April 28 - Church Girl

Today's devotion focused on how Shauna "grew up" in a church family, which extended into finding her place in her peer groups, on athletic teams, and into her adult life.  The prompt for us was to think about how our experiences as we were growing up shaped us into the Christian women we are today.

Interesting topic.

Greta and I grew up with a Nazarene father and a Quaker mother.   We didn't attend either the Nazarene or the Friends church; rather we worshiped at the Westville Congregational Christian Church a few miles west of us.  Grandma Ritchie attended also, as did our aunt and cousin.  We went to Sunday School, church services, and attended Vacation Bible School.  I do remember going to camp at Quaker Canyon, which was just 5 miles down the road to the east, and going to a few 'meetings' with my grandmother and great-grandmother at the Yearly Meeting House for the Society of Friends in Damascus.

When we moved to Mt. Vernon, all of that changed.  We visited several churches but none of them were like the one we left in Westville.  Finally we became regular attendees of the Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church.  Greta and I attended Sunday School.  Either Mom or Dad would drop us off there, then one of them would either pick us up after or Mom (but rarely Dad) would come to the church service following.  When I began singing in the choir, then my church attendance was needed.  Sometimes I would walk out to the choir loft and see Mom (and sometimes Dad) sitting in the back row in the middle right section, but often someone would be outside waiting for me after the service ended.  When I was 16, then I would drive Greta and me to church services on Sunday morning.

Part of Mom's reluctance to attend church I think stemmed from one minister, who at one point told her she needed to be quiet more during the Women's Circle meetings.  After that she never attended one and her church attendance dropped off too.  Also during my high school years, tension grew between Mom and me and Dad suggested talking with our current minister, which I did several times, but if he talked to Mom at any point, that would have stopped her attendance at church as well.

When they returned to Wooster, Mom said they visited several churches but the people were not friendly.  No one talked to them, so they never returned.  Thus there was no church family in Wooster.  Dad and Mom both are (were) very private about their beliefs and didn't share much with either of us.

Therefore it is remarkable to me that both Greta and I have such strong faith.

When I was at ISU, my roommates and friends on the floor would 'church hop' on Sunday mornings.  There were four churches bordering the east edge of the campus and we would take turns attending them.  Occasionally we would walk a few blocks to the Catholic Church when one of our friends happened to go with us who was Catholic.  Much as I wanted to, I never became involved in any of the campus groups, such as the SCAMPS organization which Megan and Hilary belonged to.  I was too shy, too nervous to go by myself, and none of the other girls on my floor ever expressed an interest in going with me.

In Francesville my wonderful neighbors, Don and Carolyn Markin and Bill and Nina Davis, invited me to attend the Christian Church with them.  I felt like I had found my home, so much so that Gary and I were married there in 1976.  Since he was born and raised in the Lutheran Church, however, we decided to attend St. Marks in Medaryville and raise our children in that church.  We became active in the Sunday School, with Vacation Bible School, playing the organ, and paying the bills as church treasurer.  Fast forward to the spring of 2002. 

At this point Megan was at ISU, Hilary was dating Blaine and they were graduating from WC, and both of them were going off to college.   Hilary had been attending Youth Group with Blaine at the Christian Church.  I had been asked to fill in for the organist at St. Johns UCC who had fallen and broken her wrist.  Gary was still going to the Lutheran Church to attend to the finances. Something was wrong with that picture. Our family was being split apart by church attendance and obligations, and we were not happy.  Gary and I finally decided that we needed to make some changes, prayed about it, and the decision was made.

Hilary was baptized in June 2002 by our neighbor, Junior Ezra.  Gary and I started to study with Jim and Junior that summer, and Blaine baptized us on October 20, 2002.  Since that time we have been members of the Christian Church and feel like we have found our permanent church home.  Our attendance and participation have varied and changed over the years.  We attended Ron's Sunday School classes regularly.  We were active in Small Group.  We were part of the Wednesday Family Night Meal prep team.  We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinners, Mothers Day luncheons,  and other activities.  He was a deacon and served on the communion service team.  I was a deaconess and prepared communion for every October Sunday.  But 'life' got in the way, and activities changed.  Another service was added, and since we opted for the 8:30 worship so we could then travel south to see the kids, our Sunday School attendance dropped off.  We were finding that a choice needed to be made on the Sunday evenings when Small Group met - either stay home and go to Small Group or go to see the grandkids.  The kids won every time.  Then my daily routine changed from the west side of the county to traveling east, teaching later in the day classes, and teaching night classes which eliminated some of the evening activities that I had enjoyed. Some things changed, but our church home is still there.

But that isn't really what the prompt was asking.  Not really.  Despite the church attendance, the growth in faith is what is important.  Greta and I have discussed how Mom and Dad never really shared too much about their own faith with us.  We just went to church. Dad didn't very often.  Mom did occasionally.   We were left to develop our faith on our own. 

Where I have really grown has been since the spring of 2002.  I knew that I needed something more in my life when I was playing the organ at St. Johns. I knew that our family needed to be together, on the same spiritual page.  All of us having a strong foundation and a place to call our church home was important.  We have that at the Christian Church.  Even though Megan is still a member at St. Marks, she and Matt were married at FCC and Cooper was dedicated as a baby there.  Blaine and Hilary have found new churches for their family as it has grown, but they still come 'home' to church occasionally.  But Gary and I are firmly at FCC.  My faith has grown to the point where I can now be involved in self-motivated Bible Study where I could not before.  Daily devotions have become part of my routine.  Conversations with others about our faith, about scripture, about walking with Christ have become part of my life.  I consider Rhonda, Sheri, and Debbie three of my closest friends, just because we are studying the Bible together in a small FB group.  I feel so much more comfortable with actual Bible study. I have become a better Church Girl.

Greta and I discussed this a few months ago.  Coming from the parents that we had who never discussed religion or their beliefs, who didn't stress worship, who had (and do not) no church family, we have become better Jesus Girls than we might have expected.  Our faith is much stronger that it was when we were younger. 

I often wonder what my life would have been like, and what my faith would have been, if I had been more active in a church in Mt. Vernon.  If I had been brave enough to go to the SCAMPS house by myself and be involved with the students there.  If I had encouraged Gary to attend the Christian Church rather than return to the Lutheran Church when we were first married.  If we had been baptized as younger adults.  If we hadn't split our church attendance between three chuches at one point and had just grown as a family in one place of worship. 

God does have a plan, and we must have needed what He gave us to be at the point we are today.  I consider myself a Church Girl now.  But I know one thing - I will continue to grow in my walk with God.  He isn't finished with me yet!