Purpose From My Pain

Linda Leinius

Linda Leinius

School Partners Director | School Partners District Director | Global Partners


I am the oldest of two daughters born to deaf parents in a small Wisconsin farm town. As soon as I could talk, I was serving as my parents’ interpreter through sign language – connecting them with the hearing world. Life from an early age was filled with adult responsibilities, worries, and decisions. Instead of the childhood I craved, mine was filled with heaviness and loss.

I feared the dad who everybody loved, but whose anger behind closed doors would escalate into yelling, physical intimidation, and abuse for my mom. Under the kitchen table is where my mom, sister, and I would hide, hoping we would be invisible and therefore safe. My parents divorced when I was 6, and I was caught in the middle of their hurt and anger.

At the start of my 4th-grade year, we were dropped off at a local motel – my mom, sister and me with a U-Haul containing everything we owned. No car, no job, no home, and very little money. This kind of poverty meant asking strangers for money, stealing quarters out of the community washing machine for groceries, asking friends for rides, food stamps and free lunch, handling late bills and bounced checks, and going without meals and holidays. We were lonely and scared kids. We worried about our mom who faced bouts of depression and retreated to her bed for days with suicide threats, and ultimately spent time away from us in the psychiatric ward – as I celebrated my 12th birthday. Our mom did her best to provide for us by taking a job on the night shift, but that meant leaving us alone to care for ourselves. I felt isolated and responsible for my sister and me. My life seemed so different than the other kids I knew – I felt like an outsider.

Although life was very difficult, I loved my parents. As an adult, I can see that their treatment of us was due to their own broken childhoods, but at that time, it all resulted in feelings of shame, which I carried around like a heavy weight. I felt helpless and alone…I just wasn’t good enough. And the messages my sister and I received were very clear: don’t burden others with your problems, don’t ask for help, don’t let people know how bad it really is. You are supposed to keep it all hidden…all of it…because what would people think if they knew?

Fortunately for me, there was school: the place I felt most happy, safe, and valued. It all started with my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Shumate, who told me I was special and made me feel cared for and seen; I no longer needed to be invisible. It was my teachers who noticed my love of math, set aside library books just for me, explained what to do the first time I got my period, hugged me, encouraged me, and believed in me. They saw me as more than a student – they said I was kind, generous, smart, hard-working, and a good friend. When I ask the hard question, “Where was Jesus during my childhood?” I now picture a loving, heavenly father handing me – his precious daughter – into the hands of my teachers. “I’m giving Linda to you. Please show her how much I love her…how I’ve given her unique gifts…how she’s created in my image…speak life into her.” From teacher to teacher, he placed me into caring hands each year. It was through those teachers that God began to call me out from “under that kitchen table” where I hid in my fear, shame and loneliness, and instead gave me an invitation to come to His table where I would find true peace, grace, and love.

Life after college looked “normal” – family, home, church, work, kids’ events, vacations…everything I wanted growing up. But God had other plans for me, and nudged me to attend an informational meeting about School Partners at Kensington. Soon, I found myself on the way to Ms. Martin’s classroom, praying all the way and wondering what I had to offer. I walked into her classroom and saw a sea of 44 children. Over the next year and a half, I would see myself in those students with their broken homes, hurts and fears, and be reminded of the blessings I received in the classroom as a child. After a retreat in 2015, God invited me on a life-changing journey: allow your mess to become your message.

Then came the invitation to join the School Partners staff. I believe that God had been preparing me for this change to bring me back to the place I loved as a child. It would mean giving up my job of 27 years with all its security, benefits, and income. It would mean trusting that God could really use me, that he was truly calling me to follow Him into these under-resourced schools. I did it! And, now I get to share the love of Jesus in our partner schools every day – just like my teachers did for me. This is my purpose – born out of my pain.

Want to find out more about School Partners, and making a difference in the lives of local students? Go to kensingtonchurch.org/school-partners or email Linda at schoolpartners@kensingtonchurch.org about volunteer opportunities.

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Divorce Recovery

You don’t have to go through the pain and stress of divorce or separation alone. Our Divorce Recovery workshop combines expert speakers, small group discussion and a time of community with people on the same journey.

Divorce Recovery Fall Session
Troy Campus | Mondays 7pm | starting September 18, 2023 |
Cost: $45
Cost includes our Divorce Recovery workbook, snacks at each meeting (including coffee), and dinner at end of session.

Grief Recovery

At Kensington’s Grief Recovery support group, you can find hope and healing after the loss of a loved one. It’s a place where you’ll encounter caring people who can empathize with your pain because they’ve been through it themselves.

Fall Grief Recovery | Sept 19-Dec 12 | Orion Campus
Surviving the Holidays | Nov 14 | Orion Campus

Find a Grief Recovery group near you: griefshare.org

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Our dedicated volunteers bring encouragement and prayers of faith to those who are in local hospitals, medical centers, recovery centers and homebound. If you or someone you know would like to be blessed by such a visit, email visitation@kensingtonchurch.org or call the Troy Campus during business hours at 248-786-0600.

