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Background:
We have struggled with “normal” churches. We saw hate being taught by the preacher. We were not allowed to join “the church family” because we lived together without being married. We saw racism. We saw LGBTQ being villanized. We saw people lose their church communities during divorce or because of other “unaccepted” decisions. We saw people being judged for their clothes and cleanliness. We saw churches focusing on money. We saw churches focusing on themselves.
One time, we did find a church that welcomed everyone. They worked in the community. They were almost right. But the weekly worship was sleepy and half-hearted.
We prayed about this struggle. We were inspired to find another way. We heard, “if you build it, they will come.”
Who is “we”?
I am Leila, a mother, an art lover, and an occupational therapist. “We” is me and my husband James, a baseball fanatic and music lover who works in financial advising. We have a daughter, a cat, three dogs, and a faith that binds our family together. This faith is as important to us as our breath.
Beliefs: What do we know?
We know that there is a power that loves me, and you, and everyone. It loves you SO much. We know that the power wants to help us.
We know that every person is important. Every person was created perfectly. Every person makes mistakes. Every person deserves forgiveness. Every person experiences trauma. Every person needs healing.
We know that our higher power can heal. Our higher power brings peace to those who believe. Our higher power is available to everyone. James and I call our higher power, God & Jesus. You can call your higher power whatever you want.
The main thing we know: you must hand over your life to that higher power. Healing, peace, and purpose all come after you make that decision.
We know that the higher power designed us to need two things:
1. We need a personal relationship with a higher power.
2. We need each other.
We know that inner peace is possible. We have experienced despair, suicidal thoughts, trauma, miscarriage, illness, abuse, poverty, divorce, addiction, and betrayal. We have made mistakes and experienced crippling guilt over those decisions. We have messed up really, really badly. And we have hurt really, really badly. But we did not stop there.
With our higher power AND with help from others we have moved beyond all of that. We have found freedom from our abusers. We have healed from emotional and physical wounds. We have forgiven ourselves. We have experienced recovery from addiction. We have learned how to love again. We have forgiven others. And we have been forgiven.
We have found peace that surpasses ALL circumstances.
We know that we have to give this away in order to keep it.
And we know that we need to maintain a relationship with our higher power to successfully handle life as it comes.
We know that pain is a part of life, unfortunately. All humans experience grief and loss. We know that the world can be overwhelming.
But we also know that there is a way to rise above all of that and gain peace one day at a time.
Mission: What do we want?
We want you to experience this freedom too. We want to learn as a community and grow together. We want to welcome everyone to the table.
Name: Why did we name the church Field of God?
Our name is from this Bible quote:
“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
1 Corinthians 3:9
We liked this quote because:
- It reminds us that we are all equals.
- It is encouraging. It says that we are able to make a difference.
- It is inclusive. All are needed to do the work.
A field needs tending. A field provides life-giving food. A field can be burned down. But even when destroyed, a field uses the destruction and decay to create new life. The smallest mustard seed can grow into the largest bush.
Let’s grow together.