2018 Pledge Drive | Alyssa's Story

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2018 Pledge Drive | Alyssa's Story

12/21/2017

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A lot of feelings [superia 400 film]

This is the flag that hangs outside my church. It has also been about six or seven years since I’ve called a church “my church”. I left the last one feeling so sure I’d gotten the whole thing wrong. That what I’d experienced was some joke; that these houses of the lord were just jail cells of hypocrisy. I’d heard of Collective, as one hears of things in a small close knit downtown like DeLand and Stetson. Through my time at Trilogy, I met more and more of the members. Intrigued by their ideals, LGBTQ acceptance, and a personal need to keep branching out into the DeLand community, I went for the first time over summer.

I’ve typed this next sentence several times, one describing my first visit, but can’t seem to get it right. It just clicked. This was a place in which whatever I stood for- it was accepted. I didn’t need to explain my current relationship status (or lack of) with god. I didn’t need to repent. I could just be there, and have thoughtful dialogue. I have developed some relationships through Collective’s connections that a lot of people probably don’t realize mean a lot to me.

But what really has me writing this is that for the first time in these last six years (fueled largely by my attendance at Collective and Wesley House) I recently prayed to a higher being on something for which I had no real control. Thinking there was no way it would be “answered”, and my effort was a laughably human move. But I was wrong; and I’m grateful I was. Whether god, or coincidence, an answer quickly came, and I was stunned. I felt the urge to write on this, fueled partially by my recent experience, and partially by this photo (Pride flag above) that came back from the developer today. I’m just grateful for another year of personal development, and I’m looking forward to what 2018 brings. I hope everyone exits 2017 gracefully

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We value highly the metaphor of journey. We’re different people from different places and backgrounds, representing an intergenerational community, and we’ve traveled different paths. So, we agree not to make assumptions about the person across from us, next to us, or in conversation with us. We challenge ourselves to be sensitive, knowing this community includes a diverse group of people from life-long followers of Jesus, to people who are just now open to the idea that God might exist. We strive to avoid offense, ask good questions, articulate and explain our responses. We don’t assume fluency in bible, spirituality, or Church language, because we believe the message of Jesus is not for Christianity, but for humanity. So, we do everything in the spirit of love and grace.

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