A Part of the Family

Dear Church Family,

When I entered Junior High School as a 7th grader, I was over the moon — not just because I was finally out of Elementary school, but because it meant I could finally join the band.

I still remember the moment it all started: the Junior High Jazz band came to play at our elementary school, and the second I heard them, I knew I wanted to be part of something like that. I asked the director what it took to be a drummer, and he told me I needed lessons. Fortunately, I'd been taking them since 4th grade, so I spent the next year learning and growing, preparing for my chance to audition.

When the week finally came, I was ready. I made the cut — and as a 7th grader, I was going to be part of the group.

Most of the kids were a year older than me, but I was welcomed in warmly. We rehearsed during 4th period and on Monday nights, and over the course of that year, the band became a community. Our teacher pushed us to grow as musicians, we challenged each other to improve, and we became a musical family I still remember to this day. I'm deeply grateful to Mr. Schiada for creating that space.

Being part of a church family isn't so different from being part of that band.

We United Methodists believe that following Jesus isn't about adopting a specific set of doctrines or getting your theology perfectly correct. Faith is something we grow together, as a community.

The scriptures were written over a very long span of time, representing people's varied experiences of God. We don't simply inherit them and move on — we wrestle with them. We work together to figure out what following Jesus in 2026 looks like, and we learn from one another as we put those ancient words into perspective for our own lives of faith.

This is why Jesus called us to be the church. The word translated as church — Ekklesia — means "a gathering of people." Like the early church, we gather to learn from God and from one another what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today.

David Nacho, director of street ministries at First Baptist Church of Vancouver, British Columbia, captured it well in The Christian Century:
"Learning to live requires more than a series of disconnected courses in different disciplines. Wisdom's way of being can't be abstracted from everyday life. It requires a community of learners journeying together in solidarity — studying scripture, seeking justice, offering mercy, suffering hardship, loving one another, proclaiming good news. Only in the fullness of life together can wisdom emerge."

This is why being part of a church family matters so deeply. We weren't meant to do life alone. We were created to be in relationship with God and with one another — which is exactly why Jesus boiled all the commandments down to just two: love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Being a part of that band over 40 years ago deeply shaped who I am as a musician today. And that was literally only a year of my life. But it reminds me that being part of a church family—whenever you arrive—is how we let God’s love and grace deeply shape us into those who bear the image of Christ for the world. 

I'm so grateful to be part of the St. Andrew's family, and I'm so glad you are here. Let's keep welcoming others into this community of faith.

With God's Peace, 
Pastor Karl