Hoping to Grow in Christ

“I just love Costco… No matter which one you go to, you know exactly where things are…”, said a friend of mine who just returned from her one-year business assignment in Japan recently. Apparently, Japan now has a Costco and it is very popular. According to her, she visited it often when she felt homesick. Her comment made me chuckle because I was thinking somewhere on the same line about the baptism service at St. James, Kent, which she and I had just attended. Yes, the church welcomed me with the famous The Episcopal Church welcomes you sign on the street, but the crowd was a little bit different than ours. Yet, knowing when to do or say certain things before looking at the service bulletin made me feel right at home despite my unfamiliarity in the neighborhood.

As I prepare my Episcopalian 101 class I have been thinking so much about my Christian journey in the Episcopal Church. I still remember my first Episcopal service at St. Paul’s in Seattle. I was just totally lost not knowing anything about it. People seemed to know what they were doing, but all I could do was observe them and follow some motions within my comfort zone. Did I know why I knelt, stood up, and made a sign of the cross? Did I know why we said the Nicene Creed or why we took communion every week? Mostly not. But I became increasingly curious about many things in the worship, the church, and God. Now, I find it smilingly ironic that I am leading the Episcopalian 101 class at St. Benedict.

Do you ever run into situations where you want to know more about certain things but don’t know where to begin? My goal for this class is to help the participants to find their key to open their Pandora’s box full of questions. I am trying to entice the class to become more curious about the meaning of the things we do inworship that could be so easily missed. My hope is that we gain more intentionality in our Christian faith. Designing each class makes me aware of how much knowledge of our Church I’ve gained over the years, and also of how much more there is to learn. It’s a continuous journey, isn’t it? I truly enjoy exploring each subject with participants in the class, finding the mystery of God being revealed to us in each session through interactions about the subjects and even through some awkward silence in the class as well. It teaches me not just about Christ but also about myself!

I have also come to appreciate more those amongst us who are teachers.

Teaching requires listening to students, asking them good questions, and staying calm when the class’ reaction is unexpected so that the energy and curiosity of the class is not lost. Thank you so much for this wonderful teaching opportunity to help me grow in Christ.