Faith Stories: Stewardship Reflection
At the start of this Stewardship campaign, I reflect on my experience at St. John’s. I’ve been here my entire life and the one thing I keep thinking about is the life of the church. The people and congregation within the church are what make up and define St. John’s. If I could take the time to thank every person in my life at St. John’s for helping me become who I am, I would have to write a novel.
But one woman who comes to mind because she helped me transform into the woman I am today is none other than Ms. Pat Newsom. She was our Children’s Education Director for a very long time and taught me so much about what it was like to be a child of God. She taught me and many others around my age that God loves me and she would always have us excited about life as a Christian.
A couple of years back, Ms. Pat passed and it came time for her funeral. I thought for a long time about how I would express my appreciation for the life that she lived. We decided we would sing “This Little Light of Mine,” which was one of the songs that she had taught the youth over the years (among other songs). As everyone was invited to the front to sing along with me, I expected maybe 3 or 4 children from over the years to get up and join me. All of a sudden, it felt like half the congregation stood up and walked to the front. It was a surreal moment for me, as kids that she had touched over the years stretched across the front of the funeral home and sang the song she had taught us. God was so evident in that moment and I knew she was looking down and smiling.
This is just one of many examples of what St. John’s is for me. I grow closer to God as I grow closer to members of the church. As we grow and change in this time of the year, I invite you to think about what St. John’s means to you. How has it touched you? How has it changed you spiritually? As we think about investing, invest in others around our church and the community. I hope lives are transformed like mine was by Ms. Pat. Let’s grow and change in the “St. John’s way” and love and support one another even more than before.
Thanks be to God for this church.
Mary Hannah Prevot