“This is Us” Stories: Mae Beth Ragland

We are celebrating The Well’s 15th birthday by inviting people to share stories of how they have been shaped by their time with our community. Next up is Mae Beth Ragland. She and her husband, Chuck, have been part of our Well family for the last 5 years and Mae Beth is the facilitator of our writing group (Story & Soul). This is how she describes her journey with The Well:

In February 2020, right before the world would slow down, I was in an unfamiliar place in my life. I had recently left a job with a local Christian ministry that I enjoyed. Chuck and I had been part of a local church, and we were questioning if we still had a place there. I was navigating my faith away from the evangelical spaces I had been in my whole life, because I had sufficient questions about who the church was leaving out. I had been taught to love others as God loves us, and that we are all welcome. But I was seeing firsthand that not everyone was welcome as they are. And for me, I had to find a church home that was inclusive of everyone, not just to come, but also a place where they could fully participate in leadership and share their gifts.

The search began by looking at the website, Church Clarity. I knew this site would tell me what churches in the Jacksonville area were inclusive of the LGBTQ community, and it would also list churches that would allow women to serve in leadership roles. These were my non-negotiables. The Well at Springfield was one of the few churches that would answer YES to both of those questions. I reviewed their website with a rush of anticipation as I saw the photos, their resources, and who they were. The books that were listed were the very books I had been reading the past few years, and Hope was kindled in me, and a feeling of Home was palpable.

That same day, I sent a direct message to Susan Rogers, their female pastor. This made me smile as I had never known a woman pastor. I couldn’t wait to connect with her and hear her story. We would meet for coffee over the next few months and become friends. Since churches weren’t meeting in the early days of COVID, we wouldn’t attend a Sunday morning gathering until May 2021. We began meeting others, and our relationship with The Well was born.

The Well’s values of connection, belonging, becoming, creativity, and engagement have been poured into me through many different experiences. We have many opportunities to gather, and one of the first for me was being involved with the Racial Justice Group that met monthly. We were learning to listen to the voices of the marginalized and let them lead us forward. We asked questions and sought to examine our own prejudices as we looked for ways to live for the common good.

I have experienced the joy of making new friends here. We have sat together in homes, parks, coffee shops, campsites, and at parties or community meals. There is love and an openness to bring our questions, not to be rejected but to be listened to. I have marched with others, and prayed and held signs in protest because the courage to do so came from doing it together. As we engaged with our local community to get into “good trouble” for the sake of one another, so that all may flourish.

I have witnessed the sacrifices made towards neighbors, whether they know them or not. Of opportunities to give of their time to the schools or the food banks, the voting polls, the prison, or the community gardens. So many who attend The Well do not just attend a gathering on Sunday, but are leaning into their communities and giving of their time to help others.

I have been watching, learning and participating as together we see what is possible through our deliberate, small acts of love for others. Each of us who arrives at The Well has our own unique perspective and abilities to share. It is my hope that we continue to listen deeply and seek to be humble as we journey into Jesus’ tender way of Love.