Sharing Our Faith: Kristin Dinwiddie

Why do I come to Cove? 

When Josh asked me to answer this question, the first thing that popped into my mind was Dr. Huber’s onion sets! And as funny as that sounds, that truly is one of the very first things that hooked me on Cove. Not because I was in desperate need for free onions, but because the giving and receiving of them seems to embody the spirit of Cove. Let me go back a couple of years to that day when we first visited Cove.

Will and I had become distanced from our prior church and many months had passed since we had attended anywhere. We both started yearning for fellowship and to again belong to something greater than just us. Will knew Greg from past mission trips, so I let him drag me to Covesville, to this tiny little brick church on a hill. We were immediately welcomed with hugs and greetings from Jane and Greg and smiles, handshakes and welcomes from all of you. And then it happened, the call for announcements, and Dr. Huber got up and said it was onion set time! I was tickled. I literally giggled. And I thought, wow, this is a church that can make me giggle. Pretty cool.

I talked to Dr. Huber after the service and told him how fabulous I thought his onion set program was and how I hoped to be a part of it the following year. And without missing a beat, he immediately grabbed a set and placed them in my hands, with the assurance that he had more at home to give to the member whose onions he had just bestowed upon me. So to whomever those onions originally belonged, I guess I owe you an apology for absconding with your rightful bounty!

But for me, those little tiny baby onions are so much more than just sustenance, they truly do represent the culture of Cove in so many ways. Just like the tiny onions, we are physically a tiny church but we are made up of a great many layers. Cove’s layers are composed of varying mission opportunities, women’s group, fellowship meals, community church services, and an amazing choir and music program! And if you keep peeling through all of those layers, you get to the core or the base of the Cove culture, which I believe is a community of faith, tolerance, and acceptance.

It is a loving, supportive environment for those baby onions to worship and grow within the grace of God. Cove is a very generous congregation, generous of spirit, of love, and of self. I have never left the grounds of Cove feeling alone. You all are with me during the week and it is a comfort knowing you are there.

I come to Cove because it makes me feel like I am a part of something much bigger than my day to day existence, to worship freely and unconditionally with all of the other onions who are seated in the pews in front of me and to feel at peace, even if only for one hour each week.

So, I guess my short answer to the question, Why do I come to Cove? Is: FOR THE ONIONS, of course!