First Presbyterian Church members are living God’s love in all kinds of ways. One of them is Janine Santoro, who writes a newsletter for young parents Here is her story, in her own words.


My partner, Steve, and I moved to Fountain Hill in 2015. I had resigned from my role as a youth and young adult coordinator at First Presbyterian Church of Bernardsville, New Jersey, and we were looking for a new home church.


Since I had started my Christian faith journey at that church, I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore the other denominations in the area because there is such a rich and diverse church history in the Lehigh Valley. However, when we came upon First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, we felt right at home. From services in different languages and worship styles with pastors and congregants who remembered our names, to ministry opportunities for anyone and everyone, we both had the sense that we belonged immediately.


I found this church to be a space for differences of culture, opinions, politics, theology, and so much more—it is what I believe the kin-dom (and kingdom) of God looks like. Tis church has now been with us as we started our marriage; I gave birth to our son, Joseph; and I personally struggled with vocation, family illness, and other major life changes. It truly lives into its mission statement of living God’s love, and there is not a day that we do not thank God for leading us here.


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To be honest, sometimes I feel that I have received so much more from the church than I have been able to give. Since I work full time at a library and until recently was a part-time chaplain as well, my participation sometimes feels limited. It was during a Bible study that I expressed to Kathy Schmied that I was trying to figure out what I’m called to do at this time, since having a baby seemed to change everything. I shared that I would love to spend more time writing, and she sat down with me to discuss writing a newsletter for parents of children ages 0 to 2.


Te newsletter, Grace in Growth, was supposed to be a short letter for parents to discover resources for their children’s faith formation, but I also found myself feeling nudged to have it be something that makes parents feel encouraged about where they are at this stage in their life. I think oftentimes parenthood is seen as a very joyful time, but it can also be very tiring, challenging, and sometimes even overwhelming and depressing, which a lot of people feel is taboo to talk about in society, let alone at church. Parents might feel pressured to be or act a certain way, and there are groups out there that have very specific ideas about what it means to be a “Christian” parent.


My prayer is that the newsletter echoes


affirmations of God’s love not just for children but also for their parents, who always need renewed strength and encouragement in times where they might feel bad for things simply being different than how they thought they would be. If there are parents reading it who feel everything is going well for them and under control, then the newsletter can be a way to just gain more inspiration through faith-based resources, activities, or ideas to help uphold their family. My prayer is that it helps anyone reading it feel God’s presence in everything they are feeling and going through.


Writing Grace in Growth has helped challenge my own notions of God and parenthood in wonderful, funny ways. Immersing myself more in scripture, looking for God in the everyday ups and downs with Joey, and planning for the future with Steve helps me realize that parenthood is a vocation in and of itself and does not have to take the shape of some kind of ordainable ministry. All the knowledge, books, and natural, eco-friendly baby products out there can never prep you for the life God is inviting us to with our little ones. Only relationship, with God and each other, can do that.


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