WHY I ATTEND FCC - Alan & Denise Parsons

Alan started attending First Christian in the late 1980s and attended regularly from 1990 to date. Denise joined me and made First Christian her church home in 1999. Thus, we each have decades of membership. Our children were raised in this church and participated in the First Kids and youth group programs. We remained members even when we moved out of the neighborhood for 20 years. Our kids are grown and migrated from the Louisville area to all parts of the world but we remain rooted in Louisville and recently moved back to the neighborhood to be closer to church. Why, you might ask.

Pure and simple, the members of First Christian Church are members of our family – not just our faith family but our family. They celebrate our successes and those of our kids, who they helped raise. They mourned with us with the loss of our oldest daughter, Emma. When we volunteer for numerous community projects, they volunteer and labor alongside us. From the first days at First Christian we felt welcomed in a way never experienced at another church. Older members became aunts, uncles or grandparents. Others became older brothers or younger sisters and in a couple of church skits, even the “second” spouse. We picked up a whole lot of nieces and nephews along the way. Our entire biological family resides outside of Kentucky and yet we have a huge family here at First Christian; one that continues to anchor us in Louisville and First Christian.

We have weathered changes in church leadership and pastors because the spirit of First Christian resides within all its members and not in any one individual. Just as importantly, we value beyond measure the fact that we are an “Open Table” church and mean it. We honor theological views that span the gamut of Christianity but are united in that single confession of faith – that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior. Yet, even in that confession of faith, we reach out in brotherly love to other faith traditions as part of our effort to bring Healing to a Fragmented World.

First Christian Church’s history extends back more than 180 years and we have been privileged to participate in more than 30 years of that story. We look forward to praying and working with our faith family to continue the legacy of First Christian Church.

Alan & Denise Parsons