Dear co-workers in Christ,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus, the One who was and is and is to come. I have a few words to share with you as we begin this new year together, words that begin by first looking back at 2022.
What a year 2022 was! We said farewell to the old Roanoke and Staunton Districts and we began our new life together as the Valley Ridge District. I don’t think I have ever had a year blow by me so quickly. I suppose time does fly when you are having fun! As I look back on the past year, I find myself feeling so proud of our churches who, in a year of change and uncertainty, rose to the occasion to be the church locally, regionally, nationally, and globally in such important ways, especially through your connectional giving through your apportionments. In 2022, the congregations of the Valley Ridge District once again showed in beautiful and generous ways how to be the church beyond your walls.
Of our 139 churches, 107 (77%) paid at least 100% of their District apportionments, and 13 churches increased their percentage of District apportionment payments. Likewise, 104 Valley Ridge churches (75%) paid at least 100% of Conference apportionments. Seven of our churches paid between 80% and 100% of their District apportionments and eight paid between 80% and 100% of their Conference apportionments. We had other churches who may not have made the 80% threshold but who increased their connectional giving in 2022. All in all, the churches of the Valley Ridge District paid $2,160,328 in Conference apportionments and $504,443 in District apportionments. So then, what does this all mean?
Years ago, I was serving a local church in small but growing town when we realized that the fastest growing demographic in our community was families with small children. So, we started the Kingswood Christian Preschool, which we named after the children’s school founded by John Wesley in England in 1748, the world’s oldest Methodist educational institution. Because we started the school, we got to make all of the rules ourselves, and one decision we made was that there would be worship in the sanctuary with the pastor twice a week. We sang songs, heard a Bible story, and had our own little “prayers of the people.” At the beginning of every prayer time, I would ask the children “Who do we pray for first, boys and girls?” The children would reply in unison “The people who are not here!” We would then pray for those children who were travelling or home sick. One Sunday morning, the mother of one of the children in our preschool told me that the reason that he had missed school that week was because he was not feeling well. When she had gone into his room to check on him the first morning, he told her through the sniffles “I know I am going to be alright mommy because I know they are going to pray for me today.”
Congregations like yours, comprised of people like you made that story possible. How so? To start the Kingswood Christian preschool, we had to retrofit our old sanctuary, and the seed money came from a grant funded by apportionment giving by churches in small villages, in mountain hollers, in the suburbs, in farming communities, and in large metropolitan areas. In other words, this was made possible by churches like yours.
Former Virginia Conference Bishop Joe E. Pennel, Jr. is fond of saying “Every apportionment dollar has a face.” Thank you, Valley Ridge District for all of the ways in which you have been a blessing to those many faces in the years past, and thank you for all you will continue to do in the year to come, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, for those you know, as well as for the people who are not here.
Not yet. Grace and peace, Doug
Camp Alta Mons and Camp Overlook Need YOU!
When the Valley Ridge District Stewards approved the 2023 district budget, we made an important change to how we apportion it to our churches. Previously, the Roanoke District apportioned funds for Camp Alta Mons in Shawsville and the Staunton District apportioned funds for Camp Overlook in Keezletown. Now, rather than including these camps in your apportionments, we ask for a set amount for each church on the district based on the membership of your congregation. Please support these camps as part of your church's connectional giving. This asking should be sent along with apportionment payments to the Conference Treasurer's Office. Every dollar helps and is invested in helping our district, especially helping the young people amongst us, to come to know the saving love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you!
