Speaking Up and Speaking Out Part II

We have been getting more involved in St. John's MCC since moving to North Carolina in September. Pastor Belva often says no one comes to the church by accident. I think we are a pretty good example. Last spring Tara and I sat down and said okay, we don't want to spend the rest of our lives in Erie and quite frankly we don't really want to spend another winter in Erie either so if we could choose anywhere in the U.S. to live where would it be? After much debating we put our finger down on Raleigh, NC. The weather is much better, the job opportunities are there and we are still not too far from family. Plus NC has mountains, ocean, rivers, etc. that we enjoy. Raleigh also has a Metropolitan Community Church, an inclusive Christian church.
So we did pretty well, in September we moved to Rocky Mount, NC, 50 miles east of Raleigh when I was promoted to Training Manager. We attended the church as guests the first time and were greeted warmly. By the third service we were assisting, and now 3 months later we are members of the choir and about to become full members of the church.
It's funny to me to look back at the past few months and see all this fall into place. The skills that Tara and I have are ones that were lacking to help in the coming year. The past two weeks we have been attending the annual members forums and vote. Mainly to observe and this week to help count votes for board member positions since we are not yet members ourselves. We both had an opportunity to speak during the forum last week and I had a chance to see the power my words can hold. Thankfully I'm using them for good.