My journey to Faith:

Hello Friends: As you all know, I am a newly elected council member and council liaison to Social Ministry. I’m very excited about this opportunity because it was through Social Ministry that I discovered Faith Lutheran Evangelical Church.

By way of background, I was born and raised in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I was raised Catholic, attended eight years of Catholic grammar school, and was an altar boy for many years. In 1975 I joined the United States Navy, where I served twenty years as a Radioman and “retired” in 1995 as a Chief Petty Officer.

During my Navy career I went back to attending Catholic Mass from time to time, but never kept up. Finally, because I had so many beliefs that were not compatible with the Vatican’s teaching, I knew that I could not continue to consider my Catholic. For quite a few years I wanted to attend church, but I couldn’t decide where I would best fit in.

A few years ago, my wife Kathy and I wanted to donate an artificial Christmas tree and decorations to a family in the East Hartford area that might be able to use it. I thought that a church might know how to direct me, so a quick GOOGLE search led me to Faith’s website. From there, I sent an e-mail to the office. Well, my e-mail made its way to Donna Hubbs, she contacted me, and made arrangements to pick up and deliver the tree to a wonderful family in Manchester. My wife and I went along to deliver the tree, and were then invited back to see the tree after it was decorated. I’m certain that the tree brought joy to the family who received it, but through that simple act of giving, it was I who received the greatest gift.

Through social ministry I met Donna Hubbs and Bill & Melissa Golden. From the moment I met them they treated me as if they had known me for years. They were amazingly friendly, and encouraged me to attend services at Faith and/or meet with Pastor Henry. Well, after doing those things I was sold. I had never met a more friendly or inclusive group of people than all of you at Faith. I started attending services regularly and eventually joined the church.

After that, I helped out on a few of the events and activities sponsored by Social Ministry. I currently serve on Faith’s Counsel as the Social Ministry Liaison. I can’t tell you how many new members Social Ministry has brought to Faith Lutheran, but that’s ok, because doing for others who are not as fortunate is doing the work that Jesus commanded, and is its own reward.

I’m also on the bell choir, which is great fun.

I feel extremely blessed to call Faith Lutheran Evangelical Church home and to have an opportunity to serve on both the Church Council and the Social Ministry Committee.

I encourage everyone to become involved in the ministry of their choosing. I also ask that you let me know of any ideas that you may have to build upon the great work that the Social Ministry Committee has been doing over the last number of years.

That's my journey, so far, but stay tuned, I'm hoping that there will be more to follow.

Tom Benoit