Our theme for the year is Invited, based on Romans 15:7. We are invited by God into grace, belonging, service and purpose. In turn, we invite others into faith, friendship and the life of the church. To reflect on this theme, I’ve invited newcomers to share their experiences. —Carol
Reflection by Cliff and Jeanette Christian, visiting FBG since last fall:
“In August, I watched Cameron Young win his first PGA Tour golf event. After the handshakes and interviews, he only had one question: ‘Where do I go?’ We’ve all been there. Not the PGA Tour’s winner’s circle, but in an overwhelmingly new place, unable to tell the entrance from the exit. This is the situation my wife Jeanette and I found ourselves in last fall. We closed on our house in Asheville two weeks before Hurricane Helene. We moved into our new home in Greer just two days before the storm. Our first several weeks here included trips to Asheville to help.
We moved to the area to be close to our only child, Lauren, and her family. Even though we were moving only 1.5 hours away, the decision was difficult. Jeanette grew up in Asheville, with family still there, and I lived there for nearly 40 years. It was especially hard to leave our church, First Baptist Church in Asheville. We were married there, ordained as Deacons there, and I was later ordained into ministry there. All our conversations about Greenville included the reality that our new community would primarily be our church family.
Carol met with us a few months after we started attending, and we talked about the challenges of moving. I’d always heard it takes a year to feel settled. She thought a year was not nearly enough time. As we approach one year, I agree! Jeanette and I had moved previously for work and grad school, but we were much younger then, and we moved into situations where community was a built-in. FBG is a large, wonderful church with many opportunities for connection. But we’ve realized it requires effort to engage. After years of belonging to a church family, we both yearn for that sense again. We are trying. Jeanette has helped with the yard sale, we have attended some events and tried a Sunday School class. I sing in the choir and help with Local Relief. Still, we’re often reminded that we tend to gravitate toward people we already know. We hope for the day when we will be invited to Sunday lunch with a group of friends, just like we used to do.
Sunday can be both the most rewarding and most challenging day of the week for us. There are high and holy moments of connecting with God in spoken word and music. There is also the hope for belonging and “kin-dom” living that has seemed somewhat elusive. After I joined the church in Asheville, that awareness stayed fresh for a long time. I greeted every guest and new member. Over time, I didn’t always follow that practice—maybe I was too eager to get to lunch or out of my robe. But greeting a stranger is important. We can all do better.”