To the reader: this is one post of a series from members of Riverchase UMC sharing their stories about their lives at Riverchase UMC and why they want our church to remain in the United Methodist Church. My prayer for you is that you find comfort and hope in their stories and know that there are others who see a bright future ahead that wholly fulfills Christ’s desire for us to love Him and love one another as we would ourselves. 

Want to share your story? Read how here: https://riverchaseunited.org/2023/02/19/please-share-your-testimonies/

Roy and I have been members of a United Methodist Church since 1978, when we arrived in Montgomery and joined First United Methodist in Old Cloverdale.

We were then in Lawrence, Kansas for a couple of years at First United Methodist Church — a vital college ministry to Kansas University, and a church that served as a hospital during the Civil War.

Returning to Vestavia Hills to run a business for a few years, we attended the Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church and upon retiring to Riverchase we were invited to Riverchase United Methodist Church, by Gilda Wilkerson, while we were at the Hoover Recreation Center. She was so enthusiastic about the music program.

We have been members at Riverchase UMC for 20 years.

I have been a church musician my entire life. My last performance joy in our church was playing viola with Alabama Symphony violas for Faure’s Requiem.

We have been in a Sunday School class since joining. First, it was New Beginnings; we learned much from John Ray.

We have done projects that naturally came our way, and that paired up with our interests.

Roy and I went to Nauvoo in the early years and he drew up the first site plans for the new building there. He was a graduate architect.

I and Deborah Bruner put on a mission fair that involved the children who made fish we put on the paper river we had laid down in “The Well” so that people would follow and visit all missions. We had fun.

I planned (with others) an art show when our former music director, Melvin Brown, died. He had been a great inspiration as he and his wife produced musicals during that time to sold-out performances in the gym. He had been a professional opera singer. Brian Skoog was in Oklahoma and was ‘launched ‘ from our church. He is an opera singer continuously rising! He recently sang Luciano’s aria from a Handel opera with San Diego Opera last summer.

I think we studied everything Pastor Nancy put in front of us over a decade, and I love writing for the Lenten Booklet as I have for a dozen years.

I served on the Board of Stewards.

These are involvements that we were able to find time for with our busy lives.

We were drawn to the vision of Riverchase UMC – ‘Sharing the Joy of Christ ‘ and ‘Biblical Radical Hospitality’.

Our early years required much moving for Roy’s engineering career. We lived in 13 states and were the recipients of much hospitality.

Being open to all people is important to us and once we bought a guest book for our front hall table at our home and filled it and two more. We know exactly who has passed over our threshold and the number has passed 2,000. Our upstairs is only for guests.

What else do we love about Riverchase UMC?

We have seen an openness to individual ideas or projects, some of which others have picked up.

We like that we have grown with the Mission Center and now the Fine Arts addition.

We enjoyed helping Fernando and Leonora teach English in “the brown house” before the new Mission Center was completed.

The staff has counseled troubled youth we have brought to them and visited family in the hospital as we have moved through our senior years in this church. Thus, as we enter what could be the last decade of our lives, we appreciate all that has been bestowed upon us. We now try in our own small way to help others, as we have enjoyed long, successful, and fulfilling lives.

Riverchase United Methodist Church should remain a United Methodist Church because they are a leader in the conference. We have optimized the slogan of the United Methodist Church — “Open Hearts, Open Doors, Open Minds”. We have all contributed to our church while supporting great organizations or institutions such as Camp Sumatanga and the Methodist Children’s Home.

About the current crisis in the United Methodist Church, we have opinions.

I was raised Presbyterian and my father loved the study of religion. I was taught as a young person the Bible was our book to live by and to be inspired by. I memorized verses my whole life and they come to mind when I need them.

On human sexuality — we do not belong to a church to solve this generation’s dichotomy of science and religion.

When we moved to Alabama my father said we would enjoy the Methodist Church. When we asked “why”, his one-word response was “governance”. That has come to pass.

On the Book of Discipline — we regard it as a great resource and always a ‘work in progress’.

Having lived in 13 states, we see it is a reflection of America and perhaps, in the future, a regional explanation will help those troubled by parts of it. We were part of a large group that helped to make changes to the Book of Discipline in the mid-1980s — a satisfying project.

It is nonsensical to us we would leave this great church founded on the beliefs, experiences, and tenets of the founder, John Wesley. The United Methodist Church has not labored in isolation but is a contributor to a network of great causes and projects and subsequently, we are able to access that great network when needed.

Thanks for the opportunity to say these words at this important time.