From Chris Decker

Fifteen years ago I arrived at Good Shepherd with Meredith, my future wife, who grew up attending Good Shepherd. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania I always attended a church of no more than 50 people where ‘everyone knew your name’. I walked into Good Shepherd and immediately passed judgment thinking ‘this is another big stuffy church where no one knows your name’. I kept that chip on my shoulder for a number of years attending church more to appease Meredith than to develop relationships and grow spiritually.

Slowly my transformation began. In 1996, Meredith and I were married at Good Shepherd and I began to appreciate the rich history of the church. We were married by the ‘new’ rector (i.e. Bob :-) and I gained an appreciation for his vision and where he hoped to lead Good Shepherd. However, I still had the chip on my shoulder and was intimidated by the size of Good Shepherd.

The next step in my spiritual growth came when Meredith and I started having children. We brought those children to Good Shepherd as infants and have watched them grow within an incredible children’s program under the careful eye of Janet, the rock of our young families. We have watched them learn what it means to be a child of God and appreciate how important the Good Shepherd family is. We have seen them experience joy participating in the children’s choir within our wonderful music ministry. Finally, we watched the building next door grow stone by stone into a home that could support programs for both our children and us and continue to provide opportunities for our whole family to grow spiritually.

In February of this year, my bond with Good Shepherd took a huge leap forward as I volunteered to spend a week in Mexico with eighteen other Good Shepherd members of all ages and from all walks of life. This trip provided me an opportunity to grow in so many ways. Not only was I able to use my hands to help people who are less fortunate, I was also able to build relationships with others at Good Shepherd who had different experiences in their lives. I left barely knowing most of those individuals and came back calling them family.

It has been a slow journey for me, but Good Shepherd has been patient with me. It has let me grow at my pace and provided me the opportunity to find my way, and define my spiritual path. Every week I place an offering in the collection plate, and wish I had more to give. Good Shepherd has provided my family the opportunity to be part of a Loving Family in a Spiritual Home. I ask everyone in this congregation who has experienced a journey of your own to consider the love and spiritual growth Good Shepherd has provided to you, and despite the challenges we face in today’s economy, dedicate your time and money to allow our Good Shepherd family to continue to flourish.