I first visited Servants somewhere back in 2013, I believe. I was immediately drawn to the liturgy, the beautiful mix and balance between the ancient Church and the presence of Christ in the contemporary world. The next thing I became acutely aware of was the lack of “judgmental” eyes, noses, and mouths. I was impressed by the sound doctrine and the great emphasis on the Word of God. I was rather blown away by the sense of acceptance I felt from Father Alex and so many others. I had been, for a couple of years, pretty much out of fellowship and disgruntled with some of the aspects of “Evangelical” Christianity, or at least the many forms of baggage it carried; though I had, after 25+ years of being an Evangelical, grown in my love for and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. It took about another year after those first few visits before I started coming regularly as did my wife Annette. She too really dug Alex’s and the rest of the leadership’s preaching, etc. I began to experience a time of growth once again. I was meeting people and building friendships, not only with Alex, but also other brothers including Ken Campbell, Michael Duncan, Larry Goble, and so many more.
Over the past five or so years, I have been blessed to participate in things like driving Ms. Jerri and her great-grandkids to church for a time. And later, I was asked or invited to help out and become part of the audio-visual team. I have also been welcomed with open arms to start practicing with the worship (music) team. And yes, being historically a solo musician, playing with others has been and still is quite a (good) challenge! There has been, and is now on the horizon, so many ways to serve. The list could easily go on.
A few verses, life verses, come to mind as I reflect on the four plus years I have been attending (and this Sunday, am to be confirmed or received in) Servants of Christ Anglican Church. In 1 Corinthians 9:22b, St. Paul tells us that he has become all things to all men, so that he by all means may save some. I think, now a guy in his mid-fifties, that I have been able to realize that verse personally more so at Servants than anywhere else I have worshipped and fellowshipped in my almost 40 years of being a Christian. And another, in Romans 8:1, I find great assurance that “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
At Servants, this is a joyous reality.
Godspeed,
Dave Hall
Dave was born on Long Island, NY and moved to Florida as a new senior in high school. From 1980-1984 he was a medical laboratory specialist in the US Air Force. He loves to write and record original songs, having had a number of them published and given modest airplay on Christian radio. His wife Annette and he have been married for 30+ years and have been members of Servants of Christ Anglican Church since around 2013. Dave owns Out of Creation Jewelry where he creates and repairs jewelry. He loves the creative process, whether it is at the jeweler’s bench or playing guitar, writing, playing live, or recording songs.