God loves you. Love God and love your neighbor. Fear not. Peace be with you. Those were the first things I learned about God. Simple messages, but not always easy. In my early years, those Sunday school messages that God loves you and is always with you helped me through some scary times and some lonely times. It’s a comfort to know that when you’re alone you’re never truly alone.

When I was younger, we were very involved in church, but things change. We moved. My parents divorced. My dad moved to Europe. My mom was just trying to keep things together and we weren’t very active members of the church in our new town. My faith was strong, but there was fear, anxiety, and I didn’t always feel God’s peace. I was fortunate to have good friends during that time and with them I had faith opportunities. I went to youth group and summer camp at Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In Texas we always had prayer before the big Friday night football game. I was still walking with God but wasn’t really connected to my church and I decided I wanted to change that before college. My mom had remarried, and she and my stepdad had started attending our new church. I had missed confirmation in eighth grade so before college I went through adult confirmation classes.

After college, Steve and I married and started looking for a Church in Alexandria. We visited many different ones and then chose Grace Episcopal on Russell Road. We really loved it, and after Spencer was born, he was baptized there. As a busy young family, it was getting harder to get across town to get there on time on Sundays. We really wanted Spencer to go to their Day School but unfortunately when he turned three, they had just discontinued their 3-day three-year-old program. We started looking around and St. Luke’s Day School had everything we were looking for and it was much closer! We settled into the Day School and it seemed like it made sense to start going to church here as well. Christian was born and he was baptized at St. Luke’s. We really loved that there was chapel at the Day School and a vibrant Sunday School program.

Being a catechist for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd gave me the opportunity to share with the kids of St. Luke’s the feelings that I had growing up as a child. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd provides an environment within the Atrium, so that children can develop their own relationship with God. It is a Montessori-based approach and children learn about Jesus through the parables and the stories of the New Testament. They learn about the Church through lessons and music. We taught them about the Church calendar, the altar, geography of the holy land, and more. They learn to take care of themselves and each other and their environment through lessons like housekeeping, flower arranging, and polishing. I really wanted the kids to feel that special relationship with God, and to know that He was always with them. I wanted them to know the simple messages that I found comfort in. One of my favorite lessons was the Liturgy of the Light at Easter. We would sit on the floor in a circle and sing, bless and light the Paschal candle, and pray. Then we would spread the light. The individual candles were lit from the Paschal candle and given to each of the children. The thought of giving a preschooler a lit candle on the floor scared me a bit, (fear not!) but they were always so quiet and thoughtful with their candles. It was peaceful, and it really felt like they were all connected to God. It was a quiet and solemn moment, and a beautiful celebration of light.

St. Luke’s J2A program provided my son Spencer with wonderful mentors as he strengthened his relationship with God. I appreciated the other adults’ guidance, and it was a comfortable place to learn and ask complex questions about God and religion. The Christmas after his pilgrimage he was having a really good time talking with his older cousins. As the oldest child, he didn’t have any older kids or young adults in his life. I saw that he felt very comfortable and seemed to thrive in that kind of relationship, but his cousins were in Texas, and we didn’t get to see them often. I often prayed for him to have more relationships like that. Prayers were answered when his friend invited him to a Young Life kickball game. He had a great relationship with his Young Life leaders and is still friends with them today. When I was growing up, Young Life had a big presence at our high school, but I always had other activities, so I couldn’t attend the meetings. With Spencer’s involvement and as a committee member, I learned a lot about Young Life and their focus on relationships in their ministry. Spencer’s positive experience with J2A and Young Life led him to becoming involved in faith-based organizations in college. He also sought out a Church home when he moved to Orlando.

The focus on the importance of building relationships, and the commandment of love thy neighbor, was what led me to the Circle of Care ministry. Circle of care is a lay pastoral ministry, which is part of a larger organization, called the Community of Hope International. It’s based on Benedictine spirituality, and we serve others through home and hospital visits. I was drawn to this ministry because it gave me a chance to grow in my own spirituality and serve my community. It’s been so rewarding for me to be able to meet and build relationships with other members of Saint Luke’s.

Building relationships, loving one another, loving God, and trusting God is my continued focus as I open my heart to God’s love and to others. May God’s peace be with you.