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| Benji's Dedication Ceremony Day! |
As it’s currently sick season, especially for toddlers, we weren’t able to make it to church last weekend. Thankfully we live in an age where services in many churches are streamed online, ours included. As I was listening to the sermon this afternoon, I was struck by the closing point in our pastor’s message as he wrapped up a series on Colossians. Pastor Matt ended with Colossians 4:17 which speaks of the ministry God has given to each of us to fulfill (also seen in 2 Timothy 4:5). He broke it down for us before saying, “and if I had time, I would call everyone in this room out by their first name and look you in the face and say, ‘fulfill your ministry. God has given you a unique assignment and I don’t know what that is. Your ministry is not my ministry. My ministry is not your ministry… Use your gifts, and your experiences, your strengths, your struggles, your accomplishments, all that God has put into your life, use those to fulfill your ministry.’” (Watson. M.) The day before this sermon was preached, I wrote a blog post about the burden I feel for sharing my writing, that I felt God had gifted me with this passion and skill-set for some reason. Pastor Matt’s closing message affirmed to me that we each have our own calling, our own ministry. As I work to figure out what my specific ministry is-Writing? Mothering? Teaching? Helping mothers? Writing about mothering? All or none of the above?- I thought I could fill in some gaps in my “sabbatical” from blogging. Since this blog post and time of introspection was brought on by a sermon, I figured why not reflect on our church journey over the last few years.
If you were to scroll my feed, it would only be a few posts down that you’d see one titled “Faith and Rainbows” (also linked below). In this post, I shared a bit of my faith walk up to the point of October 2018. This was shortly after our return from Alaska and we were back to living in a place where churches were readily available. But which one to attend? What congregation of people would support us as a newly married couple, new to the area we were living in? Which pastor would preach God’s word with diligence to scriptural accuracy? I was so new to studying scripture that I needed to know whoever was preaching was sharing messages straight from the Bible, not making vague references to it. We spent months visiting churches, sometimes calculating service times so we could attend two different churches in one Sunday. It’s tough when you’re seeking something that typically only occurs at a set time one day a week. We were both aching to fill a need in our spiritual lives that we hadn’t had easy access to in the four years we spent in the villages. Week after week, service after service, we left churches feeling as if the pastor, congregation, beliefs, etc. just weren’t the right fit for us.
Finally, after about 5 months, in November of 2018 we visited a church that checked all the boxes. The congregation was a good size, the pastor preached from the Bible in a way that connected, we walked away with new insights and deeper understanding of the verses studied each week, and church members welcomed us with open arms. We soon stopped attending other services and focused our time on getting to know the Community Bible Church (CBC) congregation. We faithfully attended, connected with some other families, got to know the pastor, and both felt our spiritual needs were met in our current stage of life. We did worry a bit about the lack of couples in our specific season of life, but we were willing to push that to the side as everything else we were hoping for was met in this church.
Almost a year after our first visit to CBC, I was able to share my faith with the church community through being baptized. Unlike an infant’s baptism in some denominations (as in the Presbyterian church I grew up attending), a believer’s baptism is a public profession of one’s personal faith. In lieu of infant baptism, churches that practice believer’s baptisms also offer baby dedications (more to come on this later). Whereas I was sprinkled in my baptism as an infant, at CBC I was baptized by full immersion. The other handful of people being baptized were all elementary or middle-school aged and I was a little embarrassed at how old I was compared to them. However, the joy I felt after my baptism was well worth any anxious thoughts I’d had leading up. Multiple people came up to me after the service to share that they were encouraged to see me among the children. To them, it demonstrated that there is no age limit on professing your faith publicly.
Soon after my baptism, Sam and I became members of CBC and also began to teach Sunday School classes for grades 3-5. This definitely intimidated us at first and was a challenge for us (in a good way). It also helped us lean on each other's strengths as we grew as a couple. I was comfortable with getting the kids engaged in lessons while Sam was able to get across the big ideas of the verses and stories we taught. We enjoyed working with the kids and seeing “aha” moments as they connected themes across scripture and shared their biblical knowledge with us.
We continued to attend CBC throughout the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, watching recorded sermons over the course of many months. When protocols were lifted, we were eager to return to in-person services. It wasn’t until Benjamin was born in December of 2020 that we started to feel a greater need to be surrounded by others in our season of life. CBC felt like home to us and our spiritual needs were being met, but we were the only family in the newborn stage. In the best of circumstances that is a big transition, but especially during the pandemic when we were isolated in so many ways, we were especially in need of a “village”. We also weren’t ready for another transition, so we trusted that we were in the right church for the time being.
