1 /5 Vesna Seang: My husband initially wrote a review on my behalf because he wanted to advocate for me, but he ended up taking it down, wanting to respect that this was my experience to share. We attended VCC for a couple of years and were deeply invested. During that time, I started experiencing serious health issues, including frequent syncope and paralysis episodes—some of which happened at church. Not long after, we were told we could only watch online or sit in overflow until I had medical clearance. With my doctors still trying to figure out what was going on, this response felt both shocking and hurtful. Instead of being met with compassion, my health struggles were treated as a disruption to manage, rather than an opportunity to care for someone in their church family. It felt as though my presence was conditional—welcome only if I was “better.” My husband had already felt uneasy about certain policies, like not being allowed to leave the sanctuary once service begins, not being let in if youre late, and the focus on appearances and production. This experience only confirmed for us that the priority wasn’t people, but performance.
For anyone walking through a health crisis, I wouldn’t expect this to be the kind of support system you’re hoping for. In a time when care and compassion should matter most, we were met instead with exclusion and image management—far from the heart of Christ. And after reading other reviews, it seems we aren’t the only ones who have felt the weight of these policies. To me, this approach doesn’t reflect Christlike shepherding. Jesus met people in their weakness—He didn’t require a doctor’s note before allowing them into the crowd, and He certainly didn’t quarantine the suffering from the rest of the community. Policies like not allowing people to enter once service has started or focusing so heavily on appearance and production feel so far removed from the hospitality and grace we see modeled by Christ. Jesus didn’t turn people away at the door—He welcomed the late, the broken, and the weary with open arms.