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DEAR CHURCH,
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the challenges facing the church. Not just our church, but all the churches in the tradition of North American mainline Protestantism. As a prelude to my customary invitation to support the annual stewardship campaign, this letter begins where my recent thoughts on the church have, for now, settled.
The church in America is not dying; it is disoriented. The problem is not that people have lost their faith, but that our faith has lost its bearings. When I look around, I see three crises shaping our shared experience of this moment. The crises are real, each one exposing a wound that is yet to heal.
THE CRISIS OF INITIATION
The first crisis is about how to begin. Power in this country is entrenched and, increasingly, serves itself. Immunity is a privilege of the well-placed and wealthy. Coalitions, a sensible response to entrenched power, demand ideological purity as the price of admission. The fear of fatal speech errors increases the attractiveness of opting out. Pastors hide behind paternalistic assertions of their church’s purple church status, a frozen state of congregational fragility that must be protected at all costs. The extent of most churches’ plans for growth is to do nothing that might make them smaller. But even then, when growth becomes a measure of truth, the church forgets that God delights in hidden things. Beginning again, believing again, building again is hard in these conditions.
Grace never waits for permission. In the Reformed tradition, God always acts first. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The flourishing of faith has never depended on ideological purity. Our crisis of initiation—this nagging sense that the problem is too big to know where to begin—is always resolved by the persistence of God’s mercy, never the preparedness of God’s people.
For this reason, baptism is our starting point. The sacrament is more than a celebration of belonging;
Amos
to wade in the water is to trust God is already there, having already initiated grace to redeem whatever condition we arrive in. So too, the church can speak and act when it’s uncertain. We are free to start again because God already has.
THE CRISIS OF IMAGINATION
The second crisis is one of small thinking. Our civic life suffers from the tyranny of single solutions. Complex problems are flattened to fit inside political slogans and serve partisan commitments: tax the rich, close the border, in my house, America first. We wait for the next “great man” or woman to rescue us. Local churches modulate their prophetic voice, either echoing or opposing political chatter rather than transcending it. Conversely, the charge of “being too political” is bound to stick if the fulfillment of our ultimate hope is tied to election-day outcomes.
Reformed faith resists fatalism. We believe creation is unfinished; the same spirit that brooded over the chaos at creation labors to birth new worlds. The options available to God for this ongoing work of creation are unlimited, infinitely and eternally more than we can ask or imagine. Simply put, and if the Pentecost story is to be believed, there will not be Democrats and Republicans in the kingdom of God.
To nurture this hope, the church must widen its field of vision. It must tell stories that break the despair of fatalistic, either/or theologies— stories of reconciliation between enemies, of artists and scientists revealing hidden beauty, of people transformed “by the renewing” of their mind. Small thinking deprecates moral responsibility to the personal domain, confusing self-optimization with spiritual formation. Against the tendency to turn inward and “focus on me,” the gospel insists that salvation is communal, that we are being made new together.
Eventually, small thinking will accept the final tyranny of a single solution: cynicism. But imagination redeemed by grace refuses to say, “It will never be good again.” It says instead, “God is not finished.”
THE CRISIS OF ISOLATION
The third crisis concerns our growing social distance. Today, where one lives predicts how one votes more reliably than almost any other factor. The lived experiences of city dwellers and smalltown residents are increasingly unrecognizable to one another. Once upon a time, Americans found a measure of unity in shared struggles against common foes such as communism and terrorism. In the absence of an external threat, we have turned our suspicion inward. No wonder then that the definition of “American” is being newly contested. From this fracturing of our social compact, permanent fault lines have become boundaries, and many of us hesitate to cross them, knowing a too-heavy step in the wrong direction could prove catastrophic.
Stuck in place out of fear, we are tempted to build walls and make our retreat from each other permanent. But the God we worship has never been confined to a single location. From the beginning, the story of faith has been a story of movement. The Israelites carried the tabernacle through the wilderness, setting it up wherever the pillar of cloud or fire came to rest. God’s presence was portable. It was mercy to be carried, not a monument to be guarded. When the Babylonians forcefully deported Jewish residents of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed a faith that travels. “Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce…seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile.”
