Editor’s Corner
Thirteen years ago this past February, I became mom. Miss Serena couldn’t wait to get here, so she came eight weeks early at an itty-bitty four pounds and six ounces. With my medical conditions, this was not a surprise. She stayed in the NICU for three and a half weeks and she was ready to come home. Now here we are… we officially have a thirteen-year-old. You would never know how tiny she was. We are blessed with a smart, caring, talented kid who loves her church community.
I brought her to Fryeburg New Church Assembly (FNCA) when she was just four months old for our annual Work Weekend. There is something magical about our multi-generation camps that is hard to put into exact words. She was surrounded by people who instantly loved and cared for her, and she loves them all back.
When she was eight, I brought her to Convention for the first time, and she loved it! She loved the children’s program, and looked up to all the SCYL teens, they even let her sit with them at lunch! Since then, she has been counting down the minutes until she turned thirteen. This past Convention she was in the twelve-and-a-half-year-old pocket, which can be really hard. Fortunately, Kurt (Youth Director) had the great idea to let her have the best of both worlds—children’s program during the day and hang out with the teens at night. What a success. She formed such strong friendships during this time, that they are sure to last a lifetime.
When the countdown to thirteen on her phone got to zero, she got messages from her SCYL friends welcoming her and Kurt posted a welcome to her on the SCYL Facebook page, you would have thought she won the lottery.
I would not be who I am today without camps and retreats. I am so thrilled that she (and her brother) also love these experiences and cannot wait to attend them all. What a joy to watch them love and thrive in our church community this way.
—Beki Greenwood
Read the full issue of the January – March 2024 Messenger
Meet Beki Greenwood
Beki Greenwood is the editor of the Messenger. She is a board member of the Fryeburg New Church Assembly in Fryeburg, Maine, and a long-time member of the Bridgewater Church in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
