Part of Something Bigger
Jameson Wakefield was elected in December 2019 to serve on Zion’s council from 2020-2022.
Jameson grew up attending Ostmark Lutheran Church, which is between Watkins and Litchfield.
I think most of my faith comes from the New Testament and the books of the Apostles. It is a reminder that it is important to be part of something bigger than yourself and provides a basic reminder to treat people decently. My favorite hymn is probably Amazing Grace. Something about the melody and the words is inspiring and it also reminds me of my mother.
My mother was very active at Ostmark and made sure we attended Sunday worship, Sunday School and Vacation Bible school. She was very traditional in her religious views and practices and came from a large family that had also been active in the church.
While my mom was on the traditional side, my dad was a little more philosophic. He had a very difficult experience during WWII and I think there were parts of the Bible he found comforting. He wasn’t open about his religion but attended church regularly and read the Bible occasionally. What I really saw in him was his personality and complete openness with people. He didn’t judge people for how they lived or what they owned. He believed trust, honesty and friendship were the best measures of a person’s character.
Ostmark is a small congregation so the Christmas programs involved everyone and we had it in the evening so it was dark outside and they could dim the lights for the scene with the shepherds. After the program, they would give us a bag of hard candy and peanuts. It was really a traditional program with Mary and Joseph and the manger scene. Every year it ended with Silent Night.
Jameson works as Marketing Director at Ameriprise Financial in downtown Minneapolis, where he has been employed for over 24 years. He is married to Stacia, a therapist at Family Counseling in Buffalo, and they have three sons, Alec (20), Brady (18), and Brock (14).
Most of our hobbies center around our boys’ activities including baseball, football, basketball, tennis, hunting and fishing. We like to travel with the family and, when time allows, Stacia and I like to walk.
After many years of focusing on a career and raising children, Jameson rediscovered his faith life when his sons were young.
The boys really got us back into being involved with a congregation. Like most new parents we suddenly realized that we wanted our children to have the same opportunity to learn about their faith that we had growing up.
They were members of Advent Lutheran Church in Maple Grove before moving to Buffalo, and looked for an ELCA congregation that offered a good children’s ministry, and, after attending Zion for over 10 years, the family became members two years ago.
We really meant to far sooner than we did but it was one of those “get around to it” items on the list. It was when Pastor Luke asked us to join the Fellowship Committee that we thought it might be a good time to become members.
Zion seemed to have a lot of options and flexibility and the 8:30 service worship was very similar to what we had grown up with back in Litchfield. Having grown up with a church that had been a part of my family since my grandparents settled near Watkins in the early nineteen teens, it has been challenging to find another place that feels like home, but over the years we’ve kind of grown into a place at Zion.
Jameson served on Zion’s Branding Task Force in 2013.
I volunteered because it looked interesting and I thought my background in marketing would be useful to the group.
Jameson and Stacia both serve on the Fellowship Committee, and the entire family ushers as part of the 3rd Sunday Welcome Crew.
Like many of the parents with children in confirmation, I was looking for ways for my boys to get their service hours. We kind of just fell into ushering. Kevin Kuhns, who I met through Cub Scouts, leads the 3rd Sunday crew, and I’ve just made that my Sunday to help out. It’s fun to be able to greet everyone, spend time with the other volunteers, learn more about the church and congregation, and get my family engaged with the church.
His favorite thing about Zion is all the numerous opportunities to get involved.
Whether it is simply ushering on the third Sunday crew, folding clothes for the Blessing Closet or any of the various service projects, there are more things to get involved with than hours in the day.
‘Living God’s Call’ is about being part of something bigger than myself and trying every day to be respectful of other people and try and make life a little easier for others. I am honored to serve on the Church Council to help Zion remain a vibrant part of the Buffalo community and that it continues to demonstrate the Christian actions of caring for others and giving back to the community.
