What if, after many years of your life, you were suddenly plunged into a family you didn't know of how many existed? Perhaps fifty, or a hundred, or more of your family were meeting you for the first time. You were greeted with hugs and embraced and welcomed like you never could have imagined. You had wondered IF you had this family and you had hoped for many years that you might some day meet family from your father's side, a father you had heard about, but had never really met.

And then you meet the father and he is all you dreamed about, plus more! After a while, your father introduces you to the rest of the family--brothers, and aunts, and uncles, and cousins you had never known were your relatives.

I had an experience like this recently, when I was able to attend my first Wagner family reunion. I was so welcomed. And so many people said, "You look just like Aunt Helen"!

I could 'read' the faces at the reunion. The people were kind, hard-working, and happy. I'm so blessed to have met them!

This experience reminded me of how I was welcomed into the church almost forty years ago. I drove sixty miles to San Antonio, where, at the time, over 600 brethren attended. I was again plunged into a family I'd heard about, but really didn't know much about. And oh, how I felt welcomed! When you attend the true church, you have family, no matter where you are. They are people who truly care, people who practice the way of life God teaches us about in the Bible.

In Matthew 19:29, Jesus said, 'And every one that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.'

If you are thinking of attending services at the United Church of God, you WILL be welcomed! At this present time, most UCG sites have a much smaller congregation than when I first attended--that is smaller in number of people, but not smaller in heart.

Sometimes, it is a big step to make that call and come to services. I know what it is like to be shy or to make a move to a strange new place. So if you are already attending, don't forget to search out the new faces and EMBRACE these new sheep, the way our Father has cared for us. When one steps out of this present evil world, a person often needs extra love and nurturing!

It is God's desire that all of mankind will one day be a part of His family. Welcome to the family!