Bethel Grove Hospitality

Just over a month ago our family made a church switch. After 14 years of membership and service at Bethel Grove Bible Church, we decided to transition over to Christ Chapel. We deliberated and prayed a lot about the decision, and it wasn't easy. Changing churches isn't something that should be done hastily or without thought and counsel. 

As I reflect on our journey, I wanted to remember the gracious welcome that helped us to plant ourselves at "BG."

Bethel Grove had been our church home since we arrived in Ithaca.  We remember fondly the help and hospitality that they extended to us when we arrived on a snowy night in January 2008.  Our moving truck had been held up and so we showed up without any furniture, kitchen supplies, or bedding.  We had three kids at the time and Titus was just a few months old.  Stephanie’s parents had traveled with us to help us settle in and my sister Rachel was also with us. So the eight of us arrived at an empty house -but thankfully, the good people at Bethel Grove had shown up before us and brought camping pads, air mats, sleeping bags, blankets and towels!  It ended up being a full two weeks before our moving truck arrived and so we camped out with the donated supplies that whole time.  

Our first morning in Ithaca, Ned Lacelle showed up with a coffee maker and coffee.  Ned and Karen are now some of our dearest friends.  BG’s Pastor,  Dave Jones lived just down the road and so he popped over to greet us warmly.  Barb Westin from Intervarsity was also a neighbor as well as the Fisher family.   The church had known of our predicament because our landlady was Edith Johnson who works in International student ministry and the guy who helped us find the house to rent was Doug Webber who serves with the Navigators.  All of them were part of the Bethel Grove Congregation.   

The hospitality we received from Bethel Grove those first days was awesomely helpful and generous.  And by meeting  so many members so quickly, we felt immediately connected to the congregation.  We had anticipated checking out a few churches, and we did visit some in our first months here, but it seemed to make the most sense for us to plug in with BG.  Our team mates Nic and Christy also joined Bethel Grove. 

We had actually met pastor Dave Jones and Eric Hause back in November of 2006 when we first visited Ithaca.  Upon arrival we also got to know Pastor Ken Jung and his family.  The preaching at Bethel Grove was full of grace and BG’s passion and commitment to global missions was something we were excited about.  In our first few months we got plugged into a small group where we made many good friends, and to this day we are still in a small group with the LaCelle’s, Butcher’s and the Cuykendall’s 

Certainly the hardest part of switching churches is relational.  Ithaca can be quite transient with people coming and going in connection with Cornell and Ithaca College and yet there are many who we’ve been worshiping with for years.  There has been real grief in this transition process as we recognize there are people we simply won’t see as often.