Church friends and family,

This will be my last weekly communication for 2022. Let’s call it. my end of the year 2022 wrap up. It will be impossible to capture all the amazing generosity of you, our people and more importantly the work of the Holy Spirit. As I look back this year, the word that comes to mind is gratitude. I’m so grateful that I get to serve as your pastor. Serving as your pastor is something I do not take for granted.

It’s an incredible honor and awesome responsibility to serve as your pastor. The more I reflect on 2022, my memories are flooded with people in our community going intentionally out of their way to walk in faith and reach out in love.

Thanks to your generosity, We continue to partner with Meredith Hill Elementary in many ways. One of our primary focuses is our weekly Backpack Food Program. Our weekly backpack food program supports many families in need to ensure that they have healthy and nutritious meals available to their whole family on the weekends. We estimate that the weekly cost of this program in donations is around $300 a week. Another way we support Meredith Hill elementary is through our “giving tree” program where we support local families who could use a little extra support.

This past year, we dedicated a bench on our church grounds in honor of Owen Heitman. Owen’s life ended far too soon. He has made a long lasting impression on so many in our church. Please continue to keep his family in your prayers as they continue the process of celebrating his life and grieving their loss.

Here is a quick blurb from our international missions team…Our congregation has a Covenant Partnership to support our mission partner Katherine Parker.  She continues to serve the people of Nepal, if you are familiar with our Spuds for Buds event each year, proceeds support her ministry as a United Methodist missionary. We continue to sponsor three children, two girls and one boy in two orphanages in Lubumbashi, DR Congo, in central Africa.  Named Jamaa Letu (which means ‘Our Family’ in Swahili), they are long-standing joint ministry of the South Congo and Pacific Northwest Conferences of the United Methodist Church. The Tacoma Community House has served immigrant populations for more than a century, including a recent influx of refugees from Ukraine.  A portion of the Christmas offering will support this ministry.  

As a faith community, we have celebrated weddings together, the birth of new life and honored those who have joined the heavenly cloud of witnesses with Jesus. Through it all, we continue to worship together, we continue to serve together and it’s a joy through every season.

I want to keep a few key dates on your calendars.

December 20th, 6:30 pm.

Longest night service at our church. This service is intentionally designed for those who are grieving this season.

December 24th, 7pm

Christmas Eve service. In person and online. We will also have our traditional candle lighting service.

December 25th, 10am

Online only service celebrating the Christmas story

January 1st, 10am

Only only service. We are intentionally including space on December 25th and January 1st in order to provide a healthy break for our staff and incredible volunteers that come early and stay late each Sunday morning.

January 8th, 10am

We will be back to our services that are both online and in person. We will celebrate Holy Communion at this time.

Earlier in November, while serving as a Western Jurisdictional Delegate in Salt Lake City, Utah I experienced a health setback. With the guidance and support of District Superintendent Reverend Derek Nakano, as well as Federal Way UMC leadership, I will be taking planned short term incapacity leave for the months of January and July. Since I’m regularly taking infusions, my goal is to sync this prepared leave with infusions so that I can serve long term. I plan to return to serving our church in February.

I have a longing and calling to continue to serve the Church. I understand that the rhythm and pace of my service to the church is now in phase 2.0. These past couple months, I’ve re-prioritized my work to focus on my current appointment and specific callings the Bishop assigns me to. My hope is that these planned incapacity leaves will help my family, church and I to regain a balance of rhythm and health both professional and in my personal life.

During my planned short-term leave, we will have preachers in place as well as emergency pastoral care providers. Our preacher is someone you might be familiar with Caleb Cortez is finishing his last few credits at Seattle Pacific Seminary for his Masters of Divinity. He’s planting a new faith community through the United Methodist Church on Yessler Way. He’s recently become a new member of our church and is seeking ordination. I’m very excited that he’s willing to serve during my planned leave.

If you have any questions, please contact the church office for further communication.

After we worship together on Christmas Eve, I look forward to seeing you all again in February.

Peace be with you,

Pastor DJ