My Churches: Community Church

One important place for me growing up was a community church along the edge of town. It's probably the church I've spent the most time at. Because of the building's blue roof, you would sometimes hear someone say "Thhhere's the church" (Haley's the one I remember most) when we could first see it as we were driving up to it.

When we started going, the church met at a school. Been a while but I think it's this one because Haley used to call it The Eagle Church. (Coincidentally, Eldorado is also the name of my favorite Edgar Allen Poe poem.)

My first day I was seven-and-a-half years old. The "and-a" was important to me before a certain age, probably 12. Can't find it but somewhere I thought I had a birthday card that called me twelve-teen. (I was in a hurry to get to my teens.) My grandmother Judy has said that when we were younger Andrew and I were like little men.

Our first day was in Ms Vickie's class, who led children's church up until we left, when I was in my early teens. We could get noisy but she knew how to get us to settle down, and I don't remember her raising her voice that much. (Quite a feat!) Except maybe when we were at summer camp, but nobody has a voice after that!😂 Seems like she had a pretty sharp whistle though. To help keep us settled down, there were puppet shows and a box of candies after the class for good listeners, attentive students, etc.

Her son, who was about my age, was welcoming to us on our first day. (Later, the four of us Godfrey kids would all take piano from his teacher Mary.) He played football and, when we returned to the church shortly before we moved to VA, was fantastic at card tricks. He had one where he would scatter a bunch in the air and pluck your card out that was very impressive!

There was a raised grassy area in a courtyard I remember playing a part when the church hosted an egg hunt at the school one Easter Sunday. Seems like one St Patrick's day we looked for clovers in it. It was close to where we parked, which was alongside a slope that led down to a sports field.

Sometimes we would go to the auditorium for Sunday morning services with the adults, and worship with the pastor who played the electric guitar, which was exciting for us kids! Seems like there was a call and response: “God is good?” “All the time!” “All the time?” “God is good!”

We were there for the groundbreaking of the new building. Think it happened before any construction, with booths and tables of food to celebrate. '97 sounds about right.

The church excelled at fellowship and community, and we started attending more activities. On Sunday nights Mom would teach Junior Bible Quiz. (Elementary school kids responding with known answers to questions in a competition.) One time she had a poster for charting progress. I had miniatures of Jeff Gordon’s cars as tokens, which might be why I used to get NASCAR stuff as gifts. (Still need to watch a race! Played NASCAR video games though.) Dad would teach Teen Bible Quiz for high schoolers. (Same idea as JBQ but teens would memorize Bible book(s) to answer freeform questions.) 

Royal Rangers and Missionettes (A/G Boy and Girl Scout-esque clubs) met on Wednesday nights. We would get merit badges for developing our personal and spiritual lives, learn military procedures like saluting and standing at attention, while also learning survival skills like how to make fires and lash together structures. (We made a showboat one year, I think.) In RR’s Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship, I was named Bookworm and Matthew was Churchmouse.

I haven't even begun to list the great people (friends, teachers, positive influences) I met or memories I made there. I have been very fortunate to have had a place like this in my life!