This week we have the joy of sharing another “new Attendee” within Savior’s community. If you haven’t already met The Barwell family, join me in getting to know them!
The Daniels Barwell family in action! Front row: Samara, Danica, and Denise. Back row: Zach, Craig, Samara’s fiancé Nick, and Josh.
Who is in your family (children, pets, etc.)?
Our family consists of Craig and Denise, and our four adolescent and young adult kids: Josh (23), Samara (21), Danica (17), and Zach (15). Josh is out of college, and has a job, a condo, and a life in Seattle. Samara is currently a senior at Wheaton College majoring in economics. Danica is a senior in high school and lives with her grandparents in Seattle while she finishes the school year. Zach is a freshman at Clapham School here in Wheaton. We also have an 18 month old Saint Bernard named Benediction (Benny for short).
Where do you live? Where are you originally from?
We currently live in Wheaton about 1/2 mile south of Wheaton College. We arrived in Wheaton in July of this year, after driving across the country in our minivan (with our St. Bernard) from Seattle, Washington, where we’d lived for the past 29 years. Denise is originally from this area (born in Wheaton, attended WCGS, Wheaton North HS, and Wheaton College), while Craig grew up in Seattle and had never lived anywhere other than the West Coast until a few months ago. Craig is looking forward to the scenic beauty of winter here in the Midwest.
How long have you been coming to Church of the Savior? What brought you?
We have been participating in Church of the Savior services on Zoom for about 2 months, and started attending on the recommendation of our daughter Samara. Her roommate, Katherine Beech, has attended Savior for some time; Samara thought we would like it, and that her younger brother Zach would fit in and be able to find friends here. She was correct on both counts.
In your time at Savior so far, what have you enjoyed most?
We could say something here about the fine preaching, excellent music, and inspirational worship services - but let's be honest. In these COVID times, we have most enjoyed being able to meet people at the outdoor church picnics and bonfires. We decided to show up at the picnic at St. James Park in order to meet with actual people face to face, and we were very grateful to be graciously welcomed by many of you. Zach’s favorite part of Savior is the boys’ D&D group he is part of, and waiting to see when Esther's daughter, Adrielle, will make her next surprise onscreen appearance each Saturday night (actually, that last part is a favorite for all of us…).
What do you do when your family is not at church? (Job, hobbies, etc.)
We moved here so Denise could start her new faculty position at Wheaton College as the inaugural Hudson T. Harrison Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Business and Economics. Denise spent the past 24 years as a professor of management at Seattle Pacific University. Now that she’s back in Wheaton she enjoys walking on the Prairie Path, and would love to set up walking dates with other women. Craig is an Aerospace Engineer currently looking for work here, and riding his bicycle on all of the amazing bike paths in the area in the meantime. Zachary is an avid reader, and spends time walking Benny around our neighborhood. We also spend a lot of time FaceTiming with our Seattle kids.
What has been a surprising gift to your family during this time of COVID? And what don’t you want to return to “normal”?
This one is hard for us! Benny has adjusted best to COVID and especially likes having someone home with her all day long. Perhaps the best part of COVID for the rest of us has been the opportunity to get more sleep than normal, and the chance for more uninterrupted time for reading.