When I finally stumbled upon RLC after moving to the cities for my college education, I was immediately drawn to this place. There is something special and refreshing about how welcoming RLC is to questions and understanding the world of chaos we live in today, which is what I try to imitate in my faith each day. After only my second Sunday worship at RLC ever, I signed up to be a confirmation leader. I think those six girls in my group have taught me more than I have taught them! They see the world in such a unique and open-minded way. They encourage me to see things from their perspective and challenge me to think differently. For example, earlier this fall, we were talking about how we treat others. One of the girls proposed that we should not treat others how we want to be treated. My walls were initially put up because this was the opposite of everything I had been taught growing up. As a good confirmation leader does, I asked her to explain a bit more about why she thought that. She reminded me that not everyone wants to be treated the same because we are all unique; she went on to say we should treat people how they wanted to be treated, not how we want to be treated. These mature-beyond-their-years-ninth graders redefined my ‘golden rule’ and gave me a new perspective on the greatest commandment. I couldn’t be more proud of them or grateful for them.

– Christina Johnson