Personal Religious Statement

 I have been raised in the Methodist Church since I was born.  My mother is Methodist and my father is Catholic, but they chose to raise my sister and I as Methodist.  I was baptized in the United Methodist Church in Oneida, IL and have attended that church most of my life.  I attended Sunday school most Sundays when I was young and most of the time we would go to the church service.  I also took confirmation classes and was confirmed when I was eleven years old.  After this, I joined our church youth group, which was very active at the time.  We had meetings about twice a month and for three years I attended a youth conference called YAK.  I also went to camp for a week in the summers.  By the time I was a sophomore in high school, our youth group had dwindled down to about five or six members and the church was going through some problems with pastors.  At the time, I really wanted to be involved in an active youth group, so my mom and I decided to start attending a different church.  For the following two and a half years, we attended a Lutheran church and I became actively involved in the youth group there.  They were very accepting of us there and were glad to have us be part of their family.  I am happy that we made this decision because I was able to be involved in church activities without worrying about any problems going on.  Also, I was able to learn the similarities and differences of the Lutheran religion compared to Methodist.  Shortly after I went to college, our Methodist church found a wonderful pastor.  I really enjoy her and she has done great things for our church, youth group, and also the community.  My mother decided to return to this church and I try to attend with her whenever I am home from school.

To me, God is the creator of all things.  I strongly believe that we would not be here if he did not die on the cross for us.  I talk to God everyday and I know that he is looking after me.  Sometimes things happen in my life that I don’t like and I often think that I will never make it through these times, but then I remember that God has a plan for me and some things just weren’t meant to happen the way that I wanted them to.  God also does some great things for me and I am very grateful for that.  My main request from God is that he protects myself and all of the people that I love.  In return, I talk to Him everyday, I try to set good standards and morals for myself, and I love Him.  God is caring, loving, faithful, trusting, forgiving, and most of all, very powerful. 

Religion is very closely tied with God.  I believe that religion is the relationship that we share with God.  This relationship is built by our trust and faith in God and his plan for our life.  My relationship with Him is very strong because I depend on him to help guide me through life.  Sometimes I make the wrong decisions, but he is there to forgive me for them.  And occasionally He throws me some tough times, but I try my best to get through them and realize that he did it for a reason.

Religion and God are very important to me.  As I mentioned earlier, I believe that God has a plan for my life and I am very eager to see how it will go.  Although I don’t attend church regularly, I have a strong belief in God and I trust in his faith to lead me in the right directions. 

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This work has been submitted by Lindsay McCann for Issues and Ideas 402 at Monmouth College.