Closer to God

Tonight was a beautiful evening. There was a light, sweet breeze in the air. I was happy that Greg wanted to go to church for the Wednesday mass.

Greg and I will be married in the Episcopal faith. When Greg reconnected with a childhood friend, Ken, he learned that Ken was a Episcopal Priest. It was interesting to learn about the Episcopal faith. I liked that they allowed women to become Priests and that the Priests could get married. The faith seemed more in tune to today’s world, but traditional in worshipping God.

When we first approached Father Ken about the idea of marrying us, he said he would be glad to do so, but because I am divorced, we would need to have meetings and then a request would have to be made for the Bishop’s approval. Father Ken couldn’t conduct the meetings, because he knew Greg personally. Father Ken recommended that we see Father AJ Heine, who is the Priest at St. Augustine’s Church in the city where we live.

What a wonderful gift that Father Ken sent into our lives! Father AJ is a kind and sincere priest. Greg and I have both said that Father AJ definitely found his calling!

I have to be honest and say I was nervous about how Father AJ would perceive me, because I am divorced twice. I won’t go into the reasons behind those divorces, not in this public blog, because that’s unfair to the other parties and quite honestly, it’s in the past.

Father AJ did ask about the past, in order to understand us as individuals and as a couple. He started off by saying, “I’m not here to judge you…” And he wasn’t. I never felt judged by him. In fact, if anything, he was compassionate about my experience. He also asked questions delving into our backgrounds, family history, values, future plans and our faith. I remember thinking, “I wish I had this type of meeting with a Priest before. This is what couples should go through before getting married.”

From the meetings that we had with Father AJ over the couple of months we were first engaged, I felt as though he came to know us and we felt accepted not only by Father AJ, but also within the church community. St Augustine’s Church felt like home.

I’m writing this to give a background of how we came into this community. It makes my heart happy to share the Episcopal faith with Greg (a renewed start for both of us), for us to be a part of God’s word and His love. Father Ken lead us to the place and Father AJ welcomed us in!

The first time after Greg’s accident that we returned to the church (2 Sundays ago), I was emotional. When Father AJ greeted us after the service and said how happy he was to see us ~ Father AJ’s face held sincerity.. his words were…. Honest! It made me want to cry. I did cry, because there is so much to be grateful for!

We went to church tonight, on a Wednesday. It was a small gathering, but Oh! How perfect was the weather! I was tickled when we found out that the evening mass would be conducted outside.

The church is lovely, but there’s something… about being outside ~ makes me feel closer to God. I can’t explain, but it felt like a special evening.

I took some pictures this evening and wanted to share them with you. The first is a picture going up the front walkway into St. Augustine Episcopal Church. There is a lovely courtyard in the middle. On the right is the church. Greg is in the next picture, waiting for mass to start ~ outside!

Father AJ was kind to oblige my request. The church community is very fortunate to have him at St. Augustine's! He's standing by the bell in the courtyard. Did I mention that they ring this bell right before church and you don't realize just how loud it is until you sit next to it.



Father AJ told us that this Saturday is the Blessing of Pets! I hope we do this.

I like how involved the church community is. It’s not a large church, but the people have a lot of heart. After Gustav, a group from St. Augustine’s went to areas that were hit hard and offered to assist elderly people to restore their property. I sense a lot of kindness and open-heartedness from the fellow parishioners and I want to be a part of that….