This is the discipline of pilgrimage: leaving behind idols of permanence to seek the God of covenant promise. The Reformed tradition calls the church ecclesia semper reformanda —always being reformed, always being moved by the Spirit towards new terrain. Against the isolating drift of our age, the people of God travel light: listening, crossing boundaries, setting tables. Wherever the weary gather, wherever strangers are received, the tent of meeting is raised again.
To be God’s people, then, is to wander toward one another. To carry communion through the wilderness of disconnection until the world inhabits the kingdom of God.
GOD’S GOT ROOM
Each of these crises may tempt a church to close in on itself. I understand the urge to wait it out, to prioritize our protection rather than risk the wrong proclamation. But in the most profound sense, crisis contains more than danger. The theologian Paul Tillich explains it like this, “Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the valley of a meaningless and empty life.”
In judgment, God makes room for mercy. In exposure, God makes room for healing. In crisis, God makes room for creation. That is what I mean when I say God’s got room.
God is doing a new thing at FPC Dallas. I hope in the pages ahead you sense our determination to follow the way of Jesus. Our first call is to simple gestures of welcome and earnest expressions of mercy, those quiet demonstrations of another way of being in this world, as if to say: God’s got room for you here, and God’s got room for us out there.
Bless you for your generosity in reading this far. I invite you to come along for the journey ahead. Make your commitment, in body and in spirit, with an annual pledge.
PEACE,
Rev. Amos J. Disasa SENIOR PASTOR
WORSHIP AT FPC DALLAS
Worship at FPC Dallas embodies a long tradition stretching all the way back to the tent meetings of the Hebrew Bible. The spoken word summons unspeakable mercy. Songs coexist with silence. The familiarity of ordered ritual conceals a Sunday surprise. It is a bundle of contradictions held together by grace. Three services, three settings, three unique expressions of the same good news— Jesus Christ is Lord.
WORSHIPfor
God, you have been with us when we walked a hard road wiping away our tears with both hands so that we could see.
You have loved us when our hearts were hard, when our faith was hollowed by grief, and we thought we were forgotten.
We profess:
If we ascend to heaven, you are there. If we make our bed in the depths, you are there. If we settle at the farthest limits of the sea, you are there. Where can we go from your presence?
You are God with us. You are God with us.
COMMUNITY for
THE HEART OF COMMUNITY
From the joyful chaos of church events to still moments in hospital rooms, our deep commitment to becoming a community of care has stretched across generations, offering prayer and friendship in every season.
Community begins with small faithful acts. A card in the mail. A shared meal. A ride across
coordinate practical support shared with great love. Young adults crowd around tables at Pub Nights, trading stories of faith and doubt. Presbyterian Women Projects gather with thread and stuffing to sew comfort pillows for young patients at Children’s Hospital. Home Groups meet across the city, creating circles of friendship and prayer. Whether in grief, joy, or everyday life, each moment of
IMPACT: MAKING ROOM FOR ONE ANOTHER
Caring Link volunteers supported 34 members with regular contact and prayer.
Eighty-five requests fulfilled through the Medical Equipment Lending Library.
New Stephen Ministers commissioned in 2025.
Home Communion teams visit members monthly, sharing the sacraments of love and memory.
Faith and Grief monthly gatherings provide a community of listening and being.
Over 100 Hospitality Partners serve as welcome teams for worship, memorials, and special events.
More than 120 people connect through Home Groups across the city.
INVITATION TO JOIN
Join a Care Kitchen meal team.
Deliver cards, flowers, or serve communion.
Serve as a Hospitality Partner on Sundays.
Volunteer to drive or visit a member in need.
Join a Home Group to build new friendships.
Get to know the church more at Table for Ten.
Each act of care and connection, no matter how small, strengthens the ties that make this church a home. God’s love takes shape when we make room for one another.
Want to jump in but not sure where to begin? Let us know how you’d like to get involved, and we’ll help you find your
Contact Rev. Dr. Charlene Jin Lee at charlenejl@fpcdallas.org
55+ YEARS members for
FOR COURAGE THAT WAKES UP
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the Dallas Area Interfaith assembly at Golden Gate Baptist Church back in January. I just knew they were talking about things that mattered like housing, immigration, and education. Curious but unsure what to expect, I went along with about 30 others from FPC Dallas.
