After moving to DC for college, finding a new place of worship proved both an exciting and confusing experience. For a while I decided to try branching out beyond my traditional Presbyterian roots. I went to a contemporary service held in a movie theater at Union station. I attended a very formal, almost liturgical, service at Georgetown University. Eventually, however, several moments of “connection and clarity” led me to visit the Church of the Pilgrims and to become an Associate Member at what is now my church in DC.

            The first such moment came during the first semester of my Freshman year while I was back home in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving break. I had attended Sunday services at my church and was mingling at the after service coffee-hour. There, I ran into the youth minister – a twenty-something, red-headed woman who had lived in DC for a short time. I told her I was looking for a social justice-oriented church with an active congregation. She immediately replied, “Church of the Pilgrims.” By her description, Pilgrims seemed an eerily perfect match to the kind of Church I was looking for. When I returned to Georgetown, I looked up the church online and next Sunday I attended service at Pilgrims for the first time.

            I still, nonetheless, had not made up my mind on whether I wanted to actually join a Church during my stay at college. The next moment, however, reminded me how much the Church, especially the Presbyterian Church, had been a part of life since my birth and even before then. In preparation for his sabbatical, Pastor Krehbiel had done some preliminary research on the Presbyterian Mission Workers in Guatemala. One of the names that came up was David Wiseman. When Jeff mentioned him, I was astounded. Before traveling to Guatemala, Wiseman had served at a church in Cary, North Carolina for 26 years – the very same church my mother had served at as a youth minister so many years ago. In fact, though my mother denies it, Wiseman may have had an influence over the choice of my own name, David. It certainly felt nice to have long reaching roots throughout the church network and it helped convince me to remain a part of the Presbyterian community while at college.

            The final moment of “connection and clarity,” however, the one that convinced me to stay at Pilgrims, was little more than a simple chat with Krehbiel over lunch about Pilgrims, the PC(USA), and my membership. While discussing church politics and the possibilities of an associate membership (where I retain membership at my church in PA but obtain membership rights and responsibilities at Pilgrims), I thought to myself, “Darn, I love talking about church politics and working together with an active religious group. I should stay here.” All the pieces simply seemed to connect and it was clear to me that Pilgrims would be my church away from home for the next several years.

            Of course, I do not wish for moments of “connection and clarity” to stop now that I am a member of Pilgrims. I have participated in Church events like WIN and the Membership Outreach Committee and I look forward to many more such moments where I may seize opportunities to serve both God and the church community during my time in DC. Looking back, however, I realize now how God, through these moments, guided me in my first few steps into DC. I am grateful both to Him and to the congregation at Pilgrims for support, and I look forward to spending my final two years of college attended services at Church of the Pilgrims