Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Spring 2013 Issue | Page 35

readers’ page
A regular feature in the magazine
where Virginia Episcopalians can
share their voices. For this issue,
we asked our contributors to
respond to one question:

When did you know that you had found
a church home?

Elaine Horsfield, St. Timothy’s, Herndon
During the week I am bombarded with advertisements for all kinds
of things I don’t have but I am told I need. I hear about cruises, $395
shoes, SUVs and trips to Europe. I am told that I need to water my lawn
with a sprinkler system or have the latest iPhone or have my chin done.
I … have had a number of tribulations in my life and at times I start to
question the world and what it all means. I get caught up in the “woe is
me, me, me.” Then each Sunday I come to St. Timothy’s, sit in my pew
and look around the sanctuary. I am reminded that I am so rich. Not with
trips or things but the caring of my fellow parishioners who ask how I
am, offer to help with a project I have, give me a smile and a hug. I hear
of all the hours that they have spent helping others in our community
and I am inspired to go and do more. I have food to eat, a roof over my
head and people who love me. So for selfish reasons I know being at St.
Timothy’s reminds me weekly of what is truly important in the world.

Helen Spence, St. Christopher’s, Springfield
When we first came to Virginia, we started “church shopping” near
where our apartment was. The first church was nice, but didn’t have a
pre-school (I had small sons), so we kept looking. The second church
was nice, had a pre-school, but no one came and spoke to us at coffee
hour … for three weeks in a row. So we kept looking. By this time, we
knew we’d be living somewhere in Fairfax County, so we started at St.
Christopher’s in Springfield, since it’s just off the interstate. It had a
pre-school, had someone at the door to tell us w