put on a name tag. The name tag tells the patrons we are here to serve. We are here to ask for help, talk to, laugh with, pray with and in some cases just to bring them another plate. The patrons have the advantage…they know our names.

Names are a funny thing. They give us identity, yet we didn’t even choose them. Our parents decided, often before we were even born, what we should be called. Some names carry on a family name as you are given the same name as your father. Some names honor a special family member or someone who has passed. Some are biblical. Some based on a favorite person or place. Regardless, our name is ours. It makes us uniquely us.

I have always tried to call people by name. Sometimes by the wrong name. LOL!!! When I began to think about it, most jobs I have had, I’ve had a way to find a persons name and taken advantage of that ability. Cafe Central is different. I don’t have the name tag advantage. I was once asked, “How do you know everyone’s name?” I replied, “I ask.” We see some of the same faces week after week so I just began asking them their names. I admittedly had a hard time at first, the names are a little different in Georgia than in Colorado. I casually put them to memory and move on. There is one table of people that I’ve known for quite some time. We joke around, ask how the week has been, how the family is, talk fishing, give hugs and even learned to say “please”. There was one beautiful lady at the table whose name I didn’t know. She smiles and hugs and looks for the same recognition I give everyone else and this week she was so very excited when I knew her name. Sherleen! I have called her by name! 

You may not be able to volunteer at Cafe Central, however I’d like to challenge you this week, as you do the things you normally do…go to the grocery and have Tenia as your cashier, or go to a restaurant and are waited on by D’Von, take a moment to ask, then call them by name.

We were “created”, “formed”, and “called by name”…”we are His!”

Until we “read” again …God Bless!

You can go to our “GIVE” link anytime: https://cafecentralmilledgeville.org/give/

Stephannie Shelton

Stephannie and her husband Doug have been volunteering at Cafe Central for 6 years. They moved from Colorado to Milledgeville Georgia in 2015. That year during Sunday service, the announcement that Cafe Central needed extra help for their Thanksgiving service, brought them for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. They have now served weekly since January 2016. Doug is the volunteer coordinator and member of the Cafe Central Board. Stephannie just likes to talk to, and about, the “family” Cafe Central has become.