Hi! For those of you who know me and those of you who don’t, I’m Sam Durieu. I’m a senior at Damascus High School; well, technically not anymore since I just graduated on Friday June 1st on the Hornet football field. I’ve been coming to St. Anne’s since I was 11 years old. The first time I attended a service, I was with Johnson Hays; he was my new neighbor, since my family just moved into the neighborhood, and he invited me to attend a service with him and his son Matt Hays. I agreed with a smile on my face, but on the inside I was completely terrified; I couldn’t even remember the last time I attended a church service. I barely knew who God was of even what the Christian faith was. I guess you could call me a late bloomer, and sorry mom, I know you really tried to get the whole family to go to church every Easter and expect us to learn something, but I just could never get my mind off those amazing Easter egg hunts they had after the service. My sweet tooth got the best of me. But now, this was a great opportunity for me to learn what faith is all about.
That first service changed my life. I was completely welcomed with open arms; it felt like it was faith itself that brought me to this church, and taught me that I shouldn’t be scared to learn about God. For the next couple of weeks I would get up every Sunday and head to church with the Hays family. My family noticed how enthusiastic I was about suddenly going to church, that they also decided to attend a service and see how they would like it. Well, they liked it very much and it just went uphill from there. The following year my family was baptized. It’s been seven years and this church has done so much for me. I became an acolyte which is so awesome to be an important part of the service, I joined the youth group, and I have had so many amazing experiences with an amazing group of teenagers. I’ve eaten wonderful food at coffee hour and would never miss an opportunity to have a piece of cake at 11:30 in the morning. I’ve attended numerous vacation bible schools, where I learned how to make bricks by stomping around in mud in my bare feet, where Elizabeth taught us how to cook bread because it was the most popular food back then, where I learned how to make numerous different crafts that are still on display in my room as we speak, and how I learned so much, that as I grew older I was able to be the leader of my own vacation bible school group, and have the kids look up to me as a role model as I used to do when I was their age.
I am truly blessed to be a part of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church; when I come here, all my worries go away, it is the one place where I can focus on my faith, and further strengthen my relationship with God. By being a part of St. Anne’s and being involved in our church, I was awarded a $3,000 leadership scholarship from my college. I will be attending Virginia Wesleyan College in Virginia Beach this fall. And I know that my family, friends, teachers and the St. Anne’s community have prepared me for the next big step in life. I just hope that my next stop in life will be a welcoming and warming as it is here. Thank you all for the great memories and the ones to come.
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