As I’m in the process of leaving a volunteer ministry position at one church to accept a paid staff position at another, I’ve been thinking about hometowns.
I’m an Air Force brat. I grew up moving around. It’s a great way to grow up; I lived across the country from South Carolina to Arizona and even in Japan. You meet all kinds of people and see all kinds of places. You also get to choose your hometown. I’ve compared notes with others who grew up like I did and we’ve all done it. Some parents are surprised to hear where their child considers home. I chose Longview, Texas, where we moved after my father retired from the service. I finished high school there and my parents lived there for nearly 40 years. People joke about East Texas being rural and backward, but I thought it was a great place to live, and I’ve lived in a lot of places.
People choose their hometowns based on what happened there. Their choice is based on significant events, where they lived during a key time in their life, or where they had a lot of really close friends. Your hometown is the place that shaped you, usually in ways you don’t truly understand until you look back. Your hometown marks you; people can tell where you’re from.
I call Christ United Methodist Church (Plano, Texas) my spiritual hometown. It was where my experiences led me to understand a call to ministry. It was where my friends helped me think my way through the process that led to seminary. It was where a pack of high school students trusted me enough to let me learn on them and put up with my “learning moments” (in other words, “mistakes”). It was the place that shaped me, although I’ve just now started to look back.
Unfortunately, a hometown tends to be a place you leave. I’m not moving away, but CUMC won’t have the same place in my life it once did. I will always be grateful for CUMC, for the people I know, the experiences I had, and the lessons I learned. I hope I’m marked by them and people will know where I’m from.
Fortunately, a hometown is a place where you’re always welcome. I will appreciate those times when I can enjoy the welcome of those who shaped me. I could not have chosen a better place.
The Feral Deacon 