What Christ Church Means to Me

By Kim & Jim Kelleher
December, 2008

Kim Kelleher –

hen I agreed to speak at today's service, Chuck let me know that since it was the Hanging of the Greens service, all the kids would all be in the congregation for the whole service. I apologize in advance because, despite my intentions of keeping this brief, I really had a lot to say!

I think that the story of how we came to be at Christ Church is worth mentioning before moving into what Christ Church means to me:

I was raised Methodist and Jim was raised Catholic
We had always said that when we had kids, we planned to raise them with a religious aspect to their lives and when we had our first child, we were pressed to actually follow through on this.
When discussing what denomination/church to choose, I realized that Jim had a much stronger connection to the Catholic faith than I had to Methodism so I agreed to attend a Catholic church and we had our first two children christened there.
When “The Priest Debacle” came to light in 2002/2003, I finally told Jim that if I'm going to choose a church, it just can't be the Catholic church and he could not make much of an argument. We therefore started attending my parents' Methodist church in Oregon in order to make church a “family affair”.
When we moved to New Jersey, we started a church search which included going to Summit Methodist (beautiful church and people were nice but it didn't grab me), and Chatham Presbyterian (in the middle of the service I was struck with what I can only describe as a migraine headache even though I've never had one so that seemed to be “a sign”??). So far, nothing grabbed me.
I received a letter in the mail from Christ Church in Summit and the first thing on the page was “No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here”. I thought that was a pretty good place for a church to start so I posted it on the refrigerator.
Within a few weeks, I visited Christ Church for the first time and was astounded by the production of “It's Cool in the Furnace” – a musical performed by the children in the church. I was struck first by how many kids were involved of all ages – at least 50 – and also by the fact that a children's musical production had taken the place of a sermon. This was very intriguing to a mother of four young kids. However, coffee hour proved even more intriguing (I would always to go the coffee hour after a service when I was church shopping to see whether people would approach me and talk to me). I was very quickly found by Julie Yarborough (how exactly DOES that radar of hers work I wonder…) and was introduced around to several people, all of whom said, “Oh, it's great that you came today, but you really have to come and hear one of Chuck's sermons.” For a person who had always felt that making it through a church sermon without falling asleep or using the time to organize her life on her Palm Pilot was a huge accomplishment, this was a strange thing to hear.
So I came the next Sunday and got my first experience of a Chuck Rush sermon, complete with stories of his personal experiences (usually with old college buddies), about 10 different ideas being woven together and little to no mention of God, or religion as I defined it at the time, at all. Not only was my attention captured through the whole thing, I actually related to the message (well, at least one or two of them – I doubt that I caught all of them) and remembered it for quite some time.
I came home and told Jim that this search needed to have both of us involved as I didn't want this important of a decision to fall only on my shoulders. We therefore went to Christ Church together the next Sunday and as we sat in the pew waiting for the service to begin, I read through the bulletin. I jabbed Jim in the ribs and said, “Look at the title of the sermon – ‘Saddam's Execution – A Talk Back. What on earth is that??”. I was immediately struck with: 1) A minister is going to address an execution in a regular sermon, and 2) “A Talk Back” – is he actually going to ask people to give uncensored opinions in a church service… on the subject of execution???

With my jaw agape, I waited for the sermon to commence. Chuck began with his thoughts on the event that he had viewed on the internet and then, before opening the floor up to the congregation, said “And today we've got Governor Corzine here with us and I'm hoping that he will give us his personal insights on this matter.” I immediately turned to Jim and said, “They got the GOVERNOR to come speak??? We're not going to find ANY other place like this!” Only later did I learn that this had been the Governor's church for years and years.

And so we were hooked – the search was over. And I believe that it was the following Sunday that I got signed up to do a Sunday School 5-week rotation and shortly thereafter found myself on the Christian Education committee. As you can imagine, all this occurred well before we became members of the church.

So finally, what does Christ Church mean to me?

First, I believe I overheard someone adapt Sally Field's line from the movie “Forrest Gump”, “Christ Church is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you're going to get”. Of course, if I were keeping to true Christ Church protocol, I would be showing you a film clip from the movie up on the wall, but I didn't end up having the time.

