Life
Influences
Who has been the most influential person
in your life?
Pause for a moment & think...
Many
people will immediately think about of a parent, a
grandparent, teacher, friend, minister, brother or
sister. As you reflect on that person and their
influences on your life... you may wonder who are you
influencing?
Many or
most of our actions and words may impact others...
whether we realize it or not. Sometimes we say things
that are repeated back to us later as "you said .... and
it changed my life" and you have no clue or memory of
even saying it!! "Did I say that?"
There's
the old saying "actions speak louder than words."
This is
a new feature for the newsletter and we are focusing on
those people in the church
who have influenced us the most i.e., people we see
every week at church, at meetings or sit by them in the
pew or have coffee with them after church. Does one
person stand out as having the most influence on your
life?
Kathy
Jope has volunteered to start this series of what we
hope will be fun, and heart-warming, as we honor each
other by sharing our stories of how we influence one
another.
The
Person Who
Influenced Me Most
by
Kathy Jope
I was recently asked who in the church has had the
greatest influence on me. There have certainly been
many, but the one who influenced me most was –
without a doubt – Peg West.
Shortly after I became a member, I
attended my first congregational meeting. There was an
issue that I cared very much about, and I advocated for
it as strongly as I could. I deeply believed that the
mission of the church left us no choice but to support
it. It was controversial, however, and there were many
who didn’t agree. When it came to a vote, the result
was 36 for, and 38 against.
I was deeply disappointed. I questioned
what the church was about, and felt that I must have a
very different interpretation of the mission statement
than others did. I seriously considered leaving.
Then Peg West telephoned me. She told me
not to be discouraged.
Her call made all the difference to me. I realized that
our church is not some monolithic entity, but consists
of many individuals, each one doing their best and
striving for spiritual growth.
I realized that in joining the church, I
had made a commitment to the church and the people in
it. This commitment is sort of like a marriage. I
believe in the fundamental essence of what this church
is – I know that I won’t always agree with decisions
that are made, but I intend for the relationship to last
through thick and thin.
In the years that followed I saw that,
like me, many people who join the church have an
experience shortly thereafter – often within the first
year or two – that makes them angry. For some, it
causes them to leave the church.
Our congregation is a diverse group of
people, but if there’s one thing we have in common, it’s
our passion. We are passionate in our striving, but we
can also be passionate in our disagreement.
People tend to see the individuals in the
congregation as a reflection of the church, but the
church is so much more than the sum of its all-too-human
members.
In my crisis of faith, Peg West was my
angel. Thank you, Peg.
