These remarks were delivered by me as part of a “testimonial” during our regular church service today. I thought it appropriate to post them here, as well. I’ll probably write more on the subject eventually, but for right now, just know that our regular Sunday morning church service, The Connection, will be ending next week as we consolidate the two regular church services into a single one, beginning officially in January. We have some details to work out on what this service will look like, but in short, what we’ve been doing at Webster Hills for the last few years will cease to be after next Sunday.
Brooke and I moved to St. Louis after graduating college in 2005 so I could start graduate school at Saint Louis University. We were both active in the Wesley Foundation at Truman State University and wanted to continue in the Methodist church after moving. We had a few criteria in the kind of church we were looking for, but above all else, we sought a church that had not only a worship service geared toward more “contemporary” music and liturgy, but specifically a service that did not occur at the same time as Sunday School. Of the churches in the southern half of St. Louis, the only option we found was Webster Hills UMC. While this was the initial reason to attend, we found the congregation to be warm and inviting, the music to be similar to what we knew from our days at the Wesley House, and the opportunities to participate and contribute to the overall mission of the church to be plentiful.
For the next several years, our experience with the band, service, and church as a whole evolved to encompass not only participating in the music, but the altar design, management of the media system, and more. In short, just about everything that goes on before and after this service, we have had our hands on at some point or another. Ultimately, we were involved in leading the band on an interim basis between our previous worship director, Yanela Sheets, and Ryan Gibbs, a period that also saw a re-envisioning of the service and this space, including the introduction of more comfortable chairs, carpets, the crosses, and other facets that has hopefully made this space and worship service more inviting to the regular congregants and newcomers alike.
To say that this service has meant a great deal to my family would be an understatement. Between 2005 and 2010, we put ourselves into what evolved into The Connection, and The Connection and its congregants became a part of us. However, in 2010, we moved to Iowa after I completed my graduate work, yet our new church home never felt quite the same. Webster Hills was still where we belonged. And as fate would have it, the opportunity arose to return to St. Louis in late-2011, and thankfully, there was still The Connection, with open arms for any and all who wished to participate.
I keep using the term “participate” because Brooke and I feel that one of the great strengths of this service, over just about any we have ever attended, is that everyone can contribute in their own way, everyone can come as they are, and everyone is welcome. In some ways, it’s the embodiment of Jesus’ most profound teachings: all people are welcome at the table, all they have to do is take that step forward and accept it.
As many of you know, this service will be ending next Sunday. While it disappoints me greatly, at the same time, I trust that the spirit this service has embodied will continue to thrive, just in another form, at another place, at another time. The opportunities to contribute toward the body and soul of this church are still plentiful, and as the sun sets on The Connection, something new is on the horizon, something that can and will do great things.
It’s been said that the night is darkest just before the dawn. Apparently, that phrase comes from the English theologian, Thomas Fuller, though honestly, I know it from Harvey Dent in “The Dark Knight.” Regardless, it’s a phrase that comes to mind in thinking about endings like this one, and the potential beginnings yet to come. Brooke and I have always sought to contribute as best as we can, using whatever talents we have available to us. The Connection afforded us that possibility, and we are eternally grateful for it. Though this service will be ending soon, we will look upon it fondly as some small thing we could do, together, to help bring others closer to Christ.
Wow