Linda has been a member at St Michael’s since the late 80’s, and considers herself very lucky to be here. Her experiences from the early days of bringing her then-10-year-old son to be the 8:00 am acolyte to finding a way to worship together in the pandemic, makes her glad with confidence in her family’s life here. In earlier years, Linda studied math and computer science at University of Texas Austin during the turbulent late 60’s. Linda married following graduation, and even though their young family moved around, she was able to settle in church, raise two children, and enjoy a career as a systems analyst. She also had several systems analyst positions working on government contracts, then spent 20 years at Navy Federal Credit Union in systems development, navigating change from a 1000 employee credit union to 15,000 employees world wide. Linda retired in 2010 when her first grandchild was born. Dwight Denson, Linda’s husband of 54 years, is a retired naval officer and also a member of St. Michael’s. Their immediate family includes two children and their spouses  as well as five grandchildren ages seven to 15, all of whom live locally.

Currently, Linda is enrolled in EfM where participants explore beliefs, traditions, scripture, experiences and spirituality, navigating through discoveries and rekindling faith. Since September when Linda began the third year of the program, she has been reading 3000 years of world and church history that brought Christians to where we are today. Our history informs and inspires that we are a resilient religion, not because we are powerful, but because we are the opposite— who can argue with love? As we are seeing the results of the war in Palestine, the results of natural disasters, and now the government administration change, Linda knows we are facing uncertainty and feeling vulnerable. She is struck by what Christians have done since ancient times in these situations. She believes we’ve got this:  Loving mercy, acting justly, walking humbly and gently with God, speaking Love, and asking for Love, following Jesus’ example and teachings, caring for each other and our neighbors, and keeping community in our daily lives as we walk this path.