Home.
It is a simple word but has many powerful meanings.
Some years ago in August, my wife Amy and I were looking at different churches and trying to find a place that shared our core beliefs and values as Christians.
We arrived at Trinity and were greeted kindly. People asked us interested questions and welcomed us warmly.
There was nothing specific or dramatically different about our arrival or our interactions.
But I sensed intuitively and instinctively that this was a remarkably different place.
There was a calm, compassionate and genuine air to the place.
People were greeting each other with a calm, present and loving authenticity.
I took a breath and felt like I was healing.
Closed my eyes and sensed God, community, history and acceptance.
Amy and I saw many different races, ethnicities, and walks of life.
A broad spectrum of American society drawn together for one purpose, to worship God, not the world.
The service was lightly attended and had a visiting priest.
After church, people quietly approached us and gently tried to articulate to us what I now think of as Trinity’s soul.
They described a place of purpose, inclusion and social justice.
A place that shared our Christian core beliefs.
About five minutes into the service, Amy and I looked at one another. She had a twinkle in her eye, with a shy grin she whispered to me.
“We are home.”