Who Am We? Claire Carpenter

 As a new interviewer, I thought my first interviewee should also be new. I met Claire about two months ago. She’s a third-generation cradle Episcopalian and, since October, a regular at St. Paul’s. Prior to moving to the neighborhood, the music enticed her to Evensong services here.

Once living near, the music and opportunities for involvement led her to membership.

Claire is a soft-spoken woman whose actions do the talking. She’s already serving on the Altar Guild, debuted as a lector on Valentine’s Day this year, and is a participant in Women Together. From my perspective, she’s doing a bang-up job recovering from the end of a thirty-year marriage.

Currently Claire works as a music teacher and is adding new students. Has piano, but will travel (if a student provides the piano). She also is a substitute teacher in elementary school and is interested in writing for children. Her own three children are grown.

When asked about the times she has been most aware of God’s presence in her life, Claire refers to the hard times in her marriage with the struggle to determine how to handle some situations and decisions about work. She told me two stories.

The remnant of a small music box that belonged to one of her children was stowed in the bottom of her purse. One Sunday morning, as she walked and pondered, the box spontaneously played “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.”

Claire got the message. She said she then knew she wasn’t alone. She didn’t expect everything to resolve neatly as in a Broadway musical, but she knew she had love and support on her journey through the valley.

Claire wrote, “I believe the Lord is a great Guide in the path of Life. He looks out for me and I reflect on his goodness during Compline, which I read at the end of the day.”

Claire trusts. She’d like to know what’s ahead, but trusts her Guide. I got the image of God’s light as a flashlight revealing one stepping stone at a time as beautiful music calls her in the right direction.

Oh, and you can ask her about the second story when you meet her.

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 St. Paul’s member, Cindy Schuricht, would love to talk with you. Please let her know if you would like to be interviewed for the Who Am We? series.   Click here to read  how Who Am We? got started. Cindy has a member of St. Pauls’ for about ten years. She reviews children’s books in her blog www.hundredbookpileup.com