CHURCH: In a word, blessed

I joined Christ the King church in 1975, I was just 5 years old. The church was led by Pastor Hemenway and he led his flock well. Through all these years I am still a proud member, yet as I got older and more politically active I began to write letters to the editor. My favorite topic was the failure of the Christian right to help the poor. I must admit I began to look around the church and wonder, am I insulting them? How many around me am I writing about?

In November 2015, I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. One afternoon my doctor told me I had a 30 percent chance of survival, I drove to my church and snuck into the dark chapel. As I knelt at the altar I began to pray and I wept. A few moments later I saw a set of bare feet making their way down the carpeted corridor. The feet belonged to our church’s new leader, Pastor Bob Sundquist. I got up and began to leave. As I approached him he could see my condition and he threw his strong arms around me and I fell apart. The church I grew up in, the church I was married in and the church I have chosen to be laid to rest in was now a part of my lowest point.

There are two things I will always remember the rest of my life: One is the stunning beauty of my wife as she walked the aisle of our wedding, and the second is Pastor Bob picking up my pieces off the floor of the church and praying with me. I found more than a spiritual leader that day, I found a friend.

As the weeks went by my first get well cards were from members of the congregation. My Sundays were filled with hugs and prayers. The members of Christ the King weren’t Republican, or conservative. They were family, and they didn’t treat me as a liberal — I was family.

I love the members of my church. I thank God for them and God bless them.

CHAD SOLSVIK

Coeur d’Alene