When I stepped inside, I was met by a sea of 700 people from every corner of Dallas. Presbyterians, Catholics, Methodists, Jews, Unitarians, educators, union members, police officers, so many voices joined in one call for justice. United in our call for justice, the energy in the room was alive, holy even.
I walked in tired and unsure about the future. I walked out renewed and ready to act.
Since then, I’ve helped lead conversations with local leaders about housing affordability, working through FPC Dallas’ Mission, Justice, and Advocacy Committee. Others are doing the same with immigration and early childhood education.
Together, we are learning, organizing, and believing again that our faith can move systems and hearts toward something better.
–Andrew Warren
FOR THE NOT-SO-WORLDCHANGING STUFF
can’t always tell what kind of impact I’ve made. But I can tell you what it’s done in me.
It’s the simple joy of a Home Group meal, laughing over soup, sitting in silence, being seen.
It’s the conversations I’ve had with new members. Those little interviews that somehow lead to a real connection.
And it’s this one moment I’ll never forget:
Driving across town to deliver a Christmas poinsettia to Don Johnson.
It doesn’t sound like much. But that small act became an anchor for me.
was navigating family tension before my brother’s wedding, and suddenly, standing on that doorstep, I felt calm. Reoriented. Grateful.
Not because I changed the world.
But because something in me shifted when I showed up.
–Gavin Newman
FOR THE ROAD BETWEEN US
started driving to help people get to church.
But somewhere along the way, I realized was being carried too.
Volunteering with Foenix Mobility has introduced me to neighbors I’d never have met. People with deep stories, resilience, humor, and faith. Whether it’s a ride to pick up medication or a trip to the food bank, these moments feel like something more than errands. They feel sacred.
When I tell riders that volunteer through our church, their response is always the same: a kind of surprised gratitude. “That’s your church?” they say. “That means something.”
And it does.
Not just for them, but for me.
Driving with purpose has become part of my faith, an expression of our church’s quiet presence in the world.
It’s not flashy. It’s not loud. But it makes room.
–A.G. Black
FOR THE BORDER
An hour later, when we rode together, David finally asked the question that I imagine had been stirring inside him:
“Espera! ¿Dónde eres? ”
He noticed my accent. And with that, something shifted. We were no longer strangers. We were two Latino boys, talking about our lives, our homes far from that desert border, yet somehow meeting here, in this unlikely crossing of lives.
In watching David, realized that the border itself is not the main character of the story we are sharing today. It is not the fence, nor the politics, nor the gulf of America. The story is the people who live in its shadow, people like David who, with steady hands and quiet courage, remind us that God’s kingdom does not share the same boundaries.
To meet David was to meet the border: not as a wall of separation, but as a place where God meets people, where questions turn into friendships, and where service becomes the language that everyone can understand.
–Fernando Berwig Silva
FOR HOLY MOMENTS IN LIVING ROOMS
Each Sunday, we pick up a small pouch of bread, juice, cups, and a printed liturgy. Something sacred carried to someone waiting.
In quiet living rooms where light falls soft and steady, we open the kit and begin.
“This is the bread of life.”
“This is the cup of salvation.”
The words, so familiar in the sanctuary, sound different here, more tender, more necessary. Across from us, someone smiles through pain, remembering hymns and friends and Sunday mornings long past.
We are three people at a table, but the table stretches wide enough for absence and memory, for heaven and earth to meet.
We visit. We laugh. We listen. The bread breaks easily. The silence fills with God.
And in those small moments, between the pouring and the passing, between breathing and believing, we find that the living room has become a sanctuary, and God has made room again.
–Susi Parks Grissom
FOR LOVE THAT SHOWS UP
Before my son was born, we started attending FPC Dallas. I was drawn to the warmth, the diversity, and the women leading in worship and service. I wanted my child to grow up in a place that lived out love and acceptance.
When went into early labor, the church surrounded us with care. After a difficult delivery and a week in the NICU, meals began arriving at our door from people I didn’t even know. Every casserole, every knock, felt like grace. remember thinking, oh, y’all are for real.
