Salem Alliance

I was heavily involved at Dayspring Fellowship when I was in middle school.  Heavily to the point of getting overwhelmed.  I was on leadership (S.A.L.T.), I volunteered in the children's department (for everything, regular weekends, Wednesday nights, holidays, special events, etc...), and I was frequently at the church just to hang out.  It's entirely possible that I spent more time at Dayspring than I spent at home.  Partially because I saw Dayspring as a home.  Partially because I didn't have many non-church friends in middle school.

Freshman year of high school I struggled.  The cliques grew like tree roots among the McNary kids.  Unfortunately I didn't attend the only public high school in Keizer, so I automatically had nothing to talk to my old friends about.  I eventually just stopped going.

Six months to a year later I decided to jump back on the horse and try out other churches in Salem.  A large group of friends who went to my school also went to Salem Alliance.  I decided to start there.

I critiqued it as a guest, visited for a couple months and then one day I decided that it was my new church.  As a sophomore in high school I had already picked my church.  And I was really happy about it.  I felt welcomed and comfortable there.  Sure, I stopped going to the youth group after Junior year, sat by myself a lot of times, and never took the effort to get to know people there, but it still felt like home.  I went every week, even if I was all by myself.

Moving away from home for college was when I realized just how much I missed Salem Alliance.  I missed Salem, my family, and my home too, but there was always something special about Salem Alliance.  I tried other churches and always felt snobby when I couldn't get myself to go back.  The best I could figure was that I had already made a decision about "my" church.  And all other churches just didn't measure up.  My loyalty runs deep.

I drove home most weekends, or just listened to podcasts of the sermons on Sunday morning instead of attending other churches.  I just couldn't force myself to go to churches I knew would never be able to measure up.

Fast forward a few years; a couple months after college graduation I found myself working part time for Salem Alliance.  Something that was unfathomable to me initially.  I think it took two weeks of working there before I realized the awesome gig I actually had.  I was a part of a team.  An amazing group of people who cared about me.  That young, part-time Preschool curriculum prep girl who worked a completely random schedule.  I did monotonous cutting, photocopying, and prepping rooms, but I loved everything about it regardless.  I threw extra hours in and just never claimed them.  I just wanted to be there, I didn't care if they paid me.  I felt loved, and accepted, and most of all, I felt known--and that feeling was intoxicating.  I took awful part-time jobs to supplement my income SO that I could keep my curriculum prep job.  It was honestly worth it.  I would have done anything to keep that job.

After a year, necessary budget cuts had to be made.  Non-essential positions were eliminated.  Mine included.  I cried.  A lot.  I remember my brother trying to work through future plans with me.  He asked me what I wanted to do--dream job material.  I stopped and thought about it, but the answer was easy.  I wanted to work for Salem Alliance.  He didn't get it.  And I didn't understand why God would take away what I felt most passionate about.

I made friends in Middle Earth (the floor that all the childrens & youth staff work), and I still end up there often.  Always a 20 minute trip as I quickly catch up with some of the greatest people in the world who still work down there.

What strikes me so much though is the overwhelming feeling of peace I feel just being inside that building.  Salem Alliance is a place of solace for me.  A completely safe haven from the storm.  I always just assumed it was the building, which is a silly assumption, but Christina pointed out that it's God--DUH.  I experience God in that building.  I experience God there like no other place I know.  I feel grounded and centered.  Loved beyond measure.  And surrounded by people who I know, and who know me.  I could spend all day there.  I'd do it too.

What Christina also told me is that I can take that feeling, that experiencing God feeling, with me no matter where I am.  It's borderline overwhelming to think about leaving Salem Alliance.  My tie there is stronger than most people, and a lot of people don't quite understand my fierce passion for my church.  But the general idea of being able to experience that flooded peace anywhere is reassuring too.  That if someday God calls me elsewhere, He'll provide places where I can intimately experience Him too.  Right now I'm here, and I'm content.  But only God knows my future.