Seamless Lives of Faith|Hebrews 10:24-25
Jocelyn Robertson ‘25
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”
The Falls Church Fellows Class of 2025 has hit the ground running! We began the year with a retreat in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, before diving into youth group, church introductions, roundtable, seminary, and work!
In all the chaos of launching into a Fellows year, the common denominator has been community. Nearly daily, I have found myself thanking and praising God for the different areas of community this program provides. Being introduced as a group to the church on Sunday was a uniquely sweet experience; my heart was warmed seeing and experiencing the joy with which the TFCA community welcomed our entire Fellows class.
That feeling of encouraging welcome only repeated and intensified as the week progressed. Each of us settled in with our host families; we were welcomed by the Fuenzalidas for roundtable dinner; and we united with the Fourth Presbyterian Fellows for our first class at Reformed Theological Seminary. Perhaps most significantly, we Fellows have come together as a tightly knit community made of encouragement, care, and fun, built on a shared foundation of faith, calling, and intention.
Our first seminar speaker, Art Lindsley, prepared us for the experience of entering the workforce with a Christian perspective, posing the question of how we can best serve both God and our work communities. This week, we were simultaneously welcomed into community at our job and reminded of the higher calling of Hebrews 10:24-25; to encourage one another to good works. Though each of us work in different arenas and environments, we share the same calling to represent Christ and lift up others.
As I look ahead at the rest of this year, I see two callings toward community for the fellows. One to joyfully be welcomed - by the church, by our gracious host families, by each other - and one to encourage all those around us. My prayer is that, as we Fellows dive into this year, we invest in the communities in which we find ourselves and both encourage and be encouraged.