The gospel we heard on Sunday was being lived out, meal by meal.
Months later, when visited the Day School, felt that same spirit of care. I saw teachers who looked like me, children of every background learning side by side, and a staff who welcomed us like family.
Now when I drop off my son, I know he is loved, and am not raising him alone. What began as a search for a church home has become a story of belonging for all of us.
–Cyntia Brown
OUR KIDS
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR JOYFUL NOISE
It wasn’t part of the plan.
During VBS lunch this summer, something beautiful happened. Kids started jumping on stage, unprompted, to sing and dance to our theme song, Live It Out.
It wasn’t performance.
It was joy.
We lived out the gift of God’s love made into our joy.
Our volunteers joined in, and in a matter of seconds, the lunchroom turned into a sanctuary. Music, movement, witness, and laughter.
In that moment, God made room.
Not just during structured lessons, but in the everyday.
A room full of kids became a room full of faith.
MINISTRY SNAPSHOT
Faith that takes root in community. In 2024–2025, our children’s ministry grew in creativity, number, and depth. We aligned Sunday School lessons with scriptures for church-wide sermons and launched “Welcome to Our Worship,” a four-week series that introduces children to the various expressions of worship and how we listen for God together.
We follow a rhythm of grace where every child and family will know the love of God through the care and nuturing ministry of this community.
LOOKING FORWARD
Our worship life continues to grow in spirit and connection. Each Sunday, we gather for worship that grounds and renews us. Children’s music and choir rehearsals cultivate expressions of worship through song. Our preteen group is stepping into new leadership and faith discovery. Post-worship playtime is helping families form deeper bonds.
INVITATION TO JOIN
Want to be part of it? Join us on Sundays at 10 am. Toddlers and Pre-K meet in the Drane Center, and children in grades K–6 gather on the third floor in the children’s area. For more information, contact Children’s Minister Helen Kim at helenk@fpcdallas.org.
We look forward to seeing our youth step into more of God’s beautiful world, near and far. Ahead lies space for rest, reflection, service, and discovery. As they lend their hands in the community and find their voices in the church, we trust God is shaping them into disciples ready to walk boldly into the future with faith and joy.
OUR YOUTH
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR EVERY SEASON
We know these years can be messy and confusing. That’s why we’re focused on creating a space where showing up is enough, and where you’ll always find someone ready to listen, laugh, and walk with you.
This summer, six of our youth attended the Montreat Youth Conference in North Carolina, a first-time experience for each of them. Surrounded by mountains and thousands of teens from across the country, they encountered God’s love in powerful, personal ways.
Each night, our group circled up for “home group,” a time of laughter, honesty, and deep reflection. It wasn’t just a trip; it was a journey of friendship, faith, and discovery.
We’ve shared so much this year: from the joy of a Dallas Mavericks game to the sacredness of confirmation, from long bus rides to moments of real grief. Together, we’ve shown up for each other in laughter and tears. And through it all, God gently weaves love, community, and purpose into every moment we share.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.
MINISTRY SNAPSHOT
Our youth group is a dynamic, evolving family with around 10 to 20 active youth at any time. As we celebrate those moving into college and welcome new faces, our circle continues to grow and change.
Supported by dedicated volunteers and so many engaged parents, we’re building something rooted in care, flexibility, and presence.
This year brought exciting milestones: our first-ever Youth Bingo Fundraiser raised over $2,000 for summer trips, and five youth were confirmed in a deeply personal, community-supported journey of faith.
Our weekly Bible study saw a 50% increase in attendance. Participation in regional events like Senior High Youth Conference doubled. The momentum is real, and it’s growing.
INVITATION TO JOIN
Our youth ministry is built around one powerful invitation: come as you are.
Whether you’re new or returning, you belong here. Join us on Sundays at 11 am for Bible Study on the fourth floor. Connect with Director of Youth Emma Rooney at emmar@fpcdallas.org to learn about events and ways to get involved.
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR LEARNING TOGETHER
At FPC Dallas, faith is not static. It grows through dialogue, curiosity, and shared discovery. In learning together, we seek understanding that deepens belief and inspires faithful action in the world.