Pastoral Care

Members of our Pastoral Care Team are trained by the nationally known Stephen Ministry program and are compassionate listeners who walk alongside others to provide skilled and distinctly Christian care in times of need. They can’t promise to have all the answers, but they can promise their focused support. To receive care from one of our Pastoral Care Team members, call us at 248.786.0600 and ask for a Campus Care Provider – they can get the process started.

Interested in joining our Pastoral Care Team? Email us for more info.

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Troy

5pm | 12/23
Birth–PreK programming

7pm | 12/23
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11am | 12/24

Birth–PreK programming

1pm | 12/24
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3pm | 12/24

Birth–PreK programming

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Orion

5pm | 12/23
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7pm | 12/23
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11am | 12/24
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1pm | 12/24
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3pm | 12/24
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5pm | 12/24
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Clinton Twp

5pm | 12/23
Birth-PreK and Elementary programming

7pm | 12/23
Birth–PreK programming

11am | 12/24
Birth-PreK and Elementary programming

1pm| 12/24
Birth–PreK programming

3pm| 12/24
Birth–PreK programming

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11am | 12/24
Birth-PreK programming


1pm | 12/24
Birth-PreK programming

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2pm | 12/24
No children’s programming

4pm | 12/24
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10am | 12/24
Birth-PreK and Elementary programming

12pm | 12/24

Birth-PreK programming

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Discover rhythms and practices that can help us abide in the love, grace, and hope of God, where our lives can be transformed. Explore some of these practices together with others who are pursuing the same.

Troy

Birmingham Campus

We are offering a time for our congregation to gather after the 10am service for prayer in the Groves Auditorium, 20500 W 13 Mile Rd, Beverly Hills, MI 48025.

On Sunday evening, Dec 5, parents of high school and middle school students are invited to the second half of our Edge gathering at Genesis Church, 309 N Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48067, at 6:15pm. We will have a breakout to equip parents in caring for themselves and processing pain with their children in times of tragedy.

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Counselors Are Needed After Tragedy

“The aftermath of the Oxford shooting tragedy will undoubtedly result in traumatic symptoms and experiences across our communities for quite some time. Healing the brain through evidence-based therapies is absolutely possible with clinical guidance. There is a valuable village of Trauma Therapists with collective resources standing by for Oxford, for both direct and secondary survivors to engage in therapy. Until then, we honorably hold a sacred space, as students, families, staff and school partners continue to mourn.” -Laura Azoni, LMSW, Founder of Sanctuary Services

Orion Campus

We believe that unity at this time is more important than ever. Several churches in the area are partnering together to offer space for students to begin the process of healing.

We will have several grief and trauma specialists on site this Sunday evening at our Orion Campus (4640 S Lapeer Rd Lake Orion, MI 48359) from 5-6:30pm and will have a night of prayer, worship and an opportunity for students to process with each other.

Tate Myre Funeral:
Monday, 12.6 Visitation 1 to 8pm
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We will be offering a time for our congregation to gather after each service for a time of corporate prayer in the Greatroom. Prayer will be offered at 10:15 am and 12:15 pm. (25000 Hall Rd, Charter Twp of Clinton, MI 48036)

This Sunday at 3:30 pm as a community we want to gather, pray and mourn together. We are all looking for answers and wondering why tragedy happens but we can find hope and peace in Jesus. 

Troy Campus

Join us Sunday night, December 5th for a Community Prayer Vigil at Kensington Church at 6:00 pm. Invite friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to come together for a time of hope and prayer. 

Following the Vigil, at 7:00 pm, there will be breakouts for students and for parents to process and be equipped in caring for themselves and those around in times of tragedy.

Marriage Classes

What grows marriages? Focusing on the two of you and being in community!
The Marriage Course includes seven sessions, designed to help couples invest in their relationship and build a strong marriage. Some couples do the course to intentionally invest in their relationship, others are looking to address more specific challenges. Either way, the course offers essential tools and practical ideas to help you build a relationship that lasts a lifetime. The Marriage Course is based on Christian principles but designed for all couples with or without a church background.

Please email marriage@kensingtonchurch.org with any questions.

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Financial Compass is designed to help you discover the freedom found in wisely managing the resources God provides. To find out more, please email discipleship@kensingtonchurch.org.

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Whether you are brand new to the Bible or have been reading it for decades, Bible Basics is a course that will help you understand the overall flow of the Bible. Over the course of several weeks, learn how the Bible came from the original writers to the English versions we have today. We’ll look at the big-picture story of the Bible and how all the individual books add to the whole. We’ll even learn a little about the history of the Jewish nation. But most of all, we’ll grow in our awe of the amazing author of this amazing book!

Please email discipleship@kensingtonchurch.org with any questions.

Clarkston

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Traverse City

Troy

Alpha

What is my purpose? What value does the Bible have in my life? How do I pray? How can I grow in confidence to share my faith? These are the big questions that are at the heart of what it means to have a relationship with God. Alpha is a space to explore life’s big questions, to say what you think and to hear other people’s points of view. Over ten-weeks you will explore and discover while listening to weekly topics, participating in table discussion, and developing community. Alpha courses meeting in-person gather around a meal.

You don’t have to come for the whole series—just check it out for the first session and see what you think. No pressure.

Please email discipleship@kensingtonchurch.org with any questions.

Registration coming soon!

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