United Church of Pittsford

I remember back when I was really little and being dragged along to church with my older siblings. My mom would dress us up and send us off for Sunday mornings at church. At the time, I was not thrilled and had other things I would have rather been doing. Grandma Hazel was always sitting up in the choir pew, watching us Knickerbocker grandkids to make sure we were paying attention. Back at that then, it was my mother always encouraging me to get to church. For the past few years, it has become my decision and me letting her know that I would be heading off to church.

God has a path for us in life. We have heard this many times and understand that he has a place for us to be and knows our ultimate destination. Five years ago, I had no idea that mine would bring me as close to him as I am today. This church has given me the opportunity to grow. Not only as an individual but also with God.

The first day I showed up at AGAPE, I had no idea what to expect. I assumed it would be all these kids that were being forced there by their parents. Little did I know that our youth group would be so much more than that. Suddenly AGAPE became another activity on our calendars that couldn't be missed. At that time, we were all pretty shaky in our faith and expressing ourselves. Over the past few years, we have become completely open to one another and with Jesus. It was our holy huddle, the place where we could say anything and be the people we wanted to be. I remember specifically one time at Star Lake, when we stood on the edge of the lake and lifted our hands in the air as we sang How Great is Our God. The sounds of nature and our voices let us know that God was there, showing us just how amazing He is. That retreat brought me closer to God then I ever was before. It wasn't just about the late nights and the crazy trips over to the "nice and easy," it was about the questions asked and our exploration of the bible. It was about having someone else pray, out loud for you and what you needed right then. It was about realizing that Jesus loved us. That He does not count every time that we make mistakes or stray from His path; He only remembers the times that we come back to Him, back to the path that He made for us.

It amazes me how much God has worked on me and in my life. I would not have guessed how much of an impact going to AGAPE would have on my life on that first day. I found a family in AGAPE, a family that was made of my brothers and sisters in Christ. From there I realized that our entire church was filled with brothers and sisters in Christ. The bible has God, at times, being refereed to as Abba. Abba, in Arabic, literally means Daddy. Now I call my own father daddy but I have never called God daddy before. Daddy is such a word of familiarity and great love. I want God to be my Abba. But I do not feel as though I am far enough along on my path with God to really see Him as my Abba. I hope and pray that someday, God will give me the strength and love for him, to think of him as my Daddy.

This path with Jesus has truly been one of many ups and downs. Jesus knew how stubborn I am and knew that the only way to make me closer to him was to throw me knee deep into His work. Being able to become more involved with the church brought me closer to Him. I learned more about him through each morning service and then with our contemporary worship services and then AGAPE. At first, church and Jesus and even religion were more of a Sunday thing for me. But I have learned, that that is not how it works. God is always there for us. Always pulling us to be closer with Him, the least I can do is work to please Him and get closer to Him. Sundays are a day for more communal learning and praying, while, for me, the rest of the week are days to work on my personal relationship with God. And trust me, I need all those six days because it is no easy task. But, I know Jesus is there, always helping me back.

Now, AGAPE is over for me. Although it is sad to have it come to an end, I know that it did for me what God wanted it to do. Every experience I had with the youth in the church brought me more onto the path he wanted for me. The switching of our leaders at first seemed scary and unbearable to me. But as we went from Becky to Mary and Dan, each one helped us to grow in our faith. Everybody has a different story, opinion and outlook on life and the bible. The opportunity for us to see many different perspectives permitted us to grow and to draw our own conclusions from what we learned. I have special memories with each one of these people who were sent, from God, to help each of us become the people we are today.

AGAPE allowed me to become more involved in the church and it moved on from there. Being part of the Contemporary Worship services has helped me grow as well. Working with the group, Pam and Pastor Jim, I learned more about my own faith. I began having to learn about Jesus on my own in order to help lead others. Never would I have been able to grow in my faith without the guidance of these people. The leaders in our church and anyone that has ever worked with the youth have blessed us in so many ways. They do not realize the great impact that they have had on me and I only wish I could thank them all. Fortunately, since I plan to attend Nazareth College in the fall, I will be close enough to not have to stray too far from the United Church of Pittsford. This has been my home, my place to learn. With the help of my mom, my dad and my siblings, I have become the person that I am. I know that God has a pan for each one of us and I pray all the best for my family and all those in our church ho have helped me along the way. For, I am by no means close to the end of my path with God and Jesus. I know that I have a lot more work to do and so much more to learn and take to heart. I am just so thankful that I have a forgiving God who keeps pulling me back to Him and that Jesus gave His life to make up for all the mistakes and sins that I have made. Jesus took the blame off of me and gave me the power to go to Heaven. He saved me.

Thank you.