Story of gratitude: Amber’s family tradition

by Amber Henry

I am Amber Henry, a lifelong attendee of Calvary. My parents, David and Marion Henry, came to Calvary in the early 80s. Mom was the organist and a worship assistant for 34 years before retiring in 2015. Dad is known as the baby whisperer and one of the local Old Testament scholars. The past few years have seen many changes for us Henrys, with the passing of Mom in 2024, but Calvary and our foundation of faith have been our stronghold. 

This year marks my twelfth school year in Rochester Public Schools, my tenth as a second grade Spanish Immersion teacher. Our program is in our second year at Riverside Central Elementary, after 10 years at Gage Elementary. There is magic in hearing seven-year-olds communicate fluently in a language other than their own. I find joy in helping raise multilingual students to be kind, caring, active members of our community.

When reflecting on gratitude, and God’s provision, the first thing that comes to mind is my family and our commonality in not only blood but faith. My mom’s parents, Grant and Daphne Vaughan, had a unique love story that stemmed from their faith, meeting as members of a church choir in England during WWII. Grandmum followed Grandad back to the US as a young WWII bride, where they started their family of four daughters. Fast forward 40 years or so to 1984, when Grandmum and Grandad started a new family tradition of spending a week with their grown daughters and families at Burr Oak State Park in Southern Ohio. This became a biannual tradition, and in 2025 we celebrated our twentieth reunion. So often people ask us “You spend a week with your whole family, and you still love each other?” If not for our faith, I think that answer would be a lot more challenging.

A few traditions within the tradition of our family reunion are t-shirts, first designed by my mom starting in 1990, and family pictures. There are hundreds of photos I could choose from, but here is one from 1990 and one from 2025. After collaborating with my mom and eventually taking over the responsibility of the t-shirt design, 2025 was the first shirt I made without mom. At her last reunion in 2023, she and I decided that the color and design should be a nod to our first shirt. Little did we know, it would be our first reunion without her. I was not sure if Burr Oak would feel the same without her, but because of our hope in Christ and his promises of heaven, we knew mom, her parents, and others who have gone before us, are endlessly rejoicing and worshiping (with the best organ there ever was). 

I am so thankful for a family that loves Christ first. We love because he first loved us. We trust God through the challenges, and we thank God as he provides his comfort.