How would your life be different without Good Sam?

by Beth Hannaman

Bill and I were driving down the road the other day and I was talking about something I had to do for church.  And Bill asked me how would our lives be different if we had not joined Good Sam.   The first thing I said was “I’d have a lot more free time on my hands!”   But it started us thinking.

We began attending Good Sam a little over 30 years ago.  We would sit in the back row, put some money in the offering, and leave shortly after the service. No big commitments for us.  

And frankly, there was not a lot of spiritual payback either.  It was only after we started to become involved in church activities, as ushers, on auction committees, and as sunday school teachers, that we began to realize the depth of what Good Samaritan had to offer.  

And since then this church has helped  shape our lives in ways that we could never have imagined. 

We have always lived far from our biological families and clearly Good Sam has become our chosen family.  It’s where our children were baptized, attended Sunday school, where we went to Advent chili dinners, in-gatherings, Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers, and where our daughter got married.

This community continues to support us, nourish us, and challenge us spiritually, and intellectually.

It is here that we are reminded of God’s love for us,  and the love we feel here is palpable.  Not just when we say the peace, but when we pray for one another, when we join hands for the Lord’s Prayer and in so many other ways.

It is here where we are given opportunities reach out to love and serve our neighbors. And the relationships we have formed here while doing Good Sam’s work are deep and rich and like no other.   

And so this is where I come every week to center myself, stand at the communion altar, and be reminded by Chris that when I go out into the world, I am not alone.   How can I measure all of that?  I can’t, but I do know that this church has become a part of my very being, I cannot imagine my life without it.  I thank God every day for that gift.

And because Good Sam is our family, when it is time for Bill and I to look at our budget, we put Good Sam right there with our family responsibilities.  It took us a long time, and some hiccups along the way, but right now we are able to tithe to Good Sam.  We are grateful that we are able to do that.  

We give not because the Senior Warden is supposed to be concerned about the budget, but because Bill and I love what Good Sam is doing with our treasure. It comes from our heart and it is a joy to watch how it unfolds in front of us every week. This is such an exciting time for Good Samaritan, and Bill and I feel so  blessed to be a part of this journey and I hope you all feel that way as well.   

Now I ask you, “How would your life be different if you had not joined Good Sam?”