By Lara Schopp, Director of Communications

A couple of weeks ago, when Carla was preaching about the history of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), my mom passed me a note written on the bulletin: “Your grandmother always said her father was a Campbellite.” My great grandfather was a Disciples of Christ minister, the kind who traveled around preaching at small-town churches in rural Iowa. He followed the teachings of Alexander Campbell, who is commonly associated with the founding of the movement we now recognize as our denomination. His copy of The Marginal Chain-Reference Bible, (copyright 1908, the year before my grandmother was born), its leather cover frayed and worn, sits on my desk.

Over the last few weeks, as we’ve celebrated our Legacy of Love campaign and looked into the history of our denomination and our church, we have heard from church members who’ve been here for generations: Bill Hopkins, who has met every senior minister, “from Combs to Carla;” John Stewart and Shelle Jensen, who represent three generations; Jeff and Kristi Gibbs, whose family has deep roots here; Jeff Zimmerman and his granddaughter, Amelia Hicks, who was just baptized with the 2018 Pastors’ Class.

As I was thinking about my own family, I realized that my daughter, Caroline, is a fifth generation Disciple. At age 13, that is probably meaningless to her, but to me it represents a Legacy of Love passed down from our ancestors. I picture Rev. John Harris traveling from town to town sharing the good news of God’s grace. I recall my grandmother filling communion trays in the darkened sacristy. I see my dad singing in the choir and my mom becoming our home church’s first female deacon. I remember being taught that God loves and calls us to love, and God forgives, and if you know these things, that’s pretty much all you need to know.

Today, I watch Caroline know that God’s grace is alive and powerful, and meant for all people, and I am moved and grateful for this legacy. What is God if not the gift of being loved, and learning to love, shared among family?