Community of Faith

I grew up on a small family farm in northwest Iowa.  We attended the Methodist Church in town, about nine miles away by gravel road.  At that time, it was a good-sized church for a town of about 800, around 300 members, drawing from farm families all around.  My parents were faithful members of that church from 1941 until they died.  They both served on boards and committees, taught Sunday school, and made sure that we kids also attended and were active in MYF, Sunday School, and me in choir.  Sunday was the day of attending church, Sunday dinner, and then of rest.  Sunday School was at 10; church was at 11.  I remember that sometimes I wished we could stay home on a Sunday but that was not an option. 

As I look back, I do remember a strong sense of community, where the Ladies’ Aid provided coffee hours, funeral dinners, food for the sick, and projects to raise money for missions.  The church was a focus for socializing as well as worship. Hosting a monthly meeting of Mom’s circle was a big event:  we cleaned the house, got out the good dishes, put together our best refreshments, borrowed chairs from the neighbors, and then put on our best clothes.  Twelve to fifteen women would arrive for an afternoon meeting.  Later on, I looked forward to MYF on Sunday evenings, because it meant I could be with other kids in a more informal setting.  The junior choir practiced after school.  The senior choir practiced on Thursday nights, and I remember many a snowy or icy road getting to and from rehearsal.  In the summer, I attended Camp Quest on Lake Okoboji.

My parents had a sense of joy in serving in that church and provided a rich model for me of what it meant to be a church member.  I found that after a time without church, I needed that community of faith in my life and found a UCC church in Minneapolis where Ron and I were members for 35 years.  Here at Bellevue we continue to look for and work for that same sense of joy and hope within the community of God.

Margaret Snell