Journeys of Faith: Stories from our Members
Every person who walks through the doors of our church has a story. For many of us, the discovery of this wonderful and welcoming faith community has made a profound difference in our lives. Spirit of Peace UCC is a place where we pray together and play together, where we care deeply for each other and share our lives -- our joys and sorrows, our celebrations and our challenges. We treasure the opportunity to hear each other's stories and to understand the individual faith journeys that have brought each of us to this place. Here, we share some of our stories.
Dan...
I actually found this community of faith two times. First, when in their many personal ministries, they blessed me in a time of need, I attended a few times, and felt accepted. But as I then still belonged to another church, I only attended occasionally.
I don't go to church to find God. I find God in the wider world. I see him and hear him in the people I see and meet ever day. I have my own ministry and calling, serving the God of my understanding in a very personal way. I attend church to be filled up again, after pouring myself out all week. So when the church I had been attending became draining instead of filling, I stopped attending weekly services. Until I found Spirit of Peace UCC.
I had heard Pastor Dave speak twice as guest minister at my church, and was completely taken with the honest, open faith that seemed to parallel my own. So when I learned that he was now the part-time pastor at Spirit of Peace, I quickly found my way here a second time.
I find here a group of people who truly enjoy each other, and willingly accept new friends into their hearts. I find many who actively live their beliefs about serving humanity and all of God's creation. I find inter-generational love and caring and affections. I find believers who are quick to love and slow to judge, as my understanding of Jesus would have me do, too. I observe no pretense, no self-righteous, no selfishness and no condemnation here. If Christians are called to be “Christ-like”, I find people here that remind me of the Jesus that I love.
I've made all the stops in my journey to find the God of my understanding. The trusting faith of a child; the rejection of God in my teens; in my twenties living a double life as a non-believing churchgoer; around thirty, a sudden spiritual transformation in a crisis; in my thirties and forties, raising a church-going family, becoming a zealous but self-righteous Christian, then becoming angry at God, denying God's existence once again. Now and for the past 10 years, I've experienced the gentle path of personal recovery and spiritual growth. I have found a gracious, loving God, resembling the God of my childhood, once again.
Gratefully, I've found a church home within this community of believers at Spirit of Peace UCC.
Suzi...
The thing I remember most is that I had been searching for so long -- I desperately wanted a faith community where I could feel at home, where I could feel safe and where my children could discover the joy of knowing that there are people who love them and who will be there for them no matter what. It had been several years since we'd had a church home and I was feeling increasingly concerned that I might never find a place where we could all fit in and grow in our faith.
"Where are the liberals??" I pleaded with Catherine during the phone call that would draw me into this group of amazing, vibrant, spiritual and progressive people. "Are they anywhere or am I the only one on the Plateau?"
"We are right here," Catherine answered with a tone that could only be described as a cross between spitfire and spunk. She had been just a voice on the Spirit of Peace voice mail and now she was determined to assure me that I wasn't as alone or isolated as I was beginning to imagine. "Come next Sunday. We want to meet you!" There didn't seem to be a lot of room for argument.
Our first Sunday was Easter. With four-year-old twin girls and our 6th grade daughter in tow, my husband and I walked into the Pine Lake Community Center, not knowing what to expect but safe in the knowledge that we would meet at least one spiritual -- and perhaps even political -- soul mate in Catherine. Little did I know that the car I was admiring in the parking lot -- covered in bumper stickers that proclaimed equality and compassion for all, plead for social justice, world peace and open minds -- would be hers as well. I was right about the spunk.
Within minutes, it became clear that this was a group of people who cared deeply for each other, and knew well of each other's lives, but there was no sense of being outside the circle. They were comfortable, they were engaging, but most of all, they were incredibly gracious and welcoming. If there really was a circle, we were drawn into it immediately -- but with no pressure at all -- an interesting balance that is often tough to find in churches. It quickly felt like a place I could get used to.
Fast forward a few months and I come to the shocking realization that my husband, who is chronically afflicted with a cycling obsession, has left his bike in the garage for about 10 or 15 consecutive Sunday mornings. Ever the cynic, even he had fallen hard for Pastor Dave's impassioned sermons, thought-provoking messages, and genuine and enthusiastic love of God. I was hooked, the kids were hooked, and just a few months after that first impossible-to-resist invitation, we knew we had found the faith community that would become our home.