But the point is, I think that it is GREAT that when you come to Christ Church each Sunday, you never quite know what might be happening. There have been beautiful music selections played by violins, pianos and trombones as well as unusual choral pieces and solos by the choir and performances by the childrens' choirs. There are been numerous movie clips and slide shows shown. There has been an animal guy with all kinds of interesting creatures. There are these things called “Talk Backs.” There is the Q&A service where Chuck and Julie answers questions written in from the congregation. There was the service two Sundays ago we surrounded ourselves with the light of those no longer with us. And at Christmas time there is the Hanging of the Greens where everyone in the church helps to decorate the tree.

Second, it has meant a place that does not profess to know all the answers and my never-ending questions often seem to be even welcomed. For the past several years, I have been trying to find out what I believe, and I've been able to have candid, one-on-one conversations with both Julie and Chuck as well as have very interesting and enlightening discussions with the Quest group.

Third, Christ Church is a more intimate church than the churches I've attended. I noticed it the first time I attended when it came time for announcements, joys and concerns and Julie turned to the congregation instead of getting up at the lectern and doing them herself. It was even more apparent when I attended my first communion at this church where everyone gathers together – THAT I have never seen before. While I have seen many baptisms, I don't know that I've ever seen children be carried down the aisle by the minister while everyone sings to the child. When members of the congregation are leaving the church, there is much more than just an announcement – the whole congregation comes together to form a human chain of presence around them. While all of this “intimacy” was a bit surprising at first, I have come to love that this church is really a church of the people that invites everyone to participate and values their contributions, not a place where the congregation listens passively to the church leaders and is told what to do.

Fourth, it is a place that has offered unique suggestions and events focusing on how to include a sense of wonder and gratitude in everyday life as well as focus on family. My kids still talk about the St. Nicholas breakfast that we did last year at Chuck's suggestion and the square dance this fall was much more fun than I would have imagined.

The final thing I will mention about Christ Church is that it has become a place where I feel like I have friends – friends that know me at least somewhat well and that care about me as I do them. Given that I feel this way, it is almost impossible to believe that we have been coming here for less than 2 years. And it is therefore with a rather heavy heart that I and the rest of the Kelleher family say goodbye to everyone today as we head off to a new adventure in Portland, Oregon, later this week. We will miss this place very much.

Kim Kelleher
December, 2008

Jim Kelleher –

ot of experience trying to answer this question as a Catholic.

Growing up and until I had children the Catholic Church worked for me.

Became part of my make up and one of the places where I learned right from wrong. The Catholic Church in a way was an unthinking decision for myself. My mother started me as a youngster and I never really questioned being Catholic

But then Kim wife started asking. What does the Church Mean to Me? Why are our children baptized Catholic?

I could not articulate an answer other than that's what I've always done and it's a part of me.

So having lost church 20 questions with Kim, I agreed to look at other church options. The goal was to find a place that I could explain to myself and my kids why we go. But I also felt strongly that the kids were going to miss out on the feeling / identification of ‘being' Catholic.

When I think about What CCC Means to Me. I think about it in terms of spiritual growth and spiritual choice. Both in terms of myself but also in creating a foundation for my children

Kim and I very much made a “Thinking Decision” to start attending CCC and ultimately become members.

We were targeting: Community, Music, A good children's program

For us these three priorities at very much integrated at CCC.

In terms of community, we found a ‘co-op' church where involvement by a very high percentage of members is requisite for the church to run. For a former Catholic who never left the pew or attended a coffee hour this has been quite a needed change and a welcome one. In fact, CCC is a place that has inspired me to participate as way to give back to the church and say thank you. And one of the reasons why I wanted to speak today.

But the community aspect also extend to a our children where they have a safe place to have a new set of friends and experiences and learn about religion and music. Each week our three boys sign in choir, listen to Julie offer and often see their parents participating in the church. It's funny but for a while now, I've lost that concern that my children won't have same connection to religion that I had growing up. That they'd have a ‘void' for not being Catholic.

I think the concern has gone away because my children and they're parents have been part of a community that actively demonstrates caring, commitment and involvement in the well-being of CCC's members and as a whole and is making my children and Kim and I better people.

Jim Kelleher
December, 2008