TeenConnect: UpFront October 10, 2022 Issue

You belong here

Jenny Sawyer

Originally appeared online in the teen series: Upfront - May 31, 2022

I think I was wearing jeans and a sweater that day. What I do remember for sure is that it was cold outside, I had two miles to walk after I got off the subway, and it never even crossed my mind that jeans would be the wrong thing to wear. But when I got to church, one of the members gave me the side eye.

“Jeans at church?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I hadn’t been a member of that church for very long. I was fresh out of college, enthusiastic about being of service, and church had seemed like the perfect avenue for my prayers and energies. But that moment put me off. Suddenly, I found myself wondering if I really belonged.

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