I grew up in Detroit Michigan and it was there that I attended a congregational church for a few years when I was a young child. My family wasn’t particularly religious; we attended this church for only a few years. Even so, I have very warm memories of that church; Advent workshops where we made Christmas decorations, a sandbox in my kindergarten room, Sunday school, learning the bible stories that always stay with a young child. I clearly remember reciting the books of the Old and New Testaments and the Twenty-third psalm to the congregation and receiving my 3rd grade bible. It was right after that that things changed in my family and we stopped going to church. I did not attend church again until I came here.
Like many people I came to First Church while looking for a church home. It was 1988, I had just moved to Manchester. My reasons for seeking a church? Frankly, I needed something to do on Sunday mornings because my husband was working midnights and needed the house quiet so he could sleep. Not what I would have called the start of a surprising spiritual journey but that is exactly what it was. Looking back from here I see that there was a definite hole in my life that needed to be filled and God knew it was time to fill it and so in His wisdom, I was lead to this church.
Sunday after Sunday I came to church. I listened to the sermons, I sang the songs, I prayed the prayers, I went to coffee hour, but I can’t say that anything really spoke to me. I felt lost in this big church. It was hard for me to make friends. I didn’t know how to get involved. And I felt kind of like a fish out of water because I didn’t know much about the faith. What I knew about Christianity was stuck in 1963 with the bible lessons I learned in Sunday school.
Then one day John Potter was giving the sermon (I can’t recall what it was about) and he said with great conviction “Jesus loves me, this I know”. It was an odd thing to come out of a sermon but those words jumped right out at me. That was the day my spiritual past and future connected. Jesus did love me. I belonged here. This was the right place to be. That statement was God reintroducing himself to me.
After that I started to get involved with the church. I volunteered in the nursery and when my children were a little older I taught church school. I was hungry to learn more about Christianity and I think I pestered Chris Emerson to distraction with my questions. I participated in the book studies, movies, bible studies, discussions and women’s retreats. The more I learned about Christianity and the more I got to know people in the congregation, the more complete I felt. That hole in my life was filling up.
I came to realize that Christianity is an active religion. The more I participated, the more I knew God and the more I could hear God, who called me for even more participation. I was asked to serve on the nominating board and after that to chair the Outreach Committee. I didn’t know the first thing about church committees, much less how to chair one. At the time I think I really wished that I hadn’t been asked. However I did serve because I wanted to give back to my church that had given me so much. I took more away from those experiences than I gave. I learned a great deal about the church and about the community we serve. And a great deal about myself.
During the time I was on Outreach, I became familiar with the various prison ministries in Manchester. I truly was called, pulled even, to find out more about prison ministry and how I might help out. Again, at first I was a reluctant participant. Frankly I was terrified to go into a prison. I could only imagine what it would be like in there. I was learning to trust God who had so richly rewarded me in my earlier experiences so I followed this lead as well. I began to attend the chapel services at the Goffstown Women’s Prison and volunteer at Shea Farm. Again, I took away so much more than I gave. It was humbling to be able to provide friendship to women who were overcoming such tremendous obstacles in their lives. It was truly a privilege for me to be able to serve that community.
God called me again after hurricane Katrina. When I was watching the destruction on tv I knew I had to go there to help. As our group formed at church and our plans were laid to travel to New Orleans that first year I was so afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do the work, that it would be too hot, too physically demanding. But I did go and the work was hard, and it was hot, but it was one of the most spiritually rewarding experiences of my life. The people that we met in New Orleans had been through so much and the little bit of work we were able to do in that city touched so many people. Seeing the resiliency and faith of the people of New Orleans after the hurricane truly showed me that all things are possible with God.
My spiritual journey in this church of course would not be possible were it not for the people. The people I have worked with, worshipped with and formed good friendships with are really the church. Our diversity of ages, political affiliations, professions, and theologies is truly a gift that God has bestowed on First Church so that we may do the work God intended us to do.
I don’t think it’s easy to be a Christian. It takes roll up your sleeves hard work to spread the gospel. It takes getting along with people and learning how to live together in our diversity. Sometimes the bible is difficult to understand. It takes discipline and practice to discern God’s will for our lives.
What does First Church mean to me? Christianity calls us to spread the gospel through our works. And that call to me comes through this church. First Church is the place and the people that have challenged me to be a Christian. I take that challenge and I’m proud to say I am a member of the First Congregational Church of Manchester.
|
