Member Testimonial: Rachell Anderson

Not the kind with the big hats and gloved hands who is ready to enforce the mores of the church but one who believes that I should develop and use my God-Given talents to make this world a better place.

I became a Unitarian Universalist in the 1960s after a very long search. I was married to a man who was a minister in the Lutheran Church of America and I think it’s safe to say that he left the ministry when he no longer believed what he was preaching. I, too, who grew up in, but had abandoned the Black Baptist Church, held many doubts about the role religion (as I knew it} could play in my life.

With those issues flowering our path, we visited the UU Church in Rockford and knew, immediately, we had found our church home.

I guess I am still a newbie at the Church of the river. I moved back to Tunica County after 50 years of living and working in Northern states. For nearly 40 years, I was a member of the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation which I watched move from an old ragged two-story building to rented space to a lovely designed edifice in the middle of the corn field in Springfield, Illinois.

In that congregation, I served in nearly every possible capacity. I did everything that needed to be done: religious education, salad luncheons, singing in the choir, developing and delivering sermons, even mopping floors and cleaning bathroom. At one point, I was observed on the roof with the guys, repairing storm damage. You see, I’m a Church Lady.

We raised our 3 children in the UU Church. They are fine people. They reminded me last week of how much they learned about themselves in the Our Whole Lives sexuality education curriculum. Now I am giving my niece and nephew the same heads-up on one of life’s most confusing issues.

As a newbie at COR and a new retiree, I was looking for a place to fit in and to help out. Because of what’s happening at COR I have taken opportunities for ministry, both inside and outside the walls of the church. Because of the work of fellow congregation member Dr. David Jennings, for the past 3 years I donated clinical hours to the Church Health Center. This is an amazing place that provides Medical and Psychological Services to people who have jobs but no insurance.

I find that helping others helps me to improves own sense of well-being.

At the Church of the River and in the Alliance group in particular, I have found people who “get” me. My interests in the environment, social justice, personal responsibility and writing are supported and encouraged.

At COR, I have found people with the energy, vision and intellect to help me continue to grow.

It is for these reasons; the Giving and the Getting, I am a CHURCH Lady. I will give my time, talents, and money to make this church a better place.

I hope you are inspired to do the same.