I grew up in a Christian home in central Ohio. Before I left home, I knew nothing much outside my family’s small church that my parents had attended since before I was born. I dearly loved that church, and my walk with Jesus began there with Bible memory, youth group trips, my own baptism, and the beginnings of learning how to pray. When I arrived at Wheaton College as a freshman in 2016, I had no idea where to go to church. I had never even thought about what I “liked” in a church, or much about any other tradition, let alone the distinctives or history of my own. All I knew was that wherever I went, it would not feel like “home” at first.

A friend of mine brought me to Church of the Rez at the beginning of my sophomore year. I had been introduced to the Anglican tradition the previous year by visiting another Anglican parish with my sister. But here, Jesus showed me how the Church, His Bride could be beautiful, in a deeper way than I had understood before. And I soon fell in love with her, and by learning to love her more, I loved Him more.