November 2022

     Four months ago, when Fr. Tim asked me to consider writing a testimony, I didn’t really think much of it. I didn’t think my personal story would be of benefit to anyone. But every time I went to a mass said by Fr Tim, I couldn’t help but feel that whenever I went up to receive the Eucharist, he was looking at me. A look that said, “Well, where is your testimony that I suggested that you write?” My sister assured me that
it was my own paranoia and Fr. Tim was just happy to see a lost sheep return.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am intimidated by a blank sheet of paper or Word document. I guess I just get “writer’s block” and then I procrastinate but “just a little”. Well, actually quite a bit. Fr. Tim asked me to consider writing this back in July. And finally, in November, here it is.

     To make a long story short, I grew up in the Catholic church and received every sacrament that a young Catholic is supposed to receive. I was an on again/off again church goer and gradually drifted away from the Catholic church altogether. I would occasionally go to a Baptist or non-denominational service from time to time and then stopped going altogether.  I wound up meeting and marrying another non-practicing Catholic, a marriage that did not occur in the Catholic church and was not blessed by a Catholic priest. I later realized this marriage was not recognized as a legitimate union by the Catholic church and was a mistake on my part.

     During the separation phase of the divorce process, I moved in with my sister and her husband, SCS regulars. They would always invite me to go to mass with them on
Saturday or Sunday evenings. I felt lost and knew I was looking for something/someone but I didn’t know what or more accurately, who. They came home one day from mass with a bulletin that said SCS was starting a divorce support
group and maybe I should check it out. Divine intervention was surely giving me a nudge.

     I contacted Marion Newsom who held the support group on Tuesday evenings for 12 weeks and she encouraged me to attend. It was beneficial for me to be around others in similar circumstances. I realized that even though I felt “lost and broken,” there was a place for me as a newly-separated and soon to be divorced adult in the
Catholic church. I was welcomed there. Definitely not the Catholic church I grew up in.

     Through Fr Tim’s guidance, I received the sacrament of reconciliation (after >30 yrs since my last time). He assisted me with having my marriage dissolved due to lack of canonical form and marriage preparation. I felt like the prodigal son (or daughter) who returned home, still not perfect, but accepted. Fr. Tim is the Good Shepherd who found the lost sheep, me, and led me back to the flock. I realized that what I was looking for all along was to renew my relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

     I cannot say enough good things about Fr. Tim and Fr. Andrew. They scheduled time to meet with me, answered my questions and welcomed me back into the church. If anyone feels lost or thinks they don’t belong, I encourage them to speak with Fr. Tim or Fr. Anderw and to try one of the many support groups available in the parish.
 

You can learn more about the various Support Ministries offered at SCS here:  https://scschurch.com/support