Discovering What Really Matters - Geneva Reid

The acolytes wear tennis shoes? A man in the choir wears Bermuda shorts? Is there no dress code whatsoever? (Frank and I were coming from a church in Memphis where everyone, even the children, dressed in fairly formal clothes.)

But, oh my, what a great sermon! And what friendly people.

The messages from the pulpit and the beautiful messages radiating from the members kept us coming back. And pretty soon, the dress code went out the window. The members dressed in clothes that they were comfortable wearing in God’s house, and that was fine with us. No one criticized the way Frank and I dressed, and we soon were completely comfortable with whatever attire the other members chose, even the beautiful young acolytes in their sneakers.

We had first visited Church of the Servant on a Christmas Eve. Our grandson, Benjamin Snow, was an acolyte and we were proud grandparents, happy to see him engaged in God’s work. We visited several times while Craig and Diane sang in the choir and Benjamin continued to serve as an acolyte. Eventually, the Snows left Church of the Servant, but by then Frank and Geneva were dedicated believers and we hope followers of the culture of Church of the Servant. Leaving was unthinkable!

Pretty soon, Frank was on the Vestry and Geneva was doing committee work, namely serving on the Altar Guild and greeting.

One of our most exciting ventures was planning and leading the Retreat at Trinity the year that Jody became our Priest. Most of us were meeting her for the first time, and we were very well pleased. I found the communion service she led at the outside altar the most beautiful and meaningful communion I had ever participated in.

In the two years that we were unchurched in Wilmington, Frank visited several churches, and I visited many. I attended one for several months and participated in a Christian education class, even leading the discussion a few times. I tried really hard. But it just wasn’t a good fit. Frank and I were both getting very depressed about not finding anything that could begin to meet our needs, and then we found Church of the Servant. Alleluia! Alleluia!