Bob and Linda Knutson
Bob and can be found, at any time, at St. Elizabeth’s, Burien, either somewhere on a ladder or boom lift, up on the roof or down in the bowels of the building fixing fixtures, changing bulbs, repairing doors, installing sump pumps or cleaning up some mess or another. On those rare occasions when he is not there, someone will inevitably utter the phrase: “Call Bob.”
Bob’s wife, Linda Knutson, in her service as Treasurer of St. Elizabeth’s, has reworked the church’s chaotic financials and sought out the help of the Diocese in resolving some troubling anomalies. Her efforts have made our financial dynamics far more transparent and trustworthy to the parish. Her persistence and influence have been essential on the church’s road toward more reliable solvency.
Beyond their roles in the church, Bob and Linda take care of their fellow parishioners. A while back, they took a lead role in bringing one of those parishioners back to Burien from South Sudan where a promised career opportunity fell through because of the conflict. Upon his return, Bob and Linda put him up in a spare room of their house until he could get on his feet financially and then they took on the complicated task of bringing his children to Burien from Kenya, where they had gone to get away from the conflict in South Sudan. Bob and Linda, also without hesitation, took in another young man down on his luck, who had come to St. Elizabeth just looking for a friendly community.
Past decisions on deferred maintenance led to a series of near catastrophic floods in various parts of the building at St. Elizabeth. Every time, Bob and Linda were on the scene with mops, towels and cell phones, contacting contractors, plumbers and clean-up crews, and finding ways for the church to pay these good people for their services.
These are just a few of the ways that Bob and Linda serve others, and all of it with grace, persistence and joy in Christ, not to mention a delightful sense of humor.
John Long
John Long is a lifelong member of St. Timothy, Chehalis, and is currently serving as our Junior Warden of the Vestry. He served as Senior Warden in during the transition when there was no sitting rector, so he was responsible for the day to day operations of the church and was found on site at the church from sun up to sun down every day, faithfully.
When a Rector was called, John continued to ensure that necessities large and small were met at our church. Most notably he has coordinated with supply clergy since Sept. 2016 when St. Timothy’s faced yet another transition. John is at the church every Wednesday to open the church for midweek services, and he is there every Thursday working on facilities maintenance to keep the building humming. On Sundays, John is the first to arrive and get the coffee going and the heat on for everyone to arrive to a comfortable environment, and he is the last to leave, making sure every door is checked, every table wiped, every dish dried and the trash cans on the corner.
John serves in the Mobile Ministry homeless feeding program at least once each month but there have been month he has made himself available for the task every Saturday. He represents St. Timothy at a variety of activities from Christmas gift distribution by our local Salvation Army to the Kids Kloset school supply distribution.
But more than that, John is a faithful servant who constantly thinks of the good of his church and others above himself. He is the first to offer a hand shake or hug. He is open and loving even with those in crisis, and he always has a smile on his face and a word of encouragement. He always answers his phone, and he makes himself available to offer counsel whenever called upon. John Long embodies the light of Christ among us in this world.
