Dear Friends,

It has been a difficult year. We are weary, grieving, and exhausted. We have said goodbye to many we love as best we could and mourned that we could not collectively celebrate their lives as we had in the past. Cancer has affected many in our community. Families have been split over the politicization of a health crisis and holiday gatherings are not what they were before. Some are struggling to find work or pay their bills. Most difficult of all, the future holds no promises and we tire of predictions that do not pan out. In the midst of this, we wrestle with how to be a community, how to worship, and how to encourage hope, faith, and love.  

It would have been easy to give up and to stop supporting the effort. However, you did not. You held firm to your faith and remembered that stewardship is foundational to who we are. I am grateful for you and the way your generosity inspires me.

Your giving enabled us to end the year at nearly 100% of the budgeted income. Not only that, many of you have given and/or pledged to give towards the Building Restoration Fund. This moved us much closer to fully funding Phase 1 and the ability to begin fundraising and saving for the additional phases.

It is a difficult time, but take a moment to reflect on the difference you have made and allow yourself to experience joy and gratitude for the ways God is meeting us in the midst of these times. May we persevere in 2022 knowing that whether it gets better or harder, God is with us, God works in us, and God is working through us.  

Gratefully,

Rev. Matt Gough