Reverend Matthew J. Bergqvist

My name is Matthew, I'm an Arkansas native, but I've been living in Atlanta for the past two years. I'm the pastor at St. Mark Methodist Church here in the city. My door is always open to anyone in need and I'm always here to lend an ear or just hang out.

[rev-bergqvist]

Halstead was happy he didn’t have a 9-5 job. Sure, he still had to write by certain deadlines, but nothing that kept him away from any of his partners. It was never his intent to have multiple. When Matthew said he had a day planned, he was happily on his way over. To hear his boyfriend was doing better was a great relief.

When he got there it turned out to be quite the opposite and he was dragging him into the ER to get something situated so he’d get better. He didn’t mind. He had a notebook and pen at hand, a vending machine not too far away, and of course he was still spending the day with Matthew.

“What? Nah it’ fine.” He kissed his cheek. Sitting down with food in hand, he took a bite, looking over at his boyfriend. “Did I? I don’t recall.” Halstead put his arm around him, pulling him close.

Matthew did most of his work at home, since a lot of it was just writing, sometimes he didn’t go to the church all week unless he had a funeral to do.  He liked the relaxed atmosphere which gave him plenty of time to work on his sermons and not be stuck in an office all day.  He liked his job a lot, and he felt bad that he’d be relying on replacements for the past few weeks, but his congregation was very understanding of his current situation, so he tried not to feel too guilty about taking some time off. 

When it came to medical problems, Matthew’s go to response was to ignore them an hope they’d go away eventually, and he’d gotten by that way for years, so he was genuinely shocked when he got this sick for this long.  He hated doctors, but his condition had deteriorated so much, he was having real trouble breathing and his fever was so high, he knew he didn’t have a choice, but he also knew he wouldn’t be able to go alone and he was so glad he had someone like Hal in his life to be his rock when he didn’t feel like he could go on anymore.

Matthew set the sparse plate he had on his lap in front of him on the coffee table, he knew he wasn’t going to eat anything, and turned himself so he was facing Hal, but could lean his head against the back of the couch, and blushed a little when Hal kissed him, “I’m sure you did,” he said, quietly, “but I’m glad you were with me, I probably would have talked myself out of going without you.  I don’t mean to be such a lame date though, I promise the next one will be more entertaining than this.” He shifted again and laid his head on Hal’s shoulder, enjoying the contact and feeling very safe in Hal’s arms.

[rev-bergqvist]

Matthew had planned to spend a nice relaxing day with Hal, they were going to stay in and relax since he was still fighting the bad cold that had been plaguing him for weeks, but he was still looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, Matthew’s condition had taken a turn for the worse and the two young men ha spent all morning and a good chunk of the afternoon in the emergency room where he was diagnosed with whooping cough an put on an IV to re-hydrate him and bring down his fever before he was allowed to go home, and they didn’t get back to Matthew’s house until 5 in the afternoon.  Matthew was feeling a little better physically, but he felt terrible that he hadn’t been able to give Hal the day he’d promised him. 

Once the food they’d ordered was delivered, they sat down on the couch and relaxed, though Matthew wasn’t feeling up to eating much and instead watched Hal eat for a little while before he spoke up.  “I’m sorry this day was kind of a bust, I was hoping it would be a little more fun, I’m sure you had better things to do than sit with me in the hospital all day.” 

@hxlfxz​

[rev-bergqvist]

Nathan was so happy to tag along for moral support while his friend got a few shots.He’d always been one for pro vaccines, knowing just how much shit his own parents prevented him and his baby brother from (despite his parents being absolutely crazy in their own ways). He’d warned him over and over to just stay calm and it’ll be over in just a few minutes, and not to freak out, especially since this was his first vaccine ever. Once they were in the actual room, Nathan made sure to hold his friend’s hand, letting him squeeze it when or if he needed to. Within a blink of an eye, they were done and on the way to grab some lunch and return back to Matthew’s place to celebrate a little.

Nathan noticed quickly when the other started to shiver and sweat, both a good and bad sign. “Hey… Calm down, here…” He mumbled, moving to place one hand on the other’s forehead. “Y’might be gettin’ sick but, there’s good an’ bad with this. Bad part, you’re sick… Good, th’ vaccine was a way more milder case an’ you’ll get over it quicker.” Luckily, Nathan knew exactly what to do as he moved to get up, head towards the kitchen, grabbed some ibuprofen and some water. He also grabbed a small rag, ran it under cool (not too hot, not too cold) water, rang it out and headed back. He handed him the medicine and water, placing the cool rag gently on his forehead. “Y’might feel a little gross for a day or two, but you’ll be back on ya feet soon, alright?”

