I've been thinking more about Monroe Community Church and what it has meant to me in the past six weeks. I would definitely consider it my church home and everyone there my church family.
Not only does it feel wonderful to be connected on Sunday mornings, and increasingly connected during the week, something else has changed too. It startled me to realize it.
For the first time for as long as I can remember, I am content with living in Michigan.
And it's all because of MCC!
If you know me, this is significant. I have itchy feet syndrome; I can never stay in one place long without feeling anxious to travel again. I also have said countless times that I have no emotional attachment to Michigan. (Which is still probably true, but...) I feel as though I'm engaging in genuine community for the first time in all the years I've lived in Michigan.
I've found my place in a genuine, warm and welcoming community before;
the first time was when I showed up at Glasgow WestEnd Vineyard Church my first Sunday in Scotland and continued to be a part with them for the whole fourteen weeks. I felt like family immediately and my heart is still with them. I often think of them on Sunday mornings, especially during the sacrament of communion. It was there that I started to appreciate diversity within the church, because we had so many people from so many nations.
I also found it when I was in Southern California this past summer. Again, I was immediately immersed in that same kind of Spirit-led, warm embrace of a healthy church community. I learned so much about what it means to belong and yet also about to take part in and step up to leadership.
So here I am, in Grand Rapids, finding it right where I couldn't find it before. Something deep in me, an ache or a longing, has somehow been satisfied. Not to say that MCC doesn't have its flaws or areas of growth-- but it's my church now. I still remember when some girls from Calvin visited, and I recognized them and said "Hey! Welcome to my church!" without even thinking about it. :)
But what's different? Besides the fact that I had never been to MCC before this year, a few things stand out:
1. I actually love the Church, so I can love this church.
--> Jubilee Fellows was influential in this. I've grown more in love with Christ's Church and have come to see her as a beautiful creation, and yet I understand how we often miss the mark as the Body. It really is a relationship between us (as individuals) and the Church, and between Christ and the Church.
2. I'm committed to MCC-- right now and in the near future.
--> Besides the fact that church hopping is exhausting, I had such good experiences with picking a church and sticking with it for 10+ weeks. Even though Rosewood was in a way involuntary, it still worked the same-- you learn to love a place and grow with a church if you plan on staying around for a while. Right before I left California, I made a list of goals for myself to do once I came back to Michigan. Finding a church home for the year was one of them, and in parentheses right above it was "Monroe Community Church???" Little did I know that God would have been planning so much for me.
3. I'm serving, investing and networking.
--> Networking is something I learned the value of when I was in Scotland, although at first it was out of sheer necessity. It was either find people or be lonely for 4 months. I learned the immense value of remembering someone's name and talking to visitors because they knew who I was and took care of me, which makes being in a small church a plus! So I'm learning to do the same. Serving is important, because it allows opportunities to surface that weren't there before. Teaching and helping with SFN at Rosewood was huge for this. So many of my good friends in Bellflower and also at MCC are in leadership somehow-- and that is a wonderful type of person to surround yourself with. Investing is a little different, because it's focused on the future. It's asking the question "how can this community grow?" and taking initiatives to be a part of that change. For instance, I'm going to Rehoboth, New Mexico, next January with MCC, and I'm already hoping to get involved with some of the planning and leadership.
4. ?????? Something to do with my heart & God's call.
--> I don't know how to explain this last bit. What's different than the places I've been to before is that God has brought me to MCC for a reason, or for many reasons. If you could plot the last year of my life on a continuum, you'd see a drastic contrast and drastic growth between my faith from October of 2007 to now. I see now what a state my heart and faith had been, and how joyless I was when it came to the precious love of Jesus. After a very healing summer internship, in which I regained some social skills in engaging with community and how to surround myself with healthy Christians, what I needed most was a place to continue that. God brought me to MCC, and I've found exactly that: a place to continue growing. That's why I have never felt so at home in Michigan until now.
And that's also why, even though I suspect that when I graduate in Dec'09 I'll be moving out of state, if God called me to stay in GR for a little longer, I wouldn't mind in the least bit. :)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him, all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!
Praise Father, Son & Holy Ghost!
Amen.
Just a tiny glimpse-- a few "family photos" of MCC.
I love that in the short time (6 weeks!) I've been at MCC, I've been out to eat with people after church a few times, i've been to a birthday party, a stamping party, a wedding, and a small group movie event; i've also gone kayaking and played an intense game of pingpong in the sanctuary; not to mention that i brought snacks one sunday and helped with hospitality, helped out with harvestfest, and babysat for the pastors' kids and i'm planning on going on a mission trip with them. Whew! I've been busy! :D
1 comment:
Betsy - You have been busy here!! I'm so glad you are part of MCC.
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