| Personal Stories

Testimony on Gay Pride Parade
by Jim Trimmer
It has been my joy to have been
involved with New Life Church
for over 1 1/2 years. I have
been so blessed by all my
spiritual experiences within the
walls of this great church. I
have made so many dear friends
that the list is too long to
mention here.
In April of this
year I joined New Life Church.
Since then my life as a
Christian man has really taken
off. I asked Pastor Jennifer
what could I do to really get to
know this church and it's
members and friends. Knowing me
so well, she knew right away the
job for me. I was offered the
lay position, Minister of Caring
and Encouragement. Recently, I
accepted the job as Coordinator
for the Tuesday Morning
Breakfast. Both jobs have been
the fulfillment of my life. God
has truly blessed me with this
work and letting me get to know
all of you. I love being a part
of this church. I really didn't
know how it could get any better
for me at New Life, but one day
it did !
Pastor Jennifer called me into
her office and asked me what I
would think about our church
marching in the upcoming Gay
Pride Parade. I was standing up
at the time and I had to
immediately sit down. As a gay
man, I was so overwhelmed with
joy and happiness that I could
hardly believe what I was
hearing. I had to ask Jennifer
to repeat what she had said. The
idea that my wonderful church
family and my gay family and
friends could come together in
celebration was way more that
any Christian man could ask for.
Of course, I immediately said "
Yes, I will take charge of the
entire event ".My mind just when
wild with ideas ! I said " we
have to have a church banner "
and " My friend Steve has a
really cool new blue convertible
we can ride in ". For me it was
a dream come true ! I got our
car at the parade site so early
that we were the first church
group in the parade. We even
beat out King Ave Church for the
best position ! It was such a
wonderful day for me and for our
church. I know all who attended
from New Life went away as a
changed person. The love that
all of us experienced will stay
with us forever. We were so well
received by everyone along the
route. I want to thank the
Administrative Council for
allowing us to be a part of this
celebration of love for everyone
! I wish to thank all of you on
behalf of all the gay members
and friends of New Life Church
for giving us this gift of
celebration and love.
As Pastor Rudy Rasmus, author of
the book "Touch" and guest
speaker at this years Methodist
Conference at Lakeside says,"I
love you all and there is
nothing you can do about it".
May God be with be us
all as we march forward for
Christ !

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A “Young Disciple’s”
Thoughts on Homelessness:
Hello,
readers, my name is Destiny
Ashley (age 11) and I go to New
Life United Methodist Church.
This is where I started learning
about Street Speech
[street newspaper].
I don’t live
on the streets. But I do
experience a lot and I do see a
lot of homeless people
everywhere especially in the
city of Columbus. It is so crazy
no matter if you’re in the
Terris, Milo, or Short North –
anywhere. It’s always around
you. I know you see the homeless
people, the dirty streets they
have to live on. It’s not fun. I
wouldn’t want it and neither
would you. Or do you hear the
dogs barking, the gun shots, the
police sirens they have to hear
right up against their cars? Or
not only are they homeless they
have no food, nothing. Yes they
may have some little money to go
to the Thrift Store after
selling pop cans they get off
the streets but that is it.
So think the
next time you go to make fun of
how someone has to live or where
they have to live, or even what
they look like, or what they
have to wear because you
wouldn’t want anyone to crack on
you if you were to be homeless.
*******************************************************************************************
From Doral Chenoweth,
Member
of New Life Church
Robin and I would like to thank
everyone who volunteered for the
summer reading program at New
Life. Our children enjoyed every
minute of it (or every hour of
it, as Cassie read more than 60
hours).
The progress Kurtis, 5, made
during the program was
remarkable. At the start of the
summer, he did not know how to
read. But by the second week,
Kurtis was a solid reader.
The excitement of gathering
every week, the prizes, and the
discovery of the joy of reading
was an enjoyable part of our
summer.
Our Summer Reading Program was
offered to kids in elementary
and middle school grade levels
every Thursday afternoon.
Plugged In, a tutoring program
for kids of all ages, meets
every Tuesday that school is in
session.
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