Adults of all ages come together for thoughtful classes, conversation series, and lectures that explore Scripture, culture, and calling. From Presbyterian Women bible Circles to Community Conversations, each gathering invites honest questions and shared wonder.
MINISTRY SNAPSHOT
This ministry invites the congregation to think deeply and live faithfully. Classes and forums explore theology, justice, and daily life, while Sunday morning groups provide steady rhythms of study and connection.
This year, Adult Faith Formation offered a rich variety of opportunities to learn and grow together. The Community Conversations series welcomed speakers and partners from across Dallas for dialogue on topics like the city’s housing gap, interfaith collaboration through Sharing Sacred Spaces, and experiences at the U.S. and Mexico border. The Fall Lecture
for adult FAITH FORMATION
Series, Humor and Horror in Esther, drew more than 100 participants for a lively exploration of Scripture through new perspectives. Smaller gatherings like the Faith Formation Volunteer Breakfast, Come This Way newcomer classes, and the Holy Envy discussion groups fostered personal connection and reflection. Weekly Sunday School classes continued their ongoing schedule of guest speakers and seasonal studies, providing a consistent space for engagement and growth.
Together, these offerings create opportunities for people to explore faith in both familiar and surprising ways, deepening understanding, nurturing compassion, and shaping lives of purpose and service.
INVITATION TO JOIN
Whether you are new to faith or seasoned in study, there is always room to grow here. Contact Rev. Jessie Light-Wells at jessiel@fpcdallas.org for current offerings.
MUSIC for
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR MUSIC
From Sunday morning worship to evening recitals, Jam Camp to Summer Choir, concerts to late-night rehearsals, it is clear that our music ministry is in a season of growth. Between hosting world-class ensembles and nurturing our own musicians of every age, our campus has been filled with song every day of the week.
Music at FPC Dallas has continued to inspire, uplift, and unite our community, both within and beyond our church walls.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Chancel Choir offered The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace concert, featuring 41 singers and 21 members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Over 60 children discovered their musical voices at Summer Jam Camp.
Welcomed Jackson McCarthy, Associate Director of Music, to our full-time team.
The handbell choir added 4 new ringers, including one of our pastors.
The sanctuary was full for Radiant Dawn, our 2024 Christmas Concert featuring musicians of all ages.
The Wood Street Band recorded and selfproduced an album of six original songs.
The Wood Street musician pool grew to 40+ members.
4,000+ candles illuminated the sanctuary for each Candlelight Concert.
Hosted worship leaders Eric Wall and Tony McNeil for a powerful hymn sing.
Our spaces welcomed countless ensembles, including The Turtle Creek Chorale, BYU Singers, Indiana University Choir, Dallas Street Choir, Voces8, Orpheus Chamber Singers, and Verdigris Ensemble.
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR NEW SOUND
Every Sunday morning at 8:30 am, the Wood Street Band gathers to tune guitars, share coffee, and make space for whatever the week has brought: joy, heartbreak, hope, or doubt. Together, they turn it all into worship.
Their music stretches what people expect from church. Whether it is an original song, a familiar hymn with a new twist, or something unexpected and raw, the band reminds us that God’s voice is not limited to sacred spaces. “God is always speaking, not just in church,” said Sam Allen, Wood Street music director. It can meet us anywhere: in the songs we already love, in the stories we carry, and in the space between notes.
This year, the band wrote and recorded six original songs for a new album titled God’s Got Room. Their music continues to draw new faces to Wood Street and inspire worship leaders across the country. Each performance, each lyric, is a living reminder that God is still creating, still speaking, still making room.
LOOKING FORWARD
This year, we are hosting more concerts than ever before, from The Turtle Creek Chorale’s Holidays To Go program to organ recitals by Tom Froehlich and Johannes Skoog, and twice-monthly Candlelight Concerts featuring the music of Fleetwood Mac and Beyoncé. We will also welcome Voices of Change for three evenings of new works and the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, a 100-singer touring choir.
Our own ensembles will again fill the sanctuary with beauty, especially at our annual Advent and Christmas Lessons + Carols on December 14 at 5 pm, featuring music by Howells, Quartel, and MacMillan, performed by our children, youth, handbells, and Wood Street musicians.