Very few people in his life knew the full truth about Matthew’s past, and most of the ones who did were his siblings.  He had a handful of reasons why he kept things to himself, but he hated the thought of people feeling sorry for him, and he didn’t want anyone thinking that he was just seeking attention, so it was easier if he didn’t get into the sordid details.  That being said, Matthew trusted Nathan as much as his own brothers and in the years they’d known each other, Matthew had filled him in on the emotional and physical abuse he’d suffered at the hands of his father.  One of the most traumatic incidents was when he’d contracted bronchitis and his father had taken him to see a doctor who worked outside their commune, and it was the first and only time he left the commune before he escaped.  It didn’t sound so bad at first, but the “real world” was terrifying and overwhelming to a child who’d been brainwashed  as he was, and at the end of the uncomfortable and exhausting ordeal, his father declined any treatment the doctors offered, opting to pray for help instead, and took Matthew home to suffer for several more weeks, making all the discomfort and fear he’d felt that day pointless.   From that day on, Matthew was hesitant to do anything that involved seeing a medical professional, and he needed the support of someone he could trust with his life to go with him when he had to see a doctor.

Matthew jumped slightly when he felt Nathan’s hand on his forehead, mostly due to the noticeable difference in temperature between then, but took a deep breath and tried to relax. “I thought the whole point of doing this was that I wouldn’t get sick,” he said quietly.  He wasn’t all that concerned about the fact that he was sick again, he was mostly upset that it seemed like maybe his father was right for keeping them away from modern medicine, and that scared him for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on, maybe it was just because he didn’t want his father to be right about anything.  “So...this is normal?  I’m not looking down another month of fighting this thing, am I?” 

[rev-bergqvist]

“Oh my God, three funerals? That’s… depressing? I don’t know which word to describe this situation better, but it wasn’t an easy week for sure. So we need to cheer this up, so you’re not going to work on your sermon tonight.” She said with her mouth curved into a smile at him. “If you’re going to work while I watch Netflix at your place I’m going to say no, that wouldn’t be fair. So you have two options: One, you watch Netflix with me. Two, we work together on your things and then we watch Netflix. So, what do you say?”

“It’s not easy, but it’s part of the job and since it’s my first church I was assigned an older congregation, so it’s not likely to end any time soon.  It isn’t all depressing though, most of it is a great and I’m really happy here.”  Matthew smiled, he did need to get some work done, but there was no reason he had to do it tonight, he had all day tomorrow to work on it as long as nothing came up that required his immediate attention.  “I guess I could do with a night off, it has been fairly stressful and I could stand to clear my head a little before get started.  I don’t watch much in the way of TV though, so what did you have in mind?”  Though he lived a fairly “conservative” lifestyle, Matthew really didn’t mind most of the things people thought would offend him, he didn’t do well with anything involving cults or religious extremism, but for the most part he was always up for watching new things.

[rev-bergqvist]

Though he’d spent most of his life overcoming illness with nothing but stubbornness an willpower, his recent brush with whooping cough had made Matthew believe it was time to look into getting himself vaccinated.  Initially he’d tried to do some research on the subject, but most of the arguments against it triggered memories of his father and he’d given up just to maintain his sanity.  In the end he was convinced to at least get one that would stop him from getting whooping cough again, which is why he and Nate had spent the morning in the clinic before grabbing lunch and going back to his house to hang out for a while. Matthew had been nervous to get the shot, so he asked Nate to join him for moral support and he’d agreed, so he didn’t chicken out and when it was over, he felt silly for being so scared, but he was glad Nate was there. 

They’d been at his house for an hour or so when Matthew started to feel a little off.  He couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong exactly, but something was definitely not right.  Another hour went by an he was shivering noticeably all while sweating through the shirt he was wearing, he was also developing a headache and his muscles were aching as well.  He didn’t want to call attention to himself, he was a little worried about what was happening to him, “Nate? Do I look okay to you? I’m starting to not feel so great.” 

