When I heard Bethany Covenant Church, the first thing that came to mind was a legal contract, a covenant between people, not a church. I told Debbie about my visit from the Catholic /Baptist evangelists, and we decided to put Bethany on our short list of churches to visit. This meant another visit to a new nursery or Sunday School for our daughter.
In those days, Bethany was located in a residential neighborhood in a modest building with a small parsonage next door and a parking lot on the other side. As we approached the building, we asked somebody if the church had a nursery and were directed to an exterior door. By this time, our daughter anticipated what was happening and was once again clinging to my leg. We opened the door to the nursery and were greeted by an elderly woman across the room. She saw our daughter, smiled, got down on her knees, and opened her arms. We watched in shock as our daughter let go of my leg and ran to this stranger, who quickly hugged her and welcomed her to the church. Debbie and I were almost alarmed at how quickly our child left the family’s protection to run into the arms of someone she did not know. After a moment of hesitation, we closed the door and headed for the church sanctuary.
Our intention at these church visits was to be as invisible as possible, keeping personal contacts at a minimum. We were there to “take notes,” so to speak, and evaluate what the church had to offer. We were immediately impressed by the young pastor, Dwight Nelson, who had an appealing style of delivery. After the service, Debbie and I were approached by people who knew us through our work. Dennis Swanson, who I knew as a member of the Skagit County Board of Adjustment, greeted us before we even got out of our pew. Becky Vetvick, whom Debbie knew from her work at Skagit Medical Center, greeted us and introduced us to others in the congregation.
Things were going well in the nursery. When we returned, the woman who took our daughter in her arms, known in the church as Grandma Eva Collinson, was still supervising the nursery. We didn’t know it then, but our church shopping days ended, and our lives were about to take a new direction. Our family continued to attend Bethany Covenant Church, and Nicole was happy in the nursery with Granda Eva on Sunday mornings.
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