Greetings to the members of the General Assembly Council, brothers and sisters in service to the church of Jesus Christ,

It's hard for me to believe it's only been a year. I came before the General Assembly Council a stranger to you and you to me about a year ago. What a blessed year it has been. Last spring, after being approached about this position, I consulted with many people in my process of discernment. I recently described this to a group of local pastors and began by saying, “Back when I thought I had a choice about whether to accept this call . . . When I said to the people I consulted that I was being considered as Executive Director for the General Assembly Council, they used words like "crazy", ‘impossible’, ‘thankless’, then quickly followed with ‘but yes’. What my many advisors didn't tell me is how rewarding it would be. How I would meet so many magnificent people, be so privileged to share in stories of faith and mission, travel to places where people are engaged in inspiring service, study and worship, work with so many talented and committed people and have a such a deep sense that God has truly a called me to this time and place. Nor did they tell me how this would deepen my faith and commitment, which it has immensely.

Newport Presbyterian, Bellevue is in the midst of a remodelling project and will be replacing their pews with chairs. They would love to donate the pews to another church or organization that could use them.