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Erin McDevitt

mcdevitt-erin.jpg“Prior to my experiences with the CCO, I was used to finding a sense of community among the outcasts. I was convinced that the Christian community was not for me. Now, not only do I seek out a Christian community for myself, I want to reach out to others and help them find Christian community for themselves.”

Right before Erin McDevitt enrolled as a student Chatham University, she was going through a very difficult period. “I started to reconnect to God after a long separation from my religious identity,” she says. “The year I turned 21, I spent a lot of time in the bar. I knew I had to get back to school, to get my life back on track, and I eventually admitted that I needed to get back to God.”

Erin is currently living in the Pittsburgh suburbs, working in a clerical position and searching for a church home. “I have attended churches that provide small groups for discussion, book readings, and Bible study. I am searching for a sense of community.”

When Erin first arrived at Chatham, she sought out a place where she could talk about her issues concerning religion and God. She met CCO staff worker Megan Balsley and started attending a weekly Bible study. “It was really the first time I had ever proclaimed my convictions in public. Megan was a constant encouragement to stay connected, to participate in the religious community. By the end of my time at Chatham, Megan encouraged me to lead one of the Bible studies, and I also started to connect with certain students in these studies, which I didn’t think was possible.”

But it was at Jubilee 2006 that Erin experienced what she now describes as “a crucial turning point for me. There were other parts of the conference that affected me, but none quite like the worship songs. I came away from that conference with a new prayer: ‘God, please let your grace be enough for me.’”

As Erin figures out next steps for her life, she is grateful that the CCO was there to support her through her college years. “The CCO experience gave me a chance to see God’s light reflected through the support of community. My experiences with Megan and the Bible study gave me something to hold on to, like a railing on the steps, as I tried to get my life together. Without that, I think I would have been more self-destructive than I had been before.”

“I believe in the phrase, ‘they will know we are Christians by our love,’ I have always clung to that notion, but this was always in the context of how one individual could show love for others, not necessarily how a community could gather together. Ultimately, the CCO initiated my faith in the Christian community as a way to show this love.”