Origins of Faith

A Walk of Faith

A personal narrative

As far back as I can remember, faith and church have always been a part of life. My grandfather founded the first evangelical church in Frosinone, Italy, in 1939, during a tumultuous time for evangelicals.

At first, my father wanted nothing to do with religion. He would spend much of his young adult life running away from God until one day, locked in his prayer closet (the bathroom), he would be suddenly struck by the Spirit, fall to his knees, and cry out to the Heavens in surrender. Shortly after that, he had my brothers and me take music lessons, and the four of us would become his personal band in a life of missionary work.

I was nine years old when I began serving in the church. We’d been attending an Italian-American congregation in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. On a warm and sunny Sunday morning in 1980, with less than a year of lessons, I hopped on the drums during the worship service. I remember that day vividly because, during our performance, the bass drum dislodged from its upright position and began to lean to the right, threatening to send the drum set crashing down. Thankfully, Sal, a seasoned member of the band and the trumpet player leaped like a cat and caught it in time before much of the congregation noticed. He quickly tightened the nut on the metal stand, and I kept playing as though nothing had ever happened.

I would dedicate almost four decades to the church in various volunteer capacities - lead Bible studies and other instructional programs, play in and direct the music ministry, and eventually become a board member. It had become a part of my DNA.

Throughout the years, I spent hours a week in church, sometimes at the expense of my family, and above and beyond work responsibilities. Inevitably, I began to question who I was serving, God or the church, and my belief system would become compromised. Finally, at age forty-eight, I made the heart-wrenching decision to walk away from organized religion.

I have embarked on a journey of faith, and along with my Letters to God, which are written in the epistolary form of poetry, I’ve decided to supplement those writings with personal narratives to fill in some of the gaps. I want you to know that this…

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