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Real People at ROLWhat made you choose River of Life UMC - We would love to hear!
 Kim, Originally, I grew up in a Baptist church in Orange Park. While in college and in law school, I always meant to get involved again at a church I could call my own. As it turns out, I never really did find one of my own due to some reason or another. Once married, my husband and I moved three times. I never felt vested in the communities we resided in so we never really looked for our own church. Once our kids turned 6, 3, and 1, and we knew that we were completely settled in the Julington Creek area, we decided that it was time to finally find our own church home that the kids (and us) could enjoy for many years to come. Okay, decision made. We are going to find our own church. But how? Considering I went to only one church my entire life, I was very nervous about trying out other churches for lack of knowledge about the traditions of a church. My concerns ranged from worrying about who takes care of the kids to whether I would dress appropriately or worse yet, whether I would walk in and do something totally inappropriate. Due to my concerns, my hopes of finding a church home waned because I was genuinely afraid to take that first step into a foreign environment. As time went on, when we needed church, we headed to the old stand by in Orange Park. The drive was difficult, and I just did not feel like we were getting much out of it other than familiarity. Eventually, I got to know some people in this area. I found out that my neighbors (and their children) and some other friends on my son's baseball team went to River of Life Methodist. When they told me that the church was on Racetrack, I could not figure out where it was located for lack of a big traditional church building. Nevertheless, we discovered that the little trailer by the CVS on Flora Branch and Racetrack was the church we had heard so much about (building coming soon). One Sunday in October 2006, we visited River of Life. With three services to choose from (8:15, 9:30, and 11:00), we had no reason to not give it a try. We attended the 9:30 service. I'm so thankful that we did. The dress was casual. The atmosphere was very friendly and also relaxed. The kids loved it as my sons knew more people than I did. Ever since we started, it has become our own church home. Everyone is very kind and accepting. The kids are very happy. Needless to say, we became members of River of Life on Easter Sunday 2007. When I think about my concerns which kept me away from my church home for far too long, they seem so silly now given the wonderful community of Christians who make up River of Life Methodist. Jennifer Watson Become a Member!If you would like to know more about joining River of Life United Methodist Church, Rev. Kim would be happy to meet with you. Use the contact page, call the church office, or just show up one Sunday and talk to Rev. Kim!! |
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