ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) – While serving as mission workers to Japan, Don and Barbara Reber were impressed by the way the Japanese people value their older citizens. Their experiences in Japan so inspired Barbara that she began to dream of a volunteer service program that would allow older adults to share the faith and skills they’d developed over a lifetime.
Barbara Reber was honored as the co-founder of the SOOP program on Friday, Oct. 29, when a group of more than 60 people gathered at Belmont Mennonite Church, Elkhart, to celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary.
It was when Reber became a representative for Mennonite Association of Retired Persons that she finally had the platform from which to present her idea for a volunteer program for older people. Others were immediately attracted to the idea.
“In Japan, we saw older people valued and appreciated. They were treated with a respect we didn’t see in America,” Reber said. “I [wanted] a program that would allow our older people to share their gifts and talents in their retirement years.”
Reber’s dream came to fruition in the SOOP program. Started in 1990 through her collaborative efforts with Suzanne Lind of Mennonite Board of Missions (a predecessor agency of Mennonite Mission Network), SOOP has now expanded into a volunteer program that attracts people of all ages. To date, 2,438 volunteers have served at more than 70 SOOP locations in the United States and Canada.
Del Hershberger, Mission Network Christian Service director, says there is a trend of people looking to create ways of weaving service into their lives.
“We are excited to see more and more people at various points in their lives who are exploring opportunities for service outside their own communities,” Hershberger said.
Also recognized at the 20th anniversary were Eli and Paula Stoltzfus, Goshen, Ind., who were part of the original group of SOOP volunteers, and who continue to volunteer today.
Phyllis and William Miller of Goshen, attended the anniversary luncheon and said they have been SOOP volunteers for the past five years, serving in Lakewood, Fla.; Waco, Texas; and Brownsville, Texas.
“We see entire families serving together [at SOOP locations],” Phyllis said. “It’s a program everyone can get involved in.”
Marian Hostetler of Elkhart also attended the luncheon and is a SOOP volunteer who has served in Phoenix, Ariz., and at a Hopi Indian school, also in Arizona.
“So many people I know like to travel,” Hostetler said. “With SOOP, I get to travel, meet new people, and do service.”
At the end of the luncheon, people lingered, reconnecting with one another and sharing stories of places they’d served and people they’d served with. It had the feel of a family reunion.
Reber expressed her satisfaction with the way the program has developed over the years. “I’m just thrilled the SOOP program is still alive and people who were serving 20 years ago are still serving today,” she said.
