Mary smiles up from her weeding, as she helps the Friendship Gardeners clean up the yard of a senior member of our congregation.

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I love God and His church. My Mother took me to church when I was a baby. I grew up in the church. It was my life. My friends were there. I loved being there.

When I was 15 my Father died of a heart attack. Shortly after that a classmate of mine was suddenly killed in a car accident. It was a shock to realize that someone that young could die. I had lost my grandparents and my father but that was different - they weren't in their youth. It really made me stop and think - where would I go if I died today? I was not rebellious or disobedient, I felt I was a "good girl" but I knew that I was a sinner because that's what the Bible teaches. Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And Romans 10:9-10, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved, for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

I knew I couldn't be a second-generation Christian. I couldn't be a Christian by doing good works or being religious. I was separated from God. When Christ knocked at the door of my heart I knew it was Him. I wanted Him as my Savior. I felt convicted of my sins. I knew God's remedy was the cross. Jesus Christ was the only answer. And so I invited Christ into my heart. He is my Savior and my Lord.

Ministry

Christ taught us about ministry - He modeled perfectly. He didn't just preach it, He cared, He listened, He served, He reached out, He supported, He affirmed and encouraged, He stayed in touch, He walked with people, He was involved.

My first ministry was when I was about 12 years old. Every Sunday afternoon the young people from our church would meet the trains filled with troops on their way to war (during World War II). We handed out hundreds of tracts, praying that God would touch their hearts and become real to them, and bring them home. And then we would go to the Old People's Home (called the County Farm) and have a service. This was a pathetic situation, nothing like facilities we have today. The poor dear people were so neglected, it was not easy to go there, and I can't imagine having to spend the last part of your life there. But we tried to bring joy and we told them about Jesus.

It wasn't until after I was married and had children that I attended Bible Study Fellowship and Precepts and I learned about my Heavenly Father, understood who He was and who I was, strengthened my roots, and grew in my Christian walk. I studied under Godly women. After about 12 years of in-depth Bible Study, I felt that I was taking in so much, and not giving anything back. And I felt God was nudging me to become involved in service.

Several years ago at an annual business meeting, I was looking at the budget and noticed a budget item for all the ministries at HCC; missions, youth, Sunday School, children's ministries, etc. but nothing for seniors. And I realized there wasn't a senior program. Our seniors are an important part of our ministry; they are our charter members. They gave so much to start this church; they were the early pillars of the church.

At about the same time Tom Holdych invited me to be on the Senior Care committee. I appreciate so much Tom's leadership and the good things that have come from this committee. The opportunity was there, I felt God leading me, and I volunteered to coordinate the senior activities. Our activities include:

Luncheons

Five times a year, Prime Timers get together for a delicious lunch at HCC. We enjoy visiting with friends, welcoming newcomers and special programs which include entertainment and featured speakers.

Day trips

We've gone to interesting places such as Holland Days Festival in Lynden, Lavender Festival at Sequim, Underseas Museum at Keyport, and Tulip Fields in LaConner. We see interesting places and meet new friends.

Soup Brigade

A friend asked me to make homemade soup to take to our senior families when we visit. We felt it was a much-needed ministry and we decided to ask for volunteers to make larger quantities of soup. This was the beginning of the Soup Brigade with our lovely volunteers making delicious homemade soups. We keep a supply in our church freezer. When we visit it is a way to bring a little cheer, to remind them of God's love with the homemade soup and to say we care and we love you. And now we have made this available to the whole church, not just our seniors.

Homestretch

Monday mornings our senior women enjoy weekly prayer, Bible Study, support and encouragement as they focus on finishing well in the "home stretch" of their walk with the Lord. On the first Monday of the month we serve a luncheon. It has been such a privilege to serve in this way, and brings me real joy to do it. These dear ladies are like precious jewels to me.

Veterans Day

The highlight of the year is our Veterans Day celebration. We want to honor our veterans and active military heroes who have and are sacrificing so much for our freedom. The first year we had a dinner at a local restaurant with about 35 in attendance. This past year we wanted to invite the whole church to hear their wonderful stories and to show our love and appreciation. Burt Talcott told of how God miraculously brought him through unbelievable danger. It is an amazing story. Around 200 attended. We weren't expecting that many for our salmon dinner and we were afraid we wouldn't have enough food - so the kitchen crew gathered to pray that the Lord would bless the loaves and fishes, and we were able to feed everyone. There were many tears as we realized afresh the sacrifice of our service people. We will be celebrating again this November.

Other Areas of Service

Alpha

I am so excited to be part of Alpha, whose main goal is to help us all to know Him and His church and His word better. God is using Alpha at our church to help us to help each other in our walk with Him. It is an exciting place to be involved. If you aren't familiar with the Alpha program, please talk to Pastor Scott or Linda and Doug Hay. They would be so happy to tell you about it.

Life group

Out of one of our Alpha sessions grew our Home group. I think all of us have gone through Alpha, and we wanted to continue meeting to encourage each other, to study together, and to get to know each other better. It has been such a blessing. We have grown spiritually and had a lot of fun together. God is blessing.

I love those who are seeking God more in their lives. God has given me many others to help in this service He has called me to - sometimes our lovely ladies, sometimes families, sometimes just a few. I asked some of my creative, willing friends to form a planning committee to help with the events and they are a delight to work with, they are my mentors. I couldn't begin to do it without them.

I LOVE THE MINISTRY GOD HAS GIVEN ME. I love seniors. It gives me real joy to serve in this way. I am busy - sometimes too busy - but I know God has called me and He has given me a heart to serve and a wonderful church family in which to serve.

I'm so thankful I have a supportive husband - after 56 years of marriage we are still in love. We have a wonderful family: four children, spread out from Seattle to Minneapolis to NY to London. We have 9 grandchildren, and in December we will have 7 great grandchildren. We don't get to see them often - the grandchildren and greats have grown up without us and that has been hard. But God so graciously gave us an extended family here. God is so good.

What is God Doing in Your Life?

It is exciting to see what God will do through all of us! I encourage you to dream dreams. Let God lead you. Do you see an area you'd like to become involved in? Do you see a need that isn't being met? Are you interested in assisting others? Let us know. If you would like to be involved in any area I've mentioned, you would be so welcome. We'd be delighted to have you on our team.

God is on our side. Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. (Php 1:6)

AND YOU KNOW WHAT? THE BEST IS YET TO COME.