As mentioned earlier, CBC is a church that offers Baby Dedication ceremonies in place of infant baptism. A dedication is just that- parents coming in front of their church family to make a commitment to raise their child in the Christian faith. I was eager for Benjamin’s dedication and thrilled when our pastor reached out and shared that dedications would take place on Mother’s Day. I was able to stand in front of our church family, alongside my husband, on my first Mother’s Day and make a promise to raise my son in the Christian faith. It was a surreal moment to see how far I’d come in my faith walk in such a short time.
Months later, when I was very newly pregnant with Ruth, Sam and I made a very difficult decision to begin visiting new churches. The needs we had for social connection as a family with one child would soon be doubled and we were still one of the only couples with “fresh” babies at CBC. We’d also made a move during our time of attending CBC and we were no longer living in the immediate community. We felt a church a little bit closer to home with more young families in attendance would be best for us in this season. The first time we visited Mt. Calvary Church (MCC), a sea of children got up when it was time for the children's church service. Sam and I had looked at each other and joked that we definitely found a place with plenty of families (but seriously, come for a visit even just to witness the stampede). Then I looked at the weekly flier and saw memos for small groups, family groups, mom meet-ups, even a book club. I think I released a breath I didn’t even know I had been holding. The promise for connection was everywhere we looked. After hearing Pastor Matt’s sermon that first Sunday, we also knew that we’d be getting relatable, relevant, biblically accurate teachings much like we’d been receiving at CBC. We didn’t feel a need to visit any other churches after that.
Since we began to attend church at Mt. Calvary in late winter of 2022, we have made some really great connections. I am involved in a small group which allows me to connect with 3 other women as we study the bible and fellowship together. Twice a month there’s a meet-up called Coffee & Chaos for moms and children that has been fun to attend. I even joined my first book club this fall and have been really enjoying the variety in books chosen and conversation at our monthly gatherings! Sam is involved in his own small group and has taken part in some service projects the church completes within the local community. Benjamin just moved up to the 3-year-old nursery and is always so excited to go to his room. Ruth even gets to play with a little girl who is just one day older than her! Leaving CBC was not an easy choice for us, but Sam and I both feel that Mt. Calvary is exactly where our family is meant to be attending right now.
Another quote from Pastor Matt’s sermon that stood out to me was when he said, “We are brothers and sisters. We are a community. We, in this room.. we are a family. It might be your first Sunday here, look around, this is your family.” (Watson, M.). We are still finding our footing in the larger congregation and are taking our time before becoming members of the church. However, in the short time we have been attending we have felt at home and supported in many ways by the pastor, church staff, and other members. As MCC is located in our town, I look forward to strengthening connections within the congregation and also within our community.
The last few years have been full of spiritual growth for me in all facets of my life. I have worked through some great Bible studies on my own, with other church members, and with Sam. Day by day my personal beliefs are being honed as my knowledge and understanding of scripture grows stronger. Finding a church home that meets our needs in our current season of life has been on the top of our priority list and as of now, MCC feels like that place for us. I look forward to when we are able to hold Ruth’s dedication ceremony in front of this community of believers. I pray that she and Benjamin will one day share the same faith that I do and feel led to profess that faith through baptism. I also pray that the way I lead my life, treat others, face challenges, or even what I write about would be the catalyst for even just one person to want to know more about God and the truth of the gospel. I think that in itself would be a fulfillment of my ministry.
*Click Here for "Faith and Rainows" Blog Post*
Works Cited:
*It’s been awhile friends and I’m winging it on the MLA format here (Mrs. Perelli I trust that you’re reading this- please correct me as needed!) because it’s been awhile and to be honest I’m not even certain I need it for a personal blog. However, some things from school will be ingrained in your brain forever and properly citing sources is apparently one of those for me. So here we are.
Watson, Matt. “Colossians-Christ Alone”. Mount Calvary Church of Elizabethtown, 07, Jan. 2024. Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Sermon.
The referenced sermon can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/yi-h3_fvX0s?si=qvSvE6EMrtp7uwVV
Image Credit for Col. 4:17: https://writethemonmyheart.com/2016/07/20/fulfill-your-calling/
