Email: Megan Buff

Dear Friends,

I’ve been thinking a lot, as I’m getting ready to go home later this week, about the church across the world. Both Jesus and Paul put emphasis on the necessity of unity in the church, because we are all one body and one flock. John Calvin, the Protestant reformer, wrote in his commentary on Ephesians, “Christ cannot be divided. Faith cannot be rent. There are not various baptisms, but one which is common to all. God cannot cease to be one, and unchangeable. It cannot but be our duty to cherish holy unity, which is bound by so many ties. Faith, and baptism, and God the Father, and Christ, ought to unite us.”

We have more in common than we often realize. The things we share—God, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Spirit which lives in each of us, and our faith—are really the only things that matter. Everything else is detail.

Just before I came here last August, I attended a week of training with colleagues headed for various places around the world. Over and over, our supervisors and seminar leaders told us, “don’t go into this year with the attitude of ‘bringing God with you.’ God is already there and at work. Instead, go into the year with an attitude of ‘finding God where you are.’”

I haven’t had to look very far or very hard. It’s been pretty easy for me to see God at work in Kilmakee Presbyterian Church and the community I work with. I see God in the smiles on people’s faces when they walk through the church’s front door; I feel God’s arms in the hugs they give; I see God at work through their hands.

Early in the year, one of my jobs was compiling a collection of 50 stories of faith from within the church. We’re still working on getting the book published, but the stories are all there and it has been my privilege to read through them all as they came in. Every one of the stories—from the five-sentence ones to the five-page ones—tells of God’s plan, God’s love, God’s mercy. There is no doubt in my mind that God has been, is, and will continue to be at work here.

One of my favorite activities throughout the year has been “Kee Seniors,” a twice-monthly lunch club for senior citizens. Fellowship and friendship are great ways of fostering unity, building love between each other. I’ve seen that fellowship this year as people walk through the door with smiles on their faces, genuinely glad to see each other and spend time together. I know of no better way to describe that group than to say, it is really great fun.

Kilmakee is a brave congregation, willing to step out and stand out in God’s service. One of the ways I’ve seen this over the last year is in their acceptance of the drama team I led. The team members themselves have been very enthusiastic about doing drama for church settings, but the congregation has also been equally enthusiastic about taking the dramas in. They’ve been more than willing to explore this aspect of worship with us.

I’ve also seen God at work outside of Kilmakee in various other organizations I’ve been part of this year. Four times I went over to the nearby primary school and spoke at their assemblies. God is present with them, too, and I saw God in their smiling faces. I also worked once a week with an after-school program in Belfast. Though it could get a bit chaotic, I saw God at work there, in the relationships built between the kids and between kids and leaders.

One of the best expressions of Kilmakee are the 24- and 50-hour prayer events. Before this year, I’d only come across 24-hour prayer events on university campuses. I was impressed that a 24-hour prayer session could work when drawing from a group of people who wouldn’t be up at 3:00 am anyway, like university students. But I was truly inspired by the people who came into the church for an hour, or two, or six, to pray. The age range was impressive as well, with some of the youth staying half the day. The youngest pray-er I saw was a 2-year-old. These events are evidence of Kilmakee’s community of all ages seeking God.

I am incredibly thankful for the welcome and acceptance I’ve received here. From the moment I walked through the door in September, the church has treated me like family, which is exactly what we are, all part of the Christian family. God is at work here, in the United States, and everywhere. This year has been a celebration of unity for me, as we join together to worship the same wonderful God.