Testimonial given by Bill Taylor, March 24, 2024.
I first came here a little over 11 years ago, in the late winter of 2013. My wife and I had bought our home nearby in Haverhill a few months prior, and by the time we had fully moved and settled in, I was completely sick of thinking about material things.
Though I had not regularly attended a church in decades, I was looking to kindle my spiritual life again. But I definitely wasn’t looking to rekindle the spiritual life of my childhood, per se. My family belonged to a Baptist church here in town. It was a conservative church–both theologically and socially. One particular preacher would shoehorn an anti-gay commentary into every single sermon each Sunday. Even at a young age, I found this horribly inappropriate and completely wrong. I wanted no part of that.
I am, however, a Christian. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has always been meaningful to me. But I also recognize that Christianity does not hold a monopoly on spiritual understanding. And that’s part of the reason why I came here and why I’m still here: a free and inclusive exploration of spirituality appeals to me. Plus, Frank’s great, and you all are lovely people. I look forward to seeing you each Sunday in this warm and inviting space. I’m also here for the sake of my girls, Gwen and Kaia. I believe it’s important for kids to have good moral guidance outside of their homes, and I want my girls to forge their own spiritual paths without the influence of dogmatic garbage. The wonderful RE programming here is helping them do that.
There are always other great things happening here, too–much of which you’ve heard about already this month. As an active member of the church who’s served on its Board and various committee ministries, I know well that all of this requires a lot of organizing, hard work, and money. I’m less involved in church life these days, mostly because my focus has been needed at home. But while I’ve taken a step or two back, I feel no less connected to my friends here. And that’s a great thing about being a member of our church: you’re only asked to contribute as you are able and nothing more. Though my capacity has diminished over the years, my enthusiasm for this place has only grown.
I worry, on the other hand, about what’s happening outside of these church walls. Over the last decade, much of our country has increasingly embraced the normalization of authoritarianism and hatred. Americans, including many of our neighbors and friends, have become angrier. And with the upcoming presidential election, I fear we could be nearing an even darker turn.
Now more than ever, we need places like our church to remind us about what’s good and important. Love. Kinship. Extending the care we give and receive here to the outside community. The quiet connections we each make with The Holy. This is the stuff that will nourish us going forward. We won’t find the sustenance we seek on our phones or on cable news. We’ll find it here.
Please give as you are able and support the good work of this church. What we do here matters.