When they attended Monmouth College a quarter-century ago, Bill ’85 and Margie Kerr Myers ’85 did not find the widespread campus service opportunities that are present today, such as Alternative Spring Break and Students Organized for Service.

“There wasn’t a big service component in those days,” said Margie. “The sororities did that stuff.”

But what Bill and Margie did find were positive role models, including many who attended nearby Faith United Presbyterian Church. The church is now their professional home, as Bill became the pastor there in 2001. Margie is the director of church education.

“There wasn’t service in school, but it was people like Stafford Weeks and Charles Speel and Bill Amy who were great examples,” said Margie. “The way they went about their lives was very influential.”

“They were men of service, who showed great humility, and they were steadfast and faithful,” said Bill. “They lived a quality of life that was attractive.”

It wasn’t the first time that one of those men had an influence on one of them. Living in South Dakota, Margie likely wouldn’t have attended a small, liberal arts college in western Illinois if not for a family association with Weeks.

“Stafford was close to my family,” she explained. “He was friends with my grandparents. After he left Huron (College, where her father was president), they remembered that he had gone to work at Monmouth.”

Bill’s story of arriving at Monmouth was slightly different. Living in nearby Moline, he was a much more likely candidate to enroll as a freshman, and he did make a campus visit with his father on his way to checking out Western Illinois University. Large school life won out, however, and he spent his first year in college at the University of Iowa. However, after a rough freshman year, he reconsidered his choice and transferred.

The couple met during orientation. A sophomore, Margie was an orientation leader, and Bill was one of the new kids in school. They became a couple about a month later and “have been together ever since.”

Like current student Paige Halpin ’09, who is a member of their church, Margie said she “got involved in pretty much everything – Ichthyus, International Club, Highlanders, choir, theater.

“We did things in town, like CROP Walk,” she added. “We were of part of Faith Church, and I taught Sunday school. We wanted to be a part of town and part of real life.”

As college students, they both had epiphanies of sorts through their connection with the church.

Said Margie, “I remember being strongly influenced by a young woman from our congregation who went on a mission trip to Egypt around that time. I wanted to be a part of that type of life.”

Added Bill, “I grew to appreciate the role that an institution like Monmouth plays in shaping, not only people, but communities and other larger than life issues.”

The ties between the college and the church are just as special to the couple today.

“The relationship between Monmouth College and the church is very important to us – the way both institutions work to determine what is true and beautiful,” said Bill. “The answer is, ultimately, God. How that plays out in people’s lives is a critical question for our time.”

When it comes to service, the college has stepped up more than once to assist Faith Church in projects. A recent example was a special service the church conducted to raise money for the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), several of which are being met by the church’s Kandithankulam, India, project, which has also ties to the college, as it was started 20 years by MC faculty members and Faith congregation members Raj and Saro Ambrose.

“We couldn’t have done that U2Charist service without the support of the college,” said Bill. “That’s a wonderful example of what can come from that relationship.”

Another was the college providing support in the forms of vans, as members of Faith’s congregation traveled to Mississippi to provide aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Said Bill of the trip, “We received so much more from the people we visited on those hurricane relief trips than what we had to offer. That’s what we were created to be – to love God and to love each other. When you serve, it gives you a glimpse of what life was really meant to be like.”

“Real relationships were formed on those trips, and some of our congregation even went back on their own to visit the friends they had made,” said Margie. “We are the hands of Christ. We’re to love God and love each other. How can you show love when your neighbor is suffering? You must attend to their needs. We reflect God when we do that.”

She added, “Ours is a very service-oriented church, and that service is done here and abroad. Many Faith Church members have strong ties to community service organizations, such as Helen Bersted (wife of the late George Bersted ’42), who played a vital role in bringing United Way to Monmouth.”

Bill and Margie said Monmouth College students serve as youth leaders at the church, and the youth groups have also taken their service on the road to places like Kemmerer Village, a home for children with behavioral issues, near Decatur, Ill.

As the holidays approach, many will be stressed about what they should be giving. Bill and Margie will say the answer is simple. Their lives have been influenced by the generous acts of others, including many from Monmouth College, and they’ve been able to “pay it forward” in a variety of different ways in Monmouth and around the world. Their answer: love your neighbor and provide help where it is needed, because service is the gift that keeps on giving.