15 Grand Meadow Crescent, Edmonton AB. I don’t think that I will ever forget that address. I’ve spent so many hours with the congregation. They’re like another family to me. They help through the hardships. It’s not just about asking your fellow churchgoers to pray for you and hope that something happens. At Millwoods United Church you have people asking to help you. If you are having a rough time with money and say need to pay a bill really badly, they have a bursary that you can ask the minister to get from. They do a bread run for the low income, they’ve ran hundreds of fundraisers, here’s a clothing bank, Heavenly Hospitality Catering Service, etc. Your friends will bring you food when you are sick, they will drive you to appointments if you need. My mother and I even got jobs from The Millwoods United Church Family.
Coming out at church was probably one of the hardest but most rewarding things I have ever done. I decided to do it when my church didn’t actually have a minister. We were on the hunt for one. The council had decided that they wanted to allow members of the congregations to do some of the services for fun. So my dad and I decided that to come out we could do a service about what “Affirming” stands for and why even though we say it, not a lot has changed in the LGBTQ part of our church. During the Sermon I decided to focus it on me and come out for a second time to my church. I told them that my name is AJ Christian Janewski and that I am a Transgender Male and that I know they will accept me into their hearts and still love me the same. There was a lot of crying lol. But everyone took it really well. I got lots of hugs and kisses after the service.
Stitching Connections is a twice monthly meeting at my church that is all about knitting, sewing, crocheting, etc. One of the meetings is during the day and the other is in the evening. Someone would always bring coffee and some snacks that you would pay a buck or two for. It was always a fun time to sit with everyone and just do what you enjoy. The best part about it was the church gossip that was going around at the time.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry at Millwoods United was a group of people that made shawls or blankets to give to people as a gift. During the knitting or other processes of the piece being made, the person making it would pray and send healing energy to the creation. After the piece is finished the Prayer shawl ministry will bring a couple of finished products together to bless with good thoughts, prayers and healing energy. I made quite a few shawls that have been given away as gifts. It warms me inside that people know they are loved by all the people who prayed on the shawl or blanket. Even if you didn’t know the person, they are still trying to make you feel loved.
No comments:
Post a Comment