When I was a junior in high school, an elderly woman in the congregation changed my life. What Ruth Brown did was simple, ordinary, and even mundane: she asked me to sit beside her in worship. Then she did the same thing the following week. This became a regular event in the following months. During the quiet time before the prelude, she inquired about me and how my week had been. She affirmed me and encouraged me to be helpful. She, who could not carry a tune in a bucket, asked me to sing in the choir, and to share my musical talents. She also shared with me things about herself: she told me about her gardens and her writing projects. She wrote me notes and cards when I went off to college. But that first request to join her in "her pew" meant to me that I belonged and what I had to offer was needed.
Many people join hate groups, gangs or just disappear into the obscurity of society primarily because they don't feel connected with something or someone that made them feel valued or simply affirmed to them that they belonged. Relationships are vital to who we become, how we see the world around us, and whether or not we feel we belong. It is through relationships that each of us has the means to change the world one person at a time.
Ruth Brown saw her role as an agent of God who got the privilege to tell me that I was loved and needed by God. She made sure I was involved in worship and in the music of the church. She encouraged me to serve on committees, work in the kitchen, and provide music for the rest of the congregation.
The church matters more than ever in today's world. Be an agent of God and ask a youth to sit with you in worship, show an interest in their lives, and help them to know that sense of belonging that makes us the church that is Accepting All, Reaching Out, and Touching Lives.
Be the Church!
Carly
