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Katherine Barre
Deacon, Class of 2024
I am honored to share my personal beliefs as I begin to serve on the Diaconate of First Presbyterian Church of Spartanburg. I was raised in the Episcopal Church in Virginia, but when married, Bert and I agreed that we would attend the church his family grew up in, so I joined First Pres in 2003. I remember going through the Welcome Class with lots of new faces, many of which I am still friends with today. Bert and I joined a young couples Sunday School class and immediately felt at home. As we had our 3 children, the nursery and Weekday School became our 2nd home. We felt nurtured and had an amazing support system. Now our children are older, but all 5 of us would agree that First Presbyterian Church has been instrumental in our family in more ways than we can count!
However, in recent years, I do feel there have been some challenging times in our church which has had me question if I was in the right place. I’ve watched families leave for various reasons, pastors come and go, and through Covid I have felt quite disconnected from the church. When Josh Jones asked me to consider serving as a Deacon, I worried I wasn't the right person for the job and I told him I needed some time to prayerfully consider it. For over a week, I dug deep into my Faith, my Bible and my experiences trying to come to a consensus on if I should or should not serve the Church that had given me so much over the years. I questioned many things, but the word that I kept coming back to was “weakness.” I was feeling weak, unsure and defeated and I wondered what gifts I had to share at this time. Selfishly, I was expecting the church to fill this emptiness for me. Until I came across a powerful quote…
“I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him.
I ended up by asking God to do His work through me.”
-Hudson Taylor
In reading this quote I realized that I was looking at my circumstances wrong. If I was feeling empty, maybe that was just the right time to serve as a Deacon. Maybe it was just what I needed, as His strength could be shown through my weakness. I could allow my time of vulnerability to connect me to the Church, instead of push me away. I could find new perspective in following His lead.
He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
-2 Corinthians 12:9
Wow! The timing I thought was completely wrong, turned out to be just right! In admitting my weakness, I can affirm God’s strength! I look forward to serving, to deepening my faith and to allowing my vulnerability to connect me to First Presbyterian Church, a place that has already provided so much for me!
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