Diane Forsythe

Spirituality, Community & Belonging

Age 67 · Retired art teacher and community volunteer

I was raised in a secular household in Portland, Oregon, where Sunday mornings meant farmers markets, not church pews. I spent 30 years teaching middle school art, raised two daughters with my husband, and considered myself a person of nature rather than faith. Then I retired, moved to a smaller town in Vermont to be near family, and found myself profoundly, unexpectedly lonely. A neighbor invited me to her church — not to convert me, just to have somewhere to be on Sunday. What happened next surprised me more than anyone. I now lead a community arts program through that congregation, grow perennial gardens that embarrass my neighbors with their ambition, and paint watercolors every evening before dinner. I write for anyone who's ever felt like belonging is something other people have figured out.