Profiles Of Faith - Interview with Dave Christianson
Dave Christianson and his wife Kathie Christianson have been attending ECC Attleboro (Evangelical Covenant Church Attleboro) for almost 40 years. They both served our church in different roles over the decades and have been important parts of many people’s stories and in our church’s recent history. When we decided to start a new project called “Profiles of Faith“, a series of interviews with members of our church, we asked the board members to come up with a nominee as the first interviewee. Dave Christianson’s name immediately jumped into everyone’s mind.
Originally, we planned to make a simple social media post out of the answers to the questions. After receiving Dave’s answers, we thought these are too good to be cut into a paragraph or two. So here you have it: the very starting point of our blog and a new project, “Profiles of Faith”.
Q: Would you please share a little bit about when and how did you become a Christian?
A: I became a Christian in the 9th grade while attending a Lutheran Youth Congress in Baltimore, MD. After a very moving general session, my youth counselor David Beard, lead me in a prayer and I gave my life to Christ. From that point on I was born anew and forever changed. Up until this point, I had attended church my whole life, was baptized as an infant, and attended Sunday school and Confirmation, but had not really made a decision about trusting God. I was facing challenges at school and God used that to bring me closer. He moved someone to invite me to the Youth Group at church and through that kindness, I began to attend. Through that Youth Group, I was exposed to a whole different view of faith and what Jesus had done for me, which led to that life-changing moment at the Lutheran Youth Congress.
Q: How long have you been attending ECC Attleboro (Evangelical Covenant Church Attleboro)?
A: Kathie and I started attending in the summer of 1984 and became official members in 1985. Prior to coming here, I knew nothing about the Covenant Denomination. We had moved to Mansfield in August of 1983 and had been visiting a number of churches in the area ( Lutheran, Baptist, Non-denominational, Episcopal, …) but God was not leading us to any of them. One day we drove by our church and the big brick sign out front caught my eye and the rest is history.
Q: What do you like about ECC Attleboro?
A: I like the simplicity of our worship service format and the 2 styles of worship accompaniment, organ and praise band - both can be truly worshipful. I also enjoy the friendship and fellowship of this faithful group of saints, as we work to spread God’s grace and love.
Q: Both of you and Kathie are actively serving in our church. What volunteer roles have you been serving?
A: Not currently in any official roles at the moment ( I just completed a 3-year term on the Executive Board, as Vice Chair and Chair. ) Currently I’m helping to lead the new Prayer Team that the church has formed, which I am very excited about. We often underestimate the power of prayer and this is a great opportunity to put more energy into that ministry.
Over the many years, I have been blessed to serve in many elected and unelected positions: Youth Group counselor, Sunday School teacher, Deacon Board member, Sunday School Superintendent, CE Board Chair, Vice Church Chair, Church Chair, Nominating Committee, Stewardship Committee, usher, reader, and dishwasher(my favorite). Dawn dish detergent is the best!
Q: I was just about to ask what’s your favorite dish detergent! (Lol. Thank you for sharing!) Are you also serving with the ministries our church partnering with?
A: I also volunteer at the NE Seafarers Mission in Boston on Cruise ship days and completing projects in the Center as an amateur carpenter. I also served on the Board of Directors for 6 years, with 3 years as Treasurer. In retirement, I have recently started visiting the crews on cargo ships in Providence and Quonset Point, and will start visiting ships in Boston as well.
Q: Life can get quite busy these days. What gets you going and keeps you serving as a volunteer?
Anything I have done as a volunteer is out of gratitude for all that God had done for me; His forgiveness, His grace, and His provision. Any good I have done is of the Holy Spirit who has empowered me to think beyond myself and to share these gifts with others. I often fall short of making service a priority in my life but I keep pressing on. When I think of what Jesus did for us and how many great saints of the past and present gave of themselves for the Kingdom, it’s not hard to be inspired to do more.
Q: What’s your favorite Bible verse(s) or quote(s) to go to while facing challenges and difficulties?
A: There are many Bible verses that give me strength and inspiration. Here are three: Psalm 139, Ephesians 2: 1-10, and Romans 8: 31-39.
Q: Would you like to share a fun fact about yourself?
A: My love of dishwashing at church is the result of my first real job. At the age of 15, I began my dishwashing career at the Winchester Country Club in Winchester, MA. Many busy nights of handling hot plates, cups, and silverware right out of the dishwasher. On slower days I might chat with the resident golf pro in the summer and the curling pro in the winter. Although I never picked up any pointers from those pros I did learn how to make chicken parm, stuffed filet of sole and Beef Wellington from the chefs!
Q: Would you like to share any message with people exploring faith or returning to faith?
A: I was aware of God from a very young age, which I owe in part to my church upbringing by my parents. Deep down inside I believe everyone has an awareness of God. However, to get us beyond that simple awareness, it seems we often need adversity, a hardship, a need in our lives to get us to reach out to God, e.g. loneliness, job loss, an illness to name a few. In some way, we need to come to the end of ourselves. We must reach out to get help. When we reach out to Him, we will find Him. (He has always been present but we couldn’t see.) That familiar scripture, “Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be open” Matthew 7:7, rings true. This was my experience as well. It’s in a time of need, that we feel, in the deepest personal way, the presence of God, His amazing grace and love. We will know forgiveness, healing, His peace and presence. The Holy Spirit will come to us and live in our hearts and minds. It has been said that God has designed a hole in our heart that only He can fill. We can try to fill it with money, material possessions, success, power, but in the end they will not satisfy. The holy scriptures help us to understand the power of God and the depth of His love that is fully expressed in Christ Jesus. God created you, knows all about you, and loves you just as you are. Jesus came that we might have life and life to the fullest. This is my prayer for you, and me!