Sending & Welcoming
By Jason DeWaard
Justin and Trisha Heap were introduced to the RLF family in the summer of 2019, along with their children, Owen, Olivia, and Elliana. They were just beginning to settle in to the Real Life community when 2020…well, happened. Yet, even in the midst of great turmoil within our congregation and the world beyond, the Heap family stayed present and attentive.
As the pandemic receded and we began the difficult work of rebuilding community, I found Justin to be a thoughtful and encouraging conversation partner. He exuded passion, creativity, and a critical lens that revealed a deep love and care for the wellbeing of the Church. Justin holds degrees in Psychology and Family Studies, he was ordained in 2004 in Nashville, Tennessee where he served as a Youth & Family pastor before transitioning to Belmont Church in 2009, and then again moving to Michigan in 2013. Since then, he has served in various staff and consultant roles within multiple church staffs, non-church teams, and various organizations throughout West Michigan. Though he had experienced his own disillusionment and hurts through his ministry experience, he embodied a hope for what the people of God could be. After spending more than a year in conversation, I invited Justin to join the RLF staff where he immediately went to work teaching, preaching, developing new projects, and bringing much needed attention to our online presence and design.
On Sunday, September 10, the congregation celebrated Justin’s installation as Associate Pastor, surrounding Justin and Trisha (both literally and figuratively) with prayer and support. In light of Justin’s installation to the pastoral staff, we have also invited both Justin and Trisha to join our Shepherding team where they can speak into the life and health of our community and also receive support from our Shepherds.
When I asked Justin about where his journey into ministry began he said, “The thread that has always followed me, has been, “If Jesus really is who he says he is, then I want to be part of that. So, what led me to study and learn and pursue a life of curiosity and wonder, was always attempting to follow him.”
On Sunday, July 2nd, we ended our worship gathering as we sometimes do, with the bittersweet joy of sending off people we love. After more than twenty years in Michigan raising a family, working, serving, and living in Real Life community, it was time for Dirk and Margit de Jong to move back to Canada. The decision was not an easy one, but one that they had been considering for years. During the pandemic, when travel was restricted, they realized how important it is for them in this season of life to be present to their aging parents, children, and young grandchildren in Edmonton, Alberta. So, after every square inch of the “pod” was full and the house was cleaned and empty, the only thing left to do was to surround Dirk and Margit, lay hands on them, pray, cry, hug, cry some more, and sing the Doxology.
On their way to Alberta, the de Jongs took advantage of the scenery, traveling West over ten days through Pictured Rocks, Porcupine Mountains, a stop at Young Life's Castaway Camp in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota as well as a few days at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota before heading north into Canada. After staying briefly with their kids and grandkids while house-hunting, Dirk and Margit moved into their own place in Edmonton at the end of August and are in the process of making it their own. (They have a couple of guest rooms should any of us find ourselves in Edmonton.) Dirk is currently working as the Business Development Manager for ICA North America, an industrial coatings manufacturer; Margit continues her work with Poetice International, supporting the team through finance and travel administration.
There are many reminders all around us of these dear saints: every time I get frustrated with our online work platform (Dirk) or am trying to decipher a financial spreadsheet (Margit); every time I get up to preach and glance toward the pew in the back left corner of the sanctuary; whenever we come to the table and I remember that some of us are far away right now, and will one day be gathered together again.
With the de Jong’s departure, the Shepherding Elders reopened an ongoing discussion about growing the Shepherding Team in number. Having been in conversation with Tory and Rhonda Carter about this possibility since the end of Rhonda’s last term on the Board of Trustees a couple years ago, we extended an official invitation for the Carters to join the Shepherding Team early this summer. We are delighted that they have accepted the invitation and have already begun the work of serving the RLF family and supporting the pastoral staff.
Tory and Rhonda have been part of the our congregation since 2010 and their three adult children, Jake, Mikayla (Midge), and Madelynn (Maddie) were once students in the RLF youth group. Rhonda is a partner at CapTrust Financial Advisors and has the gift of being unflappable when everyone else is freaking out. She can be counted on to listen patiently and speak truthfully in a way that makes you think, Why didn’t I think of that? Tory is also notoriously unflappable, working for the past 31 years as a paramedic in the Grand Haven area. Tory brings not only the calm reassurance of a first-responder but also the heart of a true servant, showing up and serving whether anyone notices or not.
Welcome to the Shepherding Team, Tory and Rhonda!