Amy and Steve Voida

We visited this church for the first time in December 2015, almost exactly nine years ago. Those nine years have been eventful – to say the least. We’ve added one kiddo and two cats to our family. We’ve both earned tenure as faculty at CU Boulder. And along with this community, we’ve weathered a pandemic, a mass shooting, and multiple wildfires… as well as all the ripple effects of the political divisiveness in this country. It has been exhausting and often, disheartening. Yet, this church has been the community that keeps us from being disheartened. It is a church that cares – cares about each other and cares about the world around us. And that gives us hope.

Everyone in our family is part of a small group here that cares about them… the kids’ choir, the youth group, the handbell choir, even the committees we serve on. People in the church are constantly checking in with us. They know what is going on in our lives. And they step up to help in a host of ways that make a small difference yet speak volumes – bringing over dinner when we’ve had a particularly bad week, watching the kids while the handbell choir rehearses…

We’ve both been part of the handbell choir here for almost as long as we’ve been a part of this church. It means so much to have someplace to come every Tuesday night to share about what’s going on in the life of our family, to catch up with everyone else, and to even do a little bit of rehearsing. Even at the end of a long and exhausting workday, which Tuesdays usually are, bell choir is the place where we get to set all of that aside and make something beautiful.

This is also a church that cares deeply about our future as a congregation. Growing up, I belonged to churches that met in borrowed spaces – golf course clubhouses, funeral homes…. And I belonged to churches that were so financially pinched, we had to decide whether to pay the water bill or the electricity bill in any given month. It is so refreshing to be a part of a church that is thriving because it has cared enough to invest in its future. We have a wonderful, well-cared for space to gather, we have financial endowments to ensure our long-term stability and viability… all of which means that we can spend our energy putting our faith into action in the world today.

This is also a church that cares about the world around us. The expertise and passion of the people in this church is just ridiculous. There is so much about our world that is overwhelming and it is so reassuring to be able to lean into all of the expertise of people in the church. When those smart, savvy people here say we need to write postcards to registered voters… Excellent. Bring them on. When they say, “Here, take this origami paper; we’re contributing to a memorial for those who have lost their lives to gun violence.” We’re in. It brings hope to know that this church community cares actively for the world around us and that, whatever the future brings, it will continue to be a force multiplier for making this world a better place.