How I came to Hinkle

     I used to live in St. Louis, MO. and I worked with a girl named Karen and we were good friends. Karen met a man and fell in love, she told me one day that they were getting married and she was moving away. He lived in Deming, Indiana. I told her that I too was moving to be closer to my family, in Noblesville, Indiana. We discovered that Deming was mere minutes, in fact, right next door to Noblesville. What a wonderful coincidence and how excited we were to be able to continue our friendship while starting our new lives. 
     I would go to visit Karen often at her Deming home over the years. On my way to Deming I always passed Hinkle Creek Friends. For years I would just drive right by the little white country church on the corner. Occasionally, I would glance over at it. No one was ever there when I drove by during the week so I didn't even know if people still came there. It looked loved and cared for but I didn't really think too much about it. I wasn't looking for church, really, anyway.  I'd been attending a big Christian Church on the other side of town.  It was a wonderful experience but we didn't stay much longer than a couple of years. The desire to go to church had just slowly faded away. We got busy and distracted by life, there was a new Pastor and no one really even noticed that we had stopped attending.
     One day I was in Deming visiting Karen and her family and we were talking about how I was a Christian and we were discussing their view of organized religion. Karen's husband said, "If I HAD to be a Christian I would like to be a Quaker." I said, "What's a Quaker?" He said, "You, now, The Society of Friends?" I stared at him blankly and he continued."Well, Kelly, you pass a meetinghouse every time you come to Deming. You know, the little white church on the corner there at Hinkle and 216th." I said, "Oh yes, that is such a cute little church." And I was immediately extremely curious about the Society Friends and that little white church. I gave it a serious looking over the next time I drove by. I drove by real slow and wriote down the phone number that was on the old sign. So, I called the church a couple days later and Bob answered. I asked him what time church was on Sundays and he told me 10:30 which I thought sounded perfect! I don't remember what else I asked him but I thought he sounded very nice so I decided I would give it a try. So, that next Sunday I showed up. I came alone, this was, after all, an experiment. No need to involve the whole family. When I walked in the doors everyone was already in the sanctuary so I looked around a little, grabbed a bulletin and went back outside to think a little bit. I all of a sudden became very scared and nervous, which was so strange. I'd been to Church enough not to be scared! But I was! So, I went and sat on one of the logs on the far side of the parking lot, by my car. I looked over the little brochure I had picked up. I remember being so afraid that the church would be too rigid and stern and I would'nt fit in. I remember it was a beautiful hot Summer day. I came SO CLOSE to leaving. I sat there for a while wondering what in the world I should do. I had come this far.... There was a bad smell coming from the woods, like something had died or something (The Lord works in mysterious ways!) so I immediately stood up and started walking toward the church. I walked back in through the doors and sat down in the back row. Bob had longer silver hair then.Of course he was very kind and welcomed me and said he remembered me calling and invited me back. He always said, "Now, you bring your family with you next time." And I eventually did but it took a while. There weren't very many people there that Sunday. But, I liked it. I loved the quiet, peaceful experience of the Quaker way. No brass horns!! So, I came back again the following Sunday and it was Fathers Day,  I remember I sat there and cried like a baby.  People were standing up and speaking their hearts. They were telling storys of their childhood and thanking their Fathers for their love and guidance through the tyears. Or they would talk about how much they missed their fathers, if they had passed on. I think it was then that I first fell in love with Hinkle Creek Friends Church. I still love Mothers and Fathers day best at our church for that reason. And I did notice that on Fathers Day there were a lot more people there. Which was so nice to see. Eventually, I brought My Husband, and my Children with me, and thankfully, they liked it too. Well, they loved it. For some time Conner was theonly kid in Children's Church. I loved how , eventhough there wern't very many people in attendance the Church continued to operate as if there was a full house. Twelve peple in attendance? No matter, we will still sing our songs and play the piano and dress up and worship, pray, praise tithe and take that one little boy that showed up to Children's Church. Hinkle NEVER stopped! Bob had his suit and tie on, Bev was there in her pew, Victoria was a just a toddler. I would always sit right behind Jay and then of course Mike and Conner became friends with Jay and it just absolutely blossomed from there. Sometimes I think Mike's love for Hinkle may even surpass my own. He knows every inch of that place and loves working there to fix things and just keep it beautiful and strong for generations to come. Now we attend regularly and serve on committees and we've been to Quaker Haven. I doubt if Conner even remembers life before Hinkle Creek. To him it's always been a part of his life. And in my heart of hearts I have a hope that it always will be. So, see, you never know what you might say or do that might change the course of someones life. A quick comment by a friend led us to this place. Hinkle has become such an imprtant part of our lives, forever. Looking back, what I remember most is that Hinkle Creek Friends met me right where I was. I was loved for who I was immediately, without question. Never mind my credentials or lack there of. Never mind my past or my faults. I was loved for whoI was, without question. Hello! Welcome! Let's see what God wants to do with your life when you put it all in his hands. And I DO feel like that seed of love planted in my heart has grown. I DO see fruit in my life. I am not the same person I was when I first came through those doors. I am still loved, no matter what I do or don't do. I am loved. Certainly, I have new relationships with people in the church and feel loved by them. But God loves me the same today as he did then. I am just WAY more aware of his many many blessings and my thankfulness runneth over!Bob welcomes me the same now as he did then. I am a Child of God who cannot earn my way into heaven. But I can invite God into my life and through my actions invite him into this world so desperately in need of more of Him. So, thank you Hinkle Creek Friends for being there when I happened by. Thank you Jesus for nudging me through the doors that day. I sure do love this place and all the people in it. I love it, because it loves me. And I know that God loves me. I just know it. I KNOW that I know. He has called me to him. And it's not just me he's calling. He's calling to all of us. Just listen to your heart.

Psalm 46:10

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”