INVITATION TO JOIN
If you have been thinking about joining in, know this: there is a seat saved for you. Add your voice to the song. Contact Director of Music Zach Light-Wells at zachl@fpcdallas.org.
prayer s FOR AL L people
Let this be our shared prayer spoken in many hearts and lifted as one voice
God of every time and place. God of this day.
A thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is all over you sweep away each day and they are all like a dream for you.
In the morning it flourishes and is renewed in the evening it fades and withers time saunters on in service to you, O Lord.
Before the morning sun peeks its wonder over the edge of the earth to greet our expectation and be our delight you were there in the bitter darkness of midnight.
Before our eternal desires were heard in prayer and song and the dawn of sabbath gave birth to our worship you were there in the hidden light of many half moons.
No mountain is too high
No valley is too low
No prayer is too great
No river is too wide
Nobody is too lost for you.
You know the stories written on our hearts the silent stories we tell with our eyes the ash cloths of mourning we hide under our determination to get on with it— for those stories are written on your heart as well and carried as a cross by your son without a mumbling word.
You know about the children who long for the return of a parent.
You know about the widow who still listens for the voice of her beloved.
You know about the teacher who worries all weekend about their student.
You know about the women whose strength keeps us going.
You know about the elders whose wisdom reveals our way forward.
You know about the bureaucrat, and the farmer, and the factory worker, and the truck driver whose humdrum labor is our daily bread.
You know the diplomat, and the peasant, and the soldier who look to the same hill, wondering where their help comes from.
Remind us that you know all our names so we may trust the name above all names who has already walked each valley and knows the mountaintop is not far off.
May this be our consolation.
May this be our proclamation.
Amen.
THIS CITY for
The love we celebrate inside these walls was never meant to stay here. It spills out into classrooms and shelters, clinics and kitchens, across streets and stories that make up this city we call home.
Through partnership and presence, we are learning to see our neighbors not as strangers to serve, but as companions to walk alongside.
Here, in the heart of Dallas, God’s room keeps widening.
IMPACT
Served 130 students across 13 classrooms.
Welcomed 39 families through our Child Care Assistance program.
Embraced the Readers & Rockers program with 35 staff members, 5 FPC Dallas board members, and dedicated volunteers.
Extended grace through a 580% increase in our financial assistance program over the past four years.
Improved teacher retention and morale through equitable pay and benefits.
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR EVERY CHILD TO GROW
This year, one of the most meaningful stories from FPC Day School centers around a student with an intellectual disability whose family was struggling to access the therapies their child needed. Despite both parents working full-time, their insurance did not cover essential services.
Through our partnership with Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services (PCHAS), we were able to connect the family
with counseling, therapy referrals, and parenting support that help their child thrive emotionally, socially, and academically.
The child is enrolled through our Child Care Assistance (CCA) program and benefits daily from the structure and joy of highquality early education. Watching this child engage with peers, experiment in the STEAM Lab, and discover new abilities has been a powerful reminder of how God makes room for every child to grow in love, confidence, and creativity.
MILESTONES
First preschool in the nation to earn STEM Certification from the National Institute for STEM Education (NISE).
Expanded offerings to include KinderReady, bridging preschool and kindergarten readiness.
Hosted the first Family STEAM Celebration for hands-on learning with families and community partners.
Raised a record $34,530 during North Texas Giving Day, funding scholarships for families in need.
Strengthened collaboration with PCHAS to offer counseling, parenting education, and access to vital community services.
INVITATION TO JOIN
Looking ahead, FPC Day School will continue to expand access to early childhood education for working families and deepen our investment in teacher equity and well-being. Our ministry will keep making room for children of all abilities and backgrounds, ensuring every family feels seen, supported, and loved.
Members of FPC Dallas can make room, too. Volunteer as a classroom reader, or event helper at events like Culinary Kids Cook-Off or STEM Festival.
To get involved, visit fpcdayschool.org or contact the Day School office. Every gift of time, presence, or generosity opens new doors for children and families and creates more room for God’s love to grow.
DAY SCHOOL
NEW BEGINNINGS
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR NEW BEGINNINGS
In May, our congregation left the church and gathered at 1610 S. Malcolm X Boulevard, the new home of The Stewpot. We worshiped, shared lunch, and blessed a space built for the next fifty years of ministry.
