Well, I have good news…and I have bad news. For the good news, check out the photo collage included in this newsletter. All of these pictures were taken in January. We are truly blessed in this church with a gaggle of beautiful children, a bunch of youth who love Christ and enjoy each other, women who faithfully gather to study God’s word, men who do the same, and elders who we celebrate with, including Mary Baker Rice who turned 100 in January and Irmie Rockett who was presented with a tiara and a plate of cupcakes on her birthday, not to mention all the wonderful things that we do so well each and every Sunday. The good news is that we here at VPC are living into the one command that sums up all the others: Love one another.

       Not all the news is good, however. Like the rest of America, and maybe the world,        finances are a bit tight right now. We came out in the hole by around $20,000 for 2011. That doesn’t kill us, but obviously we can’t do that every year. Your committees and session have made a faithful attempt to slim down the budget for 2012. That helps, but further cuts may be necessary as we move forward in the year.

       The real path forward won’t depend on budget cuts, however, but faith. In particular, the faithful response of your session to discern God’s will for our church and the congregation’s willingness to trust them and respond when called.

       When I look at the smiling faces of our children and our youth, when I see the men and women of our church gathering to study God’s word and fellowship with each other, when I see the faithful elders among us, I realize that I wouldn’t hesitate to invite anyone in the world to our church. I hope you feel the same way and I pray that God opens all of our eyes to those who need that invitation, those who are seeking the peace that can only be found in Christ, those who crave a fellowship where folks are living out the command that sums up all others: to love one another.

In Christ,

Kevin T. Hicks