My Journey At Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC)

My faith is a key component to who I am. I started my faith journey at Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC), and it has been a place that I can continually grow in my religious beliefs. Over the past two years, I have been able to expand my faith by taking on a leadership role as a youth counselor. I was given the opportunity to get to know and foster middle school girls as they begin to develop their own faith journey. Our small group meets weekly to discuss our daily life and how we can deepen our faith. CPC has historically been a church that upheld more open ideologies that aligned with my personal beliefs of equity, openness and God's love for all. However, over the course of last year, the church council voted to change to a new denomination- The Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. I learned that a lot of the morals of this new denomination

Individuals begin to worry about the security of their equity based on their race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. Being black and female, I felt that my future, and the future of many Americans, was at risk.

These events made my conviction to stay at the church even stronger. On my quest to decide what was the right thing to do, I came to the conclusion that I could do greater good by staying involved at CPC. I knew that staying did not mean I had to give up my beliefs, but that I could continue to spread God’s love for everyone, no exclusions.

My leadership grew deeper and in more rich and valuable ways because of my decision to stay at CPC. My belief to help others was always at the forefront. However, now, my listening skills have become sharper. I began to learn to balance between the doctrine of the church and what I felt is right. As for my students, they have learned how to accept people regardless of their background while simultaneously having a broader understanding of what it means to be a