It was more than a move. It was the start of a new season.
This new building expands The Stewpot’s capacity to serve neighbors with food, friendship, and dignity. Here, hope has more room to grow, and love keeps finding new ways to make itself at home in the heart of Dallas.
May the Lord bless and keep the worn paths followed to these doors held open with hope and love for whosoever may come, however they arrive, wherever they meant to be. Amen.
LOVE THAT MAKES ROOM
At The Stewpot, serving others is not a one-way act. It is a shared experience of transformation. Every plate of food, every haircut, every moment of conversation reflects the belief that we meet God most clearly in one another.
In September, the ministry hosted its first All Ages Service Event, welcoming nearly 200 volunteers of all generations to serve unhoused neighbors. For many children, it was their first time volunteering, and they left inspired by the joy of helping others.
One young volunteer summed it up simply: “By volunteering here, I’m able to serve my community and help others. That is the best feeling in the world.”
God’s room-making spirit showed up again when a partner church group met a man who was about to move into his first apartment. The volunteers gathered furniture and home essentials, a coffee table, a dresser, and a TV, and delivered them personally. What began as an act of kindness became a moment of shared joy, a glimpse of heaven right here on earth.
for
IMPACT: FIFTY YEARS OF COMMUNITY
2025 marks a milestone for The Stewpot: 50 years of walking alongside neighbors in need and a new beginning at 1610 S. Malcolm X Boulevard. With expanded programs like The Food Pantry and the Neighbor Resource Center, the ministry’s reach continues to grow.
With a $1 million gift from The Crystal Charity Ball, The Stewpot expanded its Children and Youth Program through a partnership with Cornerstone Baptist Church in Pleasant Grove, doubling enrollment to 200 students and bringing after-school opportunities closer to home for more families.
23,746 households received food from the Food Pantry.
1,767 records for ID and vital documents were ordered.
199,021 meals were served.
4,700 new volunteers joined the mission.
38,000 hours of service were given.
INVITATION TO JOIN
As The Stewpot enters its next 50 years, it remains open to all: neighbors seeking stability, volunteers seeking purpose, and a community seeking connection.
Volunteering is barrier-free and open to everyone. You can serve in the Food Pantry, join a Tuesday morning team, or attend one of our special service days. Or simply come take a tour and see what God is doing through this extraordinary ministry.
THE STEWPOT
JUSTICE for
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR JUSTICE
We are putting legs to love and learning what love looks like in public.
Our Missions Committee took on a new name: Mission, Justice, and Advocacy. What at first felt like too many words and too grand a commitment has now become who we are, people believing that the gospel is not only about personal salvation, but about grace drawing us into the creation of a new heaven and a new earth—here and now. It is a vision where all God’s children are set free to simply be, where we shelter and trust one another, and where we recognize our shared reflection of God’s image across the human community.
A holy gift along this way of following Jesus is the friendships formed through coalition building alongside diverse faith-based organizations.
As an institutional partner with Dallas Area Interfaith, we are rolling up our sleeves and joining community organizing efforts that shape equitable public systems and resource allocation. Together, we are working towards achieving housing affordability and providing support services for unhoused neighbors, protecting the dignity of immigrants, and ensuring access to early childhood education.
With every incremental step toward justice, our love is moving, learning, widening, and deepening.
INVITATION TO JOIN
Faith becomes justice when love takes action. Join upcoming Mission, Justice, and Advocacy efforts that seek to reflect God’s compassion in our city. Contact Rev. Dr. Charlene Jin Lee at charlenejl@fpcdallas.org to learn more.
SACRED SPACES for sharing
GOD’S GOT ROOM FOR UNDERSTANDING
This year, FPC Dallas joined seven faith communities across Dallas and Fort Worth in the Sharing Sacred Spaces project, a journey of interfaith friendship and understanding. We stepped into one another’s sanctuaries, mosques, and temples to listen and learn.
When we hosted, we welcomed neighbors into the church and shared a meal that celebrated our story of faith and community. At another gathering, lay leader Janet Billhartz shared, “I found myself the
only Christian at a table with Jews and Muslims. The conversation turned to Gaza, and I realized my role was not to talk, but to listen.”
