Bill

Bill

When I was in the first grade, my grandmother decided that I “needed religion” so she picked me up on Sunday mornings to go to Sunday School. Up to that time, I did not go to church because my parents did not attend church at the time. I remember how very much I enjoyed Mrs. Engle and Mrs. Lippincott’s class.

I did not go to worship services when I first started attending Sunday School; but not long afterwards my grandfather died and I thought I needed to accompany my grandmother in going to church services. I felt as if I took my grandfather’s place when I sat next to my grandmother every Sunday in worship.

My grandmother and I sat in the fourth pew from the back, on the organ side of the church. She taught me how to listen to the Bible readings and sermons, and the importance of singing hymns and joining in the responsive readings and prayers. One very special memory I have is how we shared communion together. Children were not allowed to take communion until they were confirmed, but my grandmother would give me a small piece of her bread and a sip of her grape juice. While I may have been too young to join church or be a full communing member, my grandmother taught me that I was still a part of the body of Christ and her sacrifice of part of her communion made me feel special and connected to the church.

Following worship service every week, my grandmother and I together walked up the street to her home where she cooked me a huge lunch. After lunch, we sat around her piano to sing the hymns from church. As I wanted to learn to play the piano correctly and not just bang on it, my grandmother taught me to play the hymn melodies that we sang in church. She realized that I had an interest in music and she bought me a piano and made it possible for me to take piano lessons. After her death in 2002, our family donated a grand piano to the church in her memory, which I play every Sunday and think about how she gave me a love of music, especially hymns.

Glade Church was an important part of my life as I grew up. I loved to participate in the Christmas pageants and sing in the Junior Choir. I enjoyed the activities we did in Sunday School and I loved the music and flow of the liturgy in worship. As I have grown older, I still love the music of the church and I have made my career working in the music ministry of the church.

I have also loved participating in the mission of the church–serving at the Soup Kitchen, building homes in West Virginia, and our wonderful adventures in Honduras just to name a few. It has truly been an awesome experience to work with other people to make life better for a family or community, and I appreciate Glade church offering me opportunities to serve in this capacity. The Honduras ministry is particularly close to my heart. I was a member of the very first delegation we sent to Honduras in August of 1999, and I remember what a “leap of faith” it was to take that trip. Seeing the excitement on the faces of people receiving a new house and the excitement in the community from our presence there made the whole experience worthwhile and got me hooked on being a part of mission trips. I have been to Honduras several times, worked with Habitat for Humanity in Maryland and West Virginia and served on a UCC mission trip to central Florida and they all have been very rewarding and life-changing experiences.

Perhaps the things I appreciate most about Glade Church are that it is truly my spiritual home and spiritual community. I really appreciate how members take an interest in my life and in me as a person. There is a very warm welcoming feeling that I get whenever I am around the Glade Church community. Glade Church is also very special to me every time I am in the sanctuary knowing I am standing in the same sacred space where I was baptized and confirmed, where my sister was ordained and later married, where my grandparents’ funerals were conducted, where my aunt and father grew up spiritually–all of the family history contained here is very special to me. In addition, Glade Church is special to me for when I was a kid I loved to watch the choir process down the aisle, singing the hymns. I always had the fantasy of one day being the organist at Glade–that has truly been a dream come true for me!

I am proud to be a part of a warm, welcoming caring congregation that is active in the community and where worship is vibrant and exciting. It is in that caring and reaching out to others that makes Christ alive and real to me. Being a part of Glade Church has made me feel close to God and I hope that others can come and experience as I have the wonderful spirit that is alive at Glade Church.