@preacherwyndham​

[gonecillian]

“I love being at home after a long day at work, I really do. But if I stay in my apartment watching Netflix alone one more night, I might cry.” Elizabeth said with a small laugh as she looked at the other person. “What are you up to?” The blonde woman asked them curiously. “Please, say you’re going to do something fun and I can tag along.” @atlanta-rpgstarters​

[rev-bergqvist]

“I wish I was doing something fun, but I had three funerals to do this week and I’m probably going to spend the rest of the night working on my sermon for Sunday because I’m boring like that.”  Matthew loved his job as a pastor, but some weeks were crazier than others and he had a lot less spare time than most people thought, though things got a lot worse during wedding season.  “If you don’t want to sit around at your place and watch Netflix, you can come watch it at mine while I work and throw things at me if I get distracted.”  

[rev-bergqvist]

“Christ, you look like shit.” Is the first thing that tumbles out of him. He remembers, vaguely, that this was also amongst his initial thoughts when he’d first met Matthew two years prior. He closes the door behind him and slips his clipboard onto the counter, readjusting his frames before plucking out a pair of disposable gloves from the box. “My day starts at 5:30 in the morning. You aren’t bothering anyone.” Despite the straightforward delivery, he means it as reassurance. He furrows his brows as he gives the shuddering pastor another once-over. “Don’t thank me until we get you all fixed up.”

Concern has made his voice a little hard, but he softens it now as he finally turns fully to face the other. Anyone else, he’d probably be berating them for recklessness. He has half the mind to do so, now, but relinquishes his frustration to an awkward kindness. “Can you write?” He is sadly not Philip Zazove, and he doesn’t like taking oral answers to check-up questionnaires. “If the shaking’s too bad and you can’t, that’s okay. We’ll make do.” He clicks his pen, and reunites the clipboard with his hands. He frowns, “How long has this been going on for?”

Matthew had always been fairly sickly, but he was fairly certain this was the worst he’d ever felt.  He’d improved a lot since he first started coming here two years ago, but he got sick fairly easily and since he’d never been vaccinated, he was in bad shape more often than not, but this, this was something else and he needed all the help he could get.  “Then it sounds like I look about as good as I feel. And I know, but I still appreciate the assistance, I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to go on like this.”

“It’s okay, I can write whatever you need me too.”  He wasn’t actually sure about that, but he would do his best, even in his current state he wanted to be as helpful as possible, it was just how he was wired.  “It’s been about three weeks.  It didn’t start out too bad, though, it just felt like a cold.  I figured it probably should have gone away after this long, but it’s just been getting worse and I can barely function anymore.  I still didn’t want to come in, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

[rev-bergqvist]

Halstead grinned at his ex when he said he was the only one who was allowed to call him Matt instead of Matthew. He had tried for a while. At the start of their flirtationship he called him Matthew but as soon as one Matt slipped, he was hooked and there was no stopping him despite the sighs that would come from the other.

The CSI headed inside when he moved, heading straight for the bathroom before anything else. Walking back into the room he leaned agains the counter. “Nah, i’ve been busy anyway,” he shrugged softly. Was it weird? Mentioning your new fling against your ex-boyfriend? Was it weird to think of the habits of walking into his house and kissing him as a hello? Probably. “I’m glad you’re feelin’ better though. Have you eaten anything yet today?”

Matthew didn’t know why he had an aversion to his nickname, it might have had something to do with Matthew sounding more mature than Matt, but regardless, he didn’t mind whatever Hal wanted to call him.  Their early relationship had been a lot of fun and he would be lying if he said he didn’t still have strong feelings for Hal, but since he was the one who ended things, he didn’t think he had any right to want to get back together, and he doubted Hal had any interest in being with him again anyway.

“It was a pretty bad month and I’m definitely glad it’s behind me, though I guess there’s something to be said for suffering being character building.”  He wasn’t sure what being too sick to move for a month was supposed to teach him, but there had to be something.  “I haven’t, I still don’t have much of an appetite, but I should probably eat something.  Do you want to go out?” 

[rev-bergqvist]

Halstead was at work when he got the message. Unable to get back to him, not wanting to send a half assed reply, he waited until he was done before responding. In true Halstead Fitzgerald fashion, instead of sending back a text message or just calling him to say he was busy and set something up, he just went over. He never was great with space. Figuring that Matt hadn’t left his house in a while, he was hoping he wasn’t busy tonight.

The CSI knocked on the door, stuffing his hands back in his pockets while he leaned against the doorframe. “Mattt,” he sang. “Lemme in I have to piss. If you ever loved me, you’d let me in.” He ran fingers through his hair, a small bounce.

