Summer Connections 2013

Brooklyn L.

Family is important because you can always count on them to stick with you when you need them.

They are always there for you, but they don’t always have to be related to you.

Bonnie and Peter are my grandma and grandpa, even though they are just my mom’s friends. They are my grandparents though, because they are loving and caring, like grandparents are. My mom started working at St. Andrew’s and she works with Bonnie, so

when she introduced my brothers and me to coworkers, I met Bonnie and then later met her husband, Peter. They are so nice and generous to my brothers and me.

We get to do many things with them, like go to the beach, lake, and their house to do fun things together.

Recently, Bonnie and Peter took me on a special adventure by myself. We went to the lake, then to go see a play, and then I got to spend the night at their house. It

Peter and Bonnie Prietto The church should be like an extended family. Those close to your age are your siblings; those older are your parents, aunts and uncles, who are the ones that you revere. The younger ones are like your kids and grandkids.

we connected right away. We have become part of her “village;” her people. So, being a part of her life has naturally rolled into relationships with her kids, including Brooklyn, her eldest. We cannot even remember the steps that led

was really fun and it made me feel special and important. I always look forward to spending time with them. Whenever I get to be at St. Andrew’s, I go to Bonnie’s office to say hello and spend time with her.

They teach me about God through the way they act and treat others.

God wants us to be loving and caring to others, and that is how Bonnie and Peter are to me. So, I

think that they would make God happy.

are excited to see them. We spend time with them, sometimes for weekend sleepovers, and when they go home we have withdrawals. We love them because they love us and we love that.

Building relationships with the younger generation at this church took investments. We had to make an effort to be there for them. We learned that we can’t just warm a pew; we needed to get involved.

Casey and her kids had a need that we could fill, and we had a need that they fill. That is what family is about. That is what the church is about.

“Our role as a church family is to help each other. So, wherever someone needs help, that is where we fill in as the church family.”

Our role as a church family is to help each other. So, wherever someone needs help, that is where we fill in as the church family. Whether you set out to do it deliberately or it happens inadvertently, you fill in. We take delight in being there for others as if they are a part of our family.

When Casey came to St. Andrew’s,

to our deep relationship with the family, because it was so natural, but Casey has become a surrogate daughter to us, and her kids are like our grandkids. It’s fun. The kids get excited to see us, and we

I have been a pew potato, just sitting there. Hearing about last year’s trip to Kenya, I thought to myself that it would be nice for some people to go on the trip, but that I was too old. That Sunday, the sermon was emphasizing the excuses we give when Christ asks us to do something that would take us out of our comfort zone. Pastor Rich gave us slips of paper with the word “excuses” on the top, and I wrote on my paper in all caps: “I have no valid excuses.” I meant that – why can’t I get out of my comfort zone?

So, after service, Jim Collier, a fellow physician, approached me about the Kenya trip and asked me if I would be interested in going. Right then I knew I was being called to go, so I said yes and that I believe I need to be going on that trip. Then, like any good biblical character, I started thinking of excuses to keep me from doing what I was called to do. Once I was able to break away from my excuses, though, and became invested in the trip and the team going, I began to feel good about my decision to listen to the call.

My wife and I decided to bring our eldest granddaughter. She has always wanted to go to Kenya because when she was 4 years old, she watched a show on the National Geographic channel about the big cats of Kenya and fell in love. During the trip, an opening appeared for her to take charge and run both the medical clinics. She learned many short phrases in Swahili, learned how to count, and ran the clinic efficiently. She originally wanted to go

on the trip to see the big cats, but got completely engulfed in the work and in the people and the service we did and performed wonderfully. It was incredible to watch her thrive and absolutely grow up during the trip. She is now coordinating with her church near Denver to plan a trip there.

I want to emphasize that the medical part of the trip was the smaller part of the trip. It was an attraction. The payoff there was the souls led to Christ.

“By getting off the pew, I had the privilege of being used

by Christ as a part in many people’s faith journeys...”

We saw 1800 patients over the course of the trip, and 183 were led to the Lord. By getting off the pew, I had the privilege of being used by Christ as a part in many people’s faith journeys and extending the global community of Christ, whether it was fellow members of the trip or the patients we saw. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I said no to going to Kenya. I know that.

