I started coming to this church because it was friendly and felt familiar. For the first couple of years I came to bible study on Wednesday nights and services on Sunday and told myself that formal membership wasn’t necessary. As it turned out, I was wrong, and God made sure I knew it. After about a year, every time the question of joining came up, His voice inside my head said “need to join,” regardless of what my mouth said. I finally realized that being a part is important and joined the church sometime in the early 2000s.
I have come to bible study here on Wednesday nights since that group started in 2001 and have participated with Tea Room in one capacity or another since near the beginning. These activities are just two of the ways that each of us become a part of the whole. What I have come to learn is that the rewards of being part of the whole far outweigh any burdens that come with the responsibilities of membership. The friendships I have formed in both of these groups are invaluable in the good times and doubly so in the hard times. I wouldn’t trade a one of them for anything. They are my treasures.
I know many of our members, but every time I walk in the door I meet a member who is new to me, someone who could turn into one of my treasures. For those I haven’t met, here’s a little bit about me for when we do meet. I’m a lawyer and I love to cook. I enjoy practicing law and appreciate that it pays the bills, but there is so much more satisfaction in cooking and sitting down to a meal. Working with others in the kitchen and sharing the meal are lower stress – well sometimes during Tea Room it is higher stress – ways to get to know people and build bonds. In the context of Second Presbyterian I’ve had many opportunities to cook and eat my way towards lifelong friends and a wide ranging second family. The continuation of those opportunities, with current members and those yet to come, is one example of why financial and time gifts are important. Without sufficient gifts of both, our church cannot function in a godly, loving, healthy and supportive way for our members.
-Mia
