A Testimonial from Larry R
When Father Tom asked me to write a short testimonial about my experience at All Saints’ Church, Highland Park, I gladly agreed. There is an honesty and integrity about this community that I am drawn to. I have experienced tremendous healing in this church. Several weeks ago, Father Tom use an expression which best articulates my feelings about being here. He used the expression, “This is where our hearts are washed.” This expression resonated deeply within me. You see, I believe church is comprised of human beings, sometime blemished and wounded; human beings who are challenged by the circumstances of their lives and who are in great need of unconditional love, acceptance and hospitality. My flaws and challenges are washed week after week, in this church. I have experienced a heart washing, time and time again. I return to this church because I believe that other people in this church experience the same thing. I don’t have to be perfect, to be loved. I don’t have to jump through hoops, to belong. Much like God’s grace, the love I experience here is freely shared and given. I continue to grow in this church because this community speaks the language of the heart. In my heart and the hearts of other people, is where I come to know Jesus. Jesus speaks to my heart in this church, through the people I encounter here. He speaks to me in the work of peace and justice that we strive for in this community. I am invited to join with those in this church who are undocumented, those without papers or credentials. What an honor to stand in solidarity with this congregation, who struggles for justice. I am called to remember where I have come from. There have been times on my faith journey, that I have been “spiritually undocumented,” without a home, because I did not fit the image of what a good Christian or Catholic was supposed to look like. I was denied citizenship/membership because of my sexuality. I identify with those looking for a place to belong, those looking for a home. They are no more criminal than I. I continue to experience in this church the work of liberation for all God’s beloved. I experienced deep liberation in this church on April 25, 2009, when my spouse, Bartolo and I had our civil marriage blessed. I can’t describe the joy, acceptance and liberation I felt on that day. The love and acceptance in this church was tangible on that day and on every day that I come to worship in this church. All Saints’ Highland Park is the church that I chose to call “home.”