Growing up, I have always been involved at St. Andrew’s. I was an acolyte as a child and then followed in my parents’ footsteps to become an usher. I really enjoyed ushering, so much so that I am currently an Usher Captain. The natural progression of growing up at St. Andrew’s and moving through the youth groups brought me to Haven, the college group. It is there where I rekindled friendships with people I haven’t seen in a while and formed new important relationships, as well.

There are so many awesome people in Haven. It is truly a family because everyone

The Haven members are my brothers and sisters. The guys in Haven are men amongst boys. They are solid individuals who always have time for each other. They are a part of my daily life. We hang out all the time and have the coolest adventures and probably have the best stories to tell.

During Haven, the small group time is a time for discussion, which leads us in so many directions. We talk about everyone’s needs, views, passions, and thoughts on the given subject, which helps us to get to know each other on a deeper level. The official weekly program ends around 9:30

“Now that I am in Haven, I have formed an instant bond with the leaders and my friends that I could not live without.” is so caring about everyone else. I cannot say enough good things about everyone.

Someone who has made a real impact in my life is Becky Carter. She is the unofficial adoptive mother to Haven. She is a wonderful mother, not only to her own children, but she loves us like we were her kids – and the feeling is mutual because I love her to death and I treat her like she is my second mother. It is so cool because she is so relatable. She has the best advice, even when she doesn’t know what you are going through. She offers wisdom that is remarkable and she is always there for us. She will drop everything to be there for us, which is amazing because there are not too many people out there that are willing to do that.

p.m., but it really doesn’t end until people are so exhausted that they head home to get to bed. We just want to spend more time hanging out and being with each other that sometimes we stay out until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, talking, laughing, and eating together. It’s all about community with us.

Growing up, I never really had close, deep friendships, but now that I am in Haven, I have formed an instant bond with the leaders and my friends that I could not live without. I do not know what I would do without them. They are my family.

We were very nervous and scared during our move to St. Andrew’s. We were walking into a culture very different than what we were used to and there was the worry that we would stick out like sore thumbs. But we experienced something so different than that. When we arrived, it was an immediate feeling of being enveloped with love. Within the first few weeks, people invited us over for dinner, people dropped off meals when we were in the moving process with the kids, and even the kids were welcomed with open arms into the church from all generations.

So many people were bringing us into their everyday lives, which we loved, but joining our Life Group allowed us to feel connected on a deeper level to the community. Knowing that these people are committed to us and we are committed to them has been wonderful. Recently, the men and women split up to have a guys’ night and girls’ night. One of our ladies was determined to be there, even though she was very pregnant. When she arrived, she mentioned she was having close contractions. We timed them and decided to take her to the hospital because she was fully in labor. It was just so awesome to be a part of such an amazing experience with people we care about. Unscheduled moments like that bind you together and create a sense

of security that allows you to move through the rest of your life with confidence because you know that you have people encouraging you and building you up and who are always there for you.

Being in a new place without immediate family nearby has been tough at times. But along with the support from our Life Group, we were blessed to be adopted into a family within a month or two of arriving at St. Andrew’s. An older couple approached Steven and I and asked if we would mind if they could be adoptive grandparents to the kids.

They do not have many of their own kids and grandkids nearby, so it was a chance for them to have that experience, as well as us being able to have that support system of family close by. And they have been great to us.

We hear in church “God is with you” and that is great and so true, but one of the most amazing ways you experience that at St. Andrew’s is through the people. It can be so abstract when it’s just told to you at church. Yet, it can be so much better when you have people living that out, and showing you Christ and being Christ in your life, and we have experienced that over and over again here at St. Andrew’s.

“Unscheduled moments like that bind you together and create a sense of security that allows you to move through the rest of your life with confidence...”

The concept of “communitas” is where everyone within the community grows together and experiences together. It is a big part of my thinking and I want to be involved in a church that lives it out, which St. Andrew’s does. St. Andrew’s is a very inviting place, with its focus on community, discipleship, making people feel invited, and reaching out to them. It is an exciting thing of which to be a part.