“Heyy. I figured just stopping over after work was easier than trying to call. You’re not busy now are you?”

Though he was feeling much better, Matthew was still taking it easy, as he’d been warned that overexerting himself could cause him to have a relapse and that was the last thing he wanted.  He’d worked a half day that day and was back at home, attempting to work on his next sermon, but dozing off now and then for a few minutes, so he didn’t make much progress.

He was jolted awake by Hal’s knock on his door and as soon as he figured out what was going on, he got up and opened the door, “You know, you’re the only person in my life who’s allowed to call me Matt,” he said, grinning and stepping aside so Hal could come in. 

“I’m not.  I was trying to get some work done, but it wasn’t happening, so you’re a welcome distraction, come on in.  How have you been? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call until today, but I’m well past the contagious stage now, so you should be safe here.”

[rev-bergqvist]

what lead you to becoming a pastor?

My father was a pastor, or at least that’s what he calls himself in reality he’s more like a cult leader, and I spent my childhood watching him preach an really believing what he said until he turned against me.  I realized that he was spewing filth and hatred toward people that didn’t fit into his view of what made someone “right,” and that included me.  

When I got free from him, I decided that I needed to preach something to counteract what he was saying.  I don’t know if it’s making any kind of a difference, but I’m doing what I can do try and be a better person than what he was.  So the short version of all that is...I want to put some good in the world, I want to continue preaching tolerance and acceptance and love, because that’s what I wish I had heard when I was growing up. 

[rev-bergqvist]

How Can I Help You?

Got a question for Matthew? If so, send it here! Ask anything you want! 

[rev-bergqvist]

After Hal had taken him to the emergency room, Matthew had essentially dropped off the face of the Earth.  He appreciated the help and he hoped Hal didn’t think he was intentionally avoiding him, he’d just been so ill he could hardly move, and one of his brothers had come to stay with him just so he could get by.  After a miserable month, Matthew was finally feeling like himself again an the first thing he wanted to do was get in touch with Hal, so he waited until he knew Hal would be awake and gave him a call, but he didn’t answer, so he left a message. 

“Hey Hal, it’s Matthew, I  know I don’t need to introduce myself, I’m sorry.  I just wanted to call and let you know I’m back in the land of the living again, I wanted to call you sooner, but I really wasn’t up to it until now.  I’d really like to thank you properly, so if you want to get dinner sometime, give me a call, I’d really like to catch up with you, I’ll talk to you later.” 

@hxlfxz​

[rev-bergqvist]

It started out as a cold that settled in his chest, but Matthew didn’t worry about it right away, his job had him visiting hospitals and shaking hands with people all day long, so a cold now and then was to be expected.  He did start to worry when he hadn’t gotten better after two weeks, the truth was that he was actually getting much worse, and by the third week he was running a pretty substantial fever, and he was having coughing fits so intense he would actually black out for a little while.  He still tried to go about his daily routine, but after a terrible Sunday service where he was sweating through his clothes and could barely speak, and handful of his parishioners convinced him to see a doctor.  Though a few of them had offered to drive him to the emergency room, Matthew elected to make an appointment with his doctor instead, as he was only comfortable working with someone he’d already met. 

Fortunately, they were able to squeeze him in first thing in the morning and at 8 AM sharp Matthew was in a mask, shivering violently in the waiting room.  When they called him back, a nurse gently took his vital signs and give him a sympathetic smile when his temperature came in at just under 103.  Eventually Alon came in and Matthew could have cried from relief, he would only see a doctor when he couldn’t physically go on anymore and he’d hit that point a few days ago.  “Thanks for getting me in so early,” he rasped, having taken his mask off when the door opened, “I don’t mean to bother you, but I almost collapsed in front off the entire church yesterday, so here I am.”

@dr-ainsley​

[rev-bergqvist]

“Alright if you insist,” Mel nodded, not wanting to press. Honestly she probably wouldn’t like to drink as much if it hadn’t been an outlet and way to socialize back in the military. At his offer she smiled, taking a thoughtful sip from her cocktail. “Yeah? What do you do if you don’t mind me asking? And thanks hun, honestly it’s just…certain aspects of my job have a habit of bringing back old memories. Memories of stuff that I’ve seen and don’t really want to remember.”

