“I came to Westwood UMC in January 2008 after taking a hiatus from work for about a year. If I’m being honest, when I first came here I wasn’t planning on staying for long. As cliche as it sounds, I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. And no, I wasn’t from a small town in another state looking for stardom, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. But I still had the entertainment bug and was determined to find something in PR or at a studio or working behind the scenes of an awards show. I wanted something that seemed cool, exciting, and fun. I wanted a place where everyday was different, a challenge. But what I really wanted was a job that would seem impressive when I talked about it, and at that time in my life, church work didn’t fit into that category.
Over the years I worked as an administrative assistant in many different industries from hospitals, schools, and churches, to a health insurance company and a civil engineering firm – I was all over the map. The longest place I stayed at was 2.5 years! Throughout all of these positions, entertainment was still my goal, albeit an elusive one. Trying to get your foot in the door in this industry however is not for the faint of heart. When I finally got hired at a boutique PR firm in late 2007, I thought I’d finally made it, I’d found my dream job. I couldn’t have been more wrong and after one month, I walked away feeling defeated. I knew I’d made the right decision but now I had no job and was running out of money.
It was then that something in the back of my mind said to call Westwood. It had been over 6 months since a friend first mentioned they were hiring. Of course at that time, I was still adamant that I wasn’t going back to working at a church. But I came to realize that God had other plans. That tiny voice telling me to call Westwood got louder and I thought you know what, just call and see what happens. Sure enough it was still available after all these months. But I still had a plan: I figured if they hired me, which, spoiler alert, they did, I’d just do the job while looking for my “real” job in entertainment – I’m stubborn, what can I say!
During that first year, I went on a few interviews for entertainment jobs but none panned out. I blamed myself. I wasn’t young enough anymore (I was 31), I didn’t have “the look,” I wasn’t smart enough, and on and on. I was pretty deflated and thought it’s just not meant to be. I’ll never find something that is exciting, challenging, fun, all the things I wanted from entertainment.
Meanwhile, my work at the church continued and slowly, I found myself opening up to it. I started to enjoy it. I was learning new things, feeling challenged, having fun, and connecting with an amazing group of people from my coworkers to the congregation. I stopped seeing it as just a paycheck. I started to listen, to learn, to engage, and eventually two years passed into five and I hadn’t once thought about the entertainment industry. I guess you could say I found my calling.
Kathy Cannon, our former Children’s and Youth Pastor once told me that I, too, offered an important ministry to this church, one that was different from what our clergy offered. It was a love of doing and being there for others. That really stuck with me all these years: it’s my love language and I came to realize that this job gives me that opportunity ten-fold. It makes me feel whole to be there for others, to help and offer hugs when they’re struggling or sad, and to rejoice with them when life is good.
So now, here I am, about to turn 50 and reflecting on nearly 19 years at Westwood. I’m so grateful for this job and for all the people I’ve had the honor to know through the years. Some of you have become friends, some of you have become family and all of you have become a blessed part of my life.“
