Volunteer Highlight: Cathy Brennan
We love when volunteer needs at Summit correspond with our volunteers’ passions. We encourage people to consider volunteering because we know it’s good for people to invest in service that makes their heart beat faster and because we know it’s oftentimes the next step for people to connect in community. Cathy Brennan is a volunteer at the Lake Mary campus, where she uses her God-given talents to serve others. Cathy moved to Florida from New York when she was 8 years old. Her father accepted a job here in Orlando, so the family moved south. Years later, the first person to introduce Cathy to Summit was her daughter. She was in one of the worship bands, so Cathy would come to support her daughter on weeks when her band would play. Cathy’s teenage son would come on those weeks, too, and she noticed how he leaned in, literally, during the service—his body language giving away his interest in each sermon. Thrilled by his intrigue with the church, they started attending regularly. Her son has since moved to join the Coast Guard, and Cathy now calls Summit her church home.
Cathy rotates volunteering with First Impressions and Base Camp each month. Her decision to begin serving was simply a response to a need. She explains, “There was a request for volunteers to pass out the bulletins on Sunday morning. I thought that was pretty minimal, and I am here anyway, so why shouldn't I?” Her favorite part about serving in Base Camp is being there to help kids learn fun, truth-filled lessons. She loves how accepting the kids are and also how she can be reminded of important Scriptural truths while she’s serving.
Cathy recently joined the Prayer Team as well, but her commitment to pray for the people of Summit began even before her new volunteer opportunity. Cathy started praying on her own each week at the Herndon campus for the student leaders and students of Surge and The Edge. She feels like praying for them is her calling and a way that she can best serve Summit. The faithfulness of the student leaders who continue to serve each week in light of busy schedules is something that encourages her to pray. She believes that the teens at Summit are the future leaders of the church, and that’s why she commits to praying for them.
When she isn’t volunteering at Summit, you can find Cathy gardening, playing tennis with her husband, traveling to national parks with their daughter, and babysitting their sweet granddaughter.