“I’m really not much of a drinker, I just never developed a taste for it, but that frees me up to help make sure everyone gets home safely, which suits me just fine.”  Matthew didn’t get the appeal of spending so much time in bars, but he couldn’t blame people for wanting an escape from life and he wouldn’t judge them for that.  “Oh, I’m a pastor at a Methodist church here in the city, I’ve been in the city about two years, but I’ve been so busy I never had much of a chance to go out until recently, so I don’t know too many people.”  He listened to her and nodded in understanding, he ran into that with his job sometimes, but he tried not to think about it,” It can be hard to move forward with your life when your past still has its claws in you; I’ve been running from mine since I turned 18 and it never worked, I’m definitely still struggling with a lot of it, but things got better once I started actually dealing with the memories I was trying to avoid.  It’s not an easy thing to do, but in my experience it can help with some of the trauma, that and having someone to talk to when you’re in your low places.”

[lettherebecake-deactivated20220]

Melanie rubbed her temples, attempting to rub the stress and thoughts out of her mind. Certain situations in her job brought up past events from her time in the military: not exactly making for a fun time. Taking a long sip from her beer, she turned to the person beside her. “What’re ya drinking? Next round’s on me, I could use some talking or something to keep myself out of my head.” Not a great place to be when things got quiet. @atlanta-rpgstarters

[rev-bergqvist]

Matthew rarely went to bars, he didn’t have anything against drinking socially, but his upbringing had left him hesitant to try it himself.  A few of his friends and colleges in the city were out that night and he’d agreed to drive as an excuse to nurse one beer for the rest of the night.  He smiled at the young woman and shook his head, “Don’t worry about that, I’m all set, but I’m more than happy to listen to you if you need to vent, that’s pretty much my entire job.  What’s bothering you?” 

[rev-bergqvist]

Nick cocks a brow, finds himself unable to hold true to stubborn enmity in the face of someone placable and offering help. “No, ah,” He breathes with a grimace, “No. She isn’t a relative. She lives in an encampment near mine. She’s wandered off this morning and I’ve been trying to find her, and, uh, ” He pauses, rolls his lips into each other as his brows furrow. Kerry is across the street, entering a Burger King. He exhales deeply, pinches the bridge of his nose, “I’ve found the crazy broad. Look, you said you were willing to meet up? I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t listen to me if I told her she oughta get help. You’re a reverend, right? She’d listen to you. Despite all her problems, she’s a right believer in God. Do you think you’d be willing to come over to the Burger King in Kirkwood?”

Matthew wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting into here, but he couldn’t just let it go now that he knew about it.  He didn’t have a lot of experience in this area, and he was a little worried about over-exerting himself so soon after being as sick as he had been, but he was willing to give it a try.  “I am, I’m the pastor at St. Mark’s, I’ll talk to her and see what I can come up with if she’s willing to talk to me.”  He looked down at his watch for a moment, “I can be there in about half an hour, I just have a couple of things to finish up here, but I’ll get there as soon as I can, just sit tight and I’ll find you there.  What your name?” 

[rev-bergqvist]

Carter groaned when he heard his phone ring. He didn’t get home till late, and even then it took him a while to unwind from the day and fall asleep. He rolled over and blindly reached out for his phone as he willed himself to wake up. God, he hated to think what the time was. Carter blinked a little as he tried to read the number on the screen, but the bright light from his phone only blinded him more. Hitting the answer button, Carter pressed the phone to his ear. “Yeah?” Carter mumbled out before he frowned at the answer he received on the other end.

Carter wasn’t about to admit to anyone, even the guy on the other end of the line that he reached out for help through a church. Carter carded a hand through his hair slowly as he rolled onto his back. “I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong number.” Carter said as he stifled a yawn. Carter had left a vague message with the church and just had hoped that they would throw his number away. “Who was this again?”

Matthew had been making calls all morning.  He was the only pastor working at his church and he’d been so ill he hadn’t worked in almost two weeks, so there was a huge backlog of things he had to do, but he was intrigued by this message and he wanted to see what it was about.  Outside of his Sunday services, most of what he did was visiting old people in nursing homes, but he liked to help people in a more proactive way when he could. 

“Do I?” he asked, looking down at the number that was written on the message and he thought that he had it right.  “It’s Matthew Bergqvist, I’m the pastor at St. Marks and I’ve been away for a little while, but I wanted to call back and see if everything was alright with you.  I’m happy to do whatever is in my power to help you, if you need it.”