A testimonial during stewardship season, given by Erika Lundin, on March 8. 2025.
My name is Erika Lundin. I've been a member here for 22 years. I joined the day my son was dedicated here. I got to pick the words for the responsive reading during his ceremony, so I used lyrics from a song by the band Entrain). The refrain sums up what I found here: "We are all connected, all one."
I grew up Congregational, but I pulled away from organized religion when I was a teenager. As I became an adult, I found I missed that community. I wanted to be with people that talked about things that MATTER, things we all experience, things you don't talk about at work or your friends from college. And when I became a parent, I wanted my son to be part of something wholesome, somewhere that reinforced the values that I hoped to install in him. My son got me in that door.
And immediately, church and religion stopped feeling awkward. No matter your faith, "We ARE all connected, all one." Here we DO talk about things that matter. Here I learned that it's safe to be vulnerable, and Ok to throw the word "love" around. There's a poem I've heard several times here, and one line resonates with me - "The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real." The work IS real when I'm with the kids, teaching about our "open minds, loving hearts, and helping hands." Cooking a meal for those who need it is REAL. And it MATTERS when I participate in fundraisers, by making and selling soup, or co-hosting a puzzle party for the auction and helping run the event... and by committing part of our family budget every month with a pledge, to help keep this church thriving. I support this church, this religion, because I need it, our community needs it, and the world needs it.