I have been a life-long Episcopalian. I remember going to church every Sunday at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Alamogordo, NM, listening to Fr. Seddon literally preach “fire and brimstone” from the pulpit. As a six-year-old sitting on the front row with my brother and sister, he appeared to be this towering, animated figure as he spoke quite loudly, looking out at the congregation and sometimes directly at me! I loved this small church. I loved the consistency of the prayers and the songs and was in the children’s choir for many years. I still have my small, gold treble clef pin I was given as a choir member! I remember having to memorize the Nicene Creed and other prayers for my confirmation class. I remember our youth minister who took our group of young teenagers on several field trips. On one trip, he drove us to El Paso to walk up to the top of Mt. Christo Rey. This was a very big deal back in the early 60’s! St. John’s played a huge role in my early church life.
My husband, Denis was raised Catholic, but was reconfirmed in the Episcopal church. We were married at St. John’s, not by Fr. Seddon, but by their new priest, Fr. Blair whose style as a priest was totally opposite to Fr. Seddon’s. He was soft-spoken and ministered in his own, quiet way. When Denis and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, we were able to locate Fr. Blair at a small mission in Antioch, California and asked him to renew our vows. On our anniversary, we flew to California, had breakfast with him that morning and he later renewed our vows in the quaintest wooden church. This ceremony was so meaningful to both of us. We then moved to San Angelo where we attended the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. Both our children were confirmed there and were very active as acolytes and the youth group. They were able to experience many of the same memories at Good Shepherd that I had experienced in my teen years at St. John’s in Alamogordo.
In 1985, we moved to Fort Worth and attended Christ the King for many years. We felt we had a home there and I was able to serve on the vestry and as senior warden for one term. Due to some politics within the church, we left and attended several other Episcopal churches -- never really feeling like any of them were a good fit for us. In 2017, Denis and I were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary, and the church we had been attending for almost 10 years was unable to accommodate us on our wedding day for a simple ceremony to renew our vows. We decided then, that it was time to change churches. The next Sunday, we attended St. Christopher’s. When Fr. Bill asked if there was anyone celebrating their birthdays or anniversaries, we went up to the altar. He blessed us and asked us how many years, and the entire congregation applauded us. When we went back to our seats, everyone around us congratulated us. Then, after the service many more people came up to us and welcomed us. We had never experienced anything like this in an Episcopal church. St. Christopher’s was over-the-top welcoming! And it got better! The next Sunday, a couple asked us to join them for lunch. Two Sunday’s later, Margaret was talking to us about getting our name tags. Eight months later, I was asked to put my name on the ballot to be a vestry member.
St. Christopher’s welcomes all and quickly embraces them as members of the church family. Denis and I have been attending St. Christopher’s for six years now, and feel like we have found our permanent church home.
