April 9, 2026

Galilee business manager Kathy Butler didn’t set out to build a nearly thirty year career in church work. She simply said yes.

It began with a call for help around the office. Did anyone in the Galilee congregation know how to use an Excel spreadsheet? Kathy did. She had the skills. She had the willingness. And, as it turned out, she had a gift for recognizing when something felt “right,” even before she could explain why.

Over time, that simple yes became a calling. What started as a few hours in the church office grew into 26 years of faithful, essential work at Galilee, where Kathy became not just the business manager, but the steady presence behind nearly everything that keeps this church running.

In her own words:

“I first began volunteering in the office at Galilee in response to a bulletin announcement requesting someone to help with computer tasks a few hours a week. I knew I had the skill set and the enthusiasm to be of help. The pastor’s wife, Beth Snead, offered to take care of my four-year-old while I volunteered. Everything fell into place beautifully. As the years went by there were more and more opportunities for me to use the gifts God gave me to do meaningful work at Galilee. I continued to say yes when asked if I would help, and every time things just fell into place.

I knew early in my career that I wasn’t going to be happy working at a big accounting firm as an auditor or at a bank as a controller. I didn’t feel led by God to that work. I really struggled trying to figure out what I was meant to do. I am a very literal person, and I wished God would just TELL me what to do. But I have learned over many, many years that oftentimes God tells you what He wants you to do by giving you that feeling in your heart that things are just RIGHT. That is how I’ve felt at Galilee. I think that’s the Holy Spirit; at least it is for me. God knew my future, and he knew that I was going to need a church family to help me through the hard times. Looking back, I can see God’s plan for my life, and I’m so grateful that He provided for me so abundantly. I’ve received much more from Galilee than I have given to the church. I have been truly blessed.”

Kathy often says the church works best when you give yourself to it. Her life at Galilee is a quiet, compelling case for that truth. Not a natural joiner, she found that engaging in small ways led to relationships that bore fruit when the big moments of life came.

Ancient Christians faced lions in the Coliseum. Kathy faced copier jams, payroll, and year-end reports.

Over the years, she became the person who knew how things worked. She balanced budgets, oversaw contracts, and dealt with more than her share of plumbing leaks and air conditioners. Kathy solved problems before most people even knew they existed. More than that, she helped create the conditions for ministry to happen, week after week, year after year.

Being at Galilee has meant more than spreadsheets and expenses, of course. It has meant cooking and delivering meals to those in need. It has meant mentoring a group of high school girls whose bond with Kathy—and with each other—has endured through the years. It has meant answering the phone and learning that someone’s parent, spouse, sibling, or child has died. In those moments, Kathy understood what her real role was, and she gave herself to it fully.

She also discovered something along the way: the community she poured herself into was there for her in return. Galilee became not just a place to serve, but a place where she belonged. Galilee has been her church family in the fullest sense, a family that carried her through her own dark seasons.

Now, after 26 years, Kathy is stepping away from her formal role in the office, but not from the community she has helped build here. She remains part of Galilee—as a cherished friend, a choir member, a volunteer, and a steady presence we will continue to count on.

If you ask her, Kathy will tell you she received more than she gave. Anyone who has watched her all these years might see it differently. But perhaps that’s exactly how a life of faith is meant to feel. It’s a bit like loaves and fishes—humble contributions, given over time, become far more than any one person could have planned to accomplish.