An interesting thing happened to me about 2 years ago when I started writing my thesis for my doctorate in missional discipleship. One Saturday morning, I drove to the grocery store

the church I was attending at the time and he said sure.

For the next month, through this teenager, I met more teens that are out there and don’t know what to do with life. They seemed so lost.

So, I told the original teen that on Saturday mornings we can meet at the McDonalds, I’ll buy breakfast, and we will have a Bible study and that all of his friends are invited. Our Bible study has been going on for 18 months, and just recently, they asked me if we could do it more often, so we have just changed it to twice a week. I felt God saying that I had to live out

“We walk out of church with a responsibility. We never know who we impact or when we impact them.” and there was a teenager sitting outside. I thought it was strange since most teens are not up at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday. On the way out of the store, he stopped me and asked if I could help him out with some money for breakfast.

I asked him what his story was and he let me know that he was living on the streets. He said that he kept himself as groomed as he could and that he found a spot in the woods to sleep daily in Lake Forest. I was in a hurry and being a little self-centered, I just gave him some money and jumped in my car. I turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened, and right then, I felt this tug that I needed to go talk to him. So, I got out and asked him what he was doing the next day. He said that his calendar was pretty open but he was betting that he was doing something with me now. I invited him to

my thesis, not just write about it. It has been a really big learning experience and it has shown me in order to be in community, you have to be where the people are. You need to be on their level, where they are, in their world. That is where you can have a ministry with them.

Our faith and our relationship with God are constant. As Christians, we come on a Sunday morning and that is when we get filled. The other parts of the week are when we need to go out into the world that desperately needs us and live it out. We walk out of church with a responsibility. We never know who we impact or when we impact them. You have to be open to experiencing the Holy Spirit working in you and God working through you. That’s kind of scary, but it is also kind of exciting and addicting.

This church, without a doubt, is like an adopted family to me.

When bringing my crying firstborn child, Parker, to the nursery 8 years ago, the nursery staff told me that they were going to love my child into the Kingdom.

It was a very practical and real example of caring for someone as though they were a family member. Through the way they continue to treat my children to this day, I know the people in this church actually care about the souls of the people here, not just the bodies in the seats. So, it has been fun to watch my kids grow up feeling like they own the campus – this is their place.

They identify St. Andrew’s as a place of comfort and home, because the relationships they have cultivated are real and not bound to Sundays only. Seeing that very tangible, practical example of love that people at St. Andrew’s have for my children is what translated into my desire to experience that type of love for myself.

in and out of homelessness were tugging on my heart, to leave my law firm and change career paths to work for a non-profit aiding Orange County homeless children and their families. My Life Group was my control group for processing this change and they loved and prayed me through the whole process. I wouldn’t have had the courage and strength to leave my job at the law firm if I wasn’t in community with the

One way I experience that love and connection is through my Life Group. My life story is something that people would normally shun from so I didn’t tell it to anyone prior to my Life Group. My life experiences as a child growing up

The encouragement I have received from St. Andrew’s in my recent life transition has been phenomenal. It has carried me through the tough parts of the process and will continue to do so. I recently came to church and

someone whom I know casually asked me how my ministry is going. It meant so much to be thought of and cared for. That is the coolest thing, to be reminded that we are all invested in an important way in each other’s lives.

The love, encouragement, prayer and support I have received in very practical and real and present ways absolutely make this place more than just a church building. It is an integral part of my life.

“I know the people in this church actually care about the souls of the people here, not just the bodies in the seats.” women in my Life Group. I can say that emphatically. Being able to fully be me, and all that it encompasses, was what gave me the strength and confidence to feel that people would accept who I was and where I was headed.

Sometimes it can be very overwhelming to come to a large church and get invested. It can be very easy to remain on the outskirts and just sit in the pews and leave immediately after the service, like I did for years. If you just try to form a relationship with one person, then that one person turns into many people because there are people here who care about who you are and do not expect you to be anything different than that. It is a safe place to just be you and the community will love you through figuring out what God’s best is for you.