Remembering The Holy Spirit by Jamie Walton

Hello FCC!

My name is Jamie Walton, and I am so thankful for the opportunity the congregation has provided me as the new Youth & Children’s Ministry Coordinator at our amazing church. I thought I'd start by telling you a little about myself.

My story begins in Islip, New York where I was born on March 13th, 1986. Shortly after birth, I was baptized in a local catholic church. As a baby, my parents were attempting to work on their marriage in hopes for a more peaceful future with each other as well as my siblings and me. In an attempt at a fresh start, my parents decided to move upstate to a town called Endwell just outside of Binghamton located in the southern tier, which is where I grew up. Although I have vague memories of them being together, my parents’ marriage came to a halt in 1990 when I was 4 years old.

By this time, my parents had stopped attending church on a regular basis, but still both remained faithful to the God they held dear to their hearts outside of it. Through life’s trials and many twists, my adolescent years were mostly spent with my Mother. I had relocated fourteen times and had attended several different schools before the age of eighteen. Although unorthodox it was through this, I gained an early perspective of how complicated life can get. As a kid I continually struggled in school which eventually led to me dropping out just before the age of eighteen. By the year 2004, I had moved in total sixteen times and had attended ten schools in eight districts. With little regard to my non-immediate future, the harsh realities of life were beginning to take a toll.

When my father had taken notice of my circumstances and poor decision making, he insisted that I come back to Binghamton for a fresh start and a father to son bonding experience with him. My father’s thoughts, at the time, were by getting me back to my roots and providing stability while I played catch up would ultimately steer me in the right direction. Although my father wasn’t wrong, I found, upon arrival, that the dynamics of my neighborhood had changed a bit. Big businesses in the area were beginning to close their doors and the smaller business owners were beginning to feel it. Street culture was ultimately taking over the area and organized crime was at an all-time high. As financial tension throughout the southern tier rose, I did as my father suggested and got right to work on my GED.

Being half Italian myself, I managed to get a job at a pizzeria some family friends owned which essentially gave me a front row seat to everything that was going on out on the street. I saw firsthand as the once growing New York suburb with old school family values and morals was now beginning to dwindle and an epidemic of heroin was now taking over our streets as more legitimate businesses began to fail.

With limited options at my disposal at the time, I took refuge in a lifestyle that I would otherwise now not condone for anyone, although I managed to finish the GED program. Not unlike the time spent previously, I was living a party lifestyle with little regard to my non immediate future. My lifestyle was becoming increasingly more reckless in my time spent around bad influences. I managed to find myself in situations leading to me having to look over my shoulder and had many broken relationships with people I would have at one time considered close to me. The heroin trade was taking over the neighborhood and I was being harassed by police due to my associations with those who were consistently finding unwanted attention and trouble.

I remember one night when I found myself alone and I began to break down my poor decisions and bad image had finally caught up with me and I had become desperate in my attempt to fight away the demons. I called out to God and had felt His presence for the first time in some years. I remember begging him for an opportunity at a better life in hopes for a brighter future.

It was then I remembered the Holy Spirit coming upon me and putting it in my heart that it’s all going to be all right now. It was at that moment I had an overwhelming sense of relief and childlike joy came upon me and I knew that it was time for some changes.

It was that morning I decided to attend church for the first time in years. I remember the feeling I had from letting the Holy Spirit guide me to the church doors. I was excited to be there. In fact, I was so excited it took me a good minute before I realized I was at the Italian service and understood very little of what was being talked about by the Priest (hahaha), but it made no difference. I began to pray and was flooded with much needed peace and joy. My life from that day forward was different, but I still had much to learn and much to come.

Today I am honored to be so close to receiving a bachelor’s degree in ministry and psychology. And I am especially honored to be a staff member of the First Congregational Church of Ramona. It is my hope that, by living a life of love with God in the driver’s seat, we can grow our church through our youth and generous ministries.

Thank you!

Jamie Walton