January 15th - Kevin

My relationship with faith has been one that has lessened over time.  Now, it's to the point of non-existence. This topic has come up at least once during each of my January blogs in a variety of ways, from when I visited a synagogue in The Spice of Life Month to when I celebrated religious holidays during The Holiday Month. Religion is something that is fascinating to me, but it's also something that I have grown skeptical of over the years.  It's something that I felt I didn't have a need for, and because of that, it's something that I stopped believing in.

But now that I'm a dad, I've been thinking a lot more about faith and what it means for my son. Church was something I enjoyed going to when I was little (they had donuts at Sunday school...and I was easily bribed with sugar).  It provided a moral reference point that supported the values that my parents were trying to instill in me and my brother.  I got to hang out with friends on Sunday morning, and my parents had people that they could connect with outside of their normal social circles.

I may have my own feelings about religion and faith, but I've come to realize that not exposing Elliot to this aspect of life isn't fair.  I want him to make up his own mind about these kinds of things, because ultimately matters of faith should be a personal journey.  If that means he stops his journey like I did, that's great.  If it means he continues on with it, that's fine too.

This kind of thinking is at the heart of why I'm interviewing different people this month.  I'm trying to find different perspectives, and those that have a connection to faith definitely see things a little differently than I do.  There's a beautiful church right up the street from us, First Presbyterian, that Elizabeth and I have walked by but have never gone into.  Yesterday, the Farabees changed that and had a Sunday outing where we got to meet many sincere and warm people, including the minister that gave the sermon yesterday, Kevin.

Kevin

Kevin's been at FPC for a year and a half.  His official title is the Cynthia Price Pastoral Resident (the other two ministers that helped to deliver the service, Josh and Lara Musser Gritter, also share that title).

His sermon was all about how there's a specific time given in one of the verses in the book of John when a group meets with Jesus (4pm if the translation holds).  Kevin thought it was interesting how specific this was, but then it made sense when he had his daughters.  He knows the exact moment when each of his twin girls were born (they're seven weeks old now so he's not getting a whole lot of sleep at this point).  He remembers the exact time when he met his wife (because it was closing time at a smoky bar).  The important events in your life have a way of imprinting themselves in your mind down the most specific details.  For this group in the book of John, meeting Jesus was one such event (Kevin likened Jesus to the Most Interesting Man in the World, so of course you'd remember when you met him...I liked that).

Kevin was ordained last June, and has really enjoyed his time here in Greensboro. I told him that the sleepless nights that his daughters are giving him will eventually get better at around three months.  

Lars: Only then you're on to something else that you have to get used to so you're never really on firm footing.

Kevin: Oh great, thanks for something to look forward to!

What's a meal that reminds you of home?

Kevin: Sauerkraut casserole. I'm from Wisconsin, and that's something that reminds me of home that I can't get around here.

What's your favorite joke?

Kevin: What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs in a pile of leaves?  Russell.

Will the world be a better or worse place in 20 years?

Kevin: I hope that it will be better. I have faith that it will be.

Lars: How do we make it better?

Kevin: We have to be more civil to one another.  If we can find the common decency that we all should have, then that's a step in the right direction.

Elizabeth and I have been to other services in the area, but none have left us feeling inspired or excited to come back.  If I'm going to do this (get up early on Sunday and actually put on pants), I want it to be worth it.  We hadn't felt that way at the other churches we had been to.  This one, however, was different.

That common decency that Kevin referred to was easy to find at First Presbyterian.  Josh and Lara, in their part of the service, talked about how their community wasn't red and it wasn't blue, it was just a community that stood by each other no matter what.  Everyone that I met there was warm and welcoming, and Elizabeth and I were invited to attend their Rejoice! service next week (a little more casual, a little more contemporary, and apparently a lot of fun).  The church elders really were happy to see us there, and we got to talk about how great of a place Greensboro is to raise a family.

The church is right across the street from the Corner Slice (the pizza joint were I interviewed Niki earlier this month).  The fact that it's in such close proximity to great pizza is another plus to going to this church in the future.  We stopped in for a pie and to talk about the service.  The couple seated next to us were in the choir, and they carried over the welcoming spirit and invited us to come to Rejoice! next week as well. 

I hadn't felt his way leaving church in a long time.  I got a good sense of the community that they had created there, and it wasn't stuffy or boring or uninspiring.  It was good people wanting to do good things.  I can get behind Elliot growing up in that kind of place.