Janet also signed a Pledge of Solidarity on behalf of our church, affirming our commitment to create safe spaces of hospitality, practice empathy and humility, and strengthen interfaith relationships that uphold the dignity of all people.
In a world that often divides, this experience reminded us that belonging is sacred work, and God always makes room for more.
A WORD FROM OUR STEWARDSHIP CO-CHAIRS
When we walk through the doors of FPC Dallas, we feel it every time. There is room here. Room to breathe, to belong, to grow in faith and love. This church is more than a place of worship. It is a home shaped by grace and open to all who come seeking it.
We see that spirit in the sanctuary, in the outreach of The Stewpot, and in the conversations we’ve learned from through projects like Sharing Sacred Spaces. Each moment reminds us that God’s love is wide enough to hold us all.
Our giving is an act of gratitude for the room we have found here and a promise to help make room for others, too.
–Dane and Aaron
God’s Got Room
We have stepped across thresholds into sanctuaries not our own, listened to prayers in unfamiliar tongues, and found that God’s Spirit moves freely through them all. These encounters are shaping us into a people of deeper curiosity, compassion, and courage. As we grow in friendship with our neighbors, FPC Dallas continues to live into a faith that builds bridges, seeks justice, and makes room for all of God’s people.
CHARLENE letter from
FROM A ROOM WITH A VIEW
I looked out. The cars were still filing in. I looked out again, this time while putting on my robe and adjusting the white stole. They were making the turn on Young Street to enter the church. Like an unending caravan carrying tears and every measure of love one could hold for another. The silent view from my window as we prepared to receive the community for a service of witness to the resurrection is but one view I am privileged to have of our church proclaiming, there is room for you here. A place gentle enough for sorrows that yet have words, a place strong enough to proclaim into mystery, words that are faithful and true: God’s mercies never come to an end.
As one of the pastors joining you in stewarding the gift of Christ’s ministry entrusted to FPC Dallas, I have become a collector of views. In plain sight and in complicated corners, across the sanctuary
and tucked in your prayers, I see your proclamations of God whose love is more spacious than my imagining. Seeing how you set the holy pace to the table, standing behind known and unknown stories of those in front of you, is part of it. Your careful hands holding a portion of grace from the common loaf. These are in a special collection I call: views that make being a pastor a best-kept secret.
When our Wood Street Band flooded the interfaith community with an acoustic blessing of “God’s got room for you here” on the night it was our turn to host religious neighbors in our sacred space, the view was radiant. We rested in the roomy grace of God’s gaze upon all our human efforts at doing what we can, seeking to make meaning of our aching world, then gazing upon one another with longing friendship. I watched as the room was stilled—perhaps, stunned—by the unexpected comfort we found in the company of one another’s faith.
Your faith and your pledged offering provide FPC Dallas with the resources to continue working, dreaming, praying, and growing. As you consider your part in God’s love revealed ever more through FPC Dallas, take a moment to recall the views of the church you are especially thankful for. We are in an exciting season of growth. Now is the time to make your pledge toward our $1.7 million goal for 2026, so FPC Dallas can strengthen and expand the good work begun by generations of this faithful church family. My prayer is that we continue to be a church grounded in a firm foundation, extending generous welcome to all who are seeking spiritual belonging. A church in the world, ready to meet those who wait for God’s love to show up in view.
In more ways than these pages can recount, we are directing our steps to the way of love and more love. Along this way of Jesus, we will sing the hymn and speak the truth, we will pray in quiet and persist in goodness. Together, let’s keep our faith on the move, sharing the good news: God’s got room for us all. What wondrous sight!
LOVE,
Rev. Dr. Charlene Jin Lee
EXECUTIVE PASTOR
Charlene
make your
COMMITMENT TODAY
God’s got room, and through our giving, that room grows. Every pledge opens the door a little wider for worship, for service, for belonging, and for love to take root in this city.
Complete the enclosed pledge card and return it using the provided envelope. You may also bring your
pledge card to worship on Stewardship Commitment
Sunday, November 23, 2025, or pledge online at fpcdallas.org/2026.
