FPC Dallas Annual Campaign Booklet

GENERATION to GENERATION 2024 ANNUAL -1CAMPAIGN

a note from amos

AMOS DISASA

Dear Church, Be warned, what follows is a fund-raising letter. Each year about this time, pastors like me at churches like ours draft one of these. The final versions are remarkably similar in tone and substance: biblical imagery is liberally invoked, humble bragging about the previous year’s accomplishments is thinly veiled, and tidy euphemisms for “give the church money next year” are invented. I read my previous four annual campaign letters to you for reference before writing this one. Guilty as charged above.

Truth is, FPC Dallas is doing well. The church is healthy. We are growing. Our organizational challenges are less ominous than they were a few years ago. Our prayers are bolder, and our dreams are bigger. I doubt anything I write here extolling the church’s worthiness as a recipient of your money can offer more clarity than what you sense already. And if you do have any doubts or questions, the pages that follow will get you most of the way there.

So instead of remixing another predictable ode to church, this year I’m going with peer pressure. This fund-raising letter is personal.

Sarah and I give as much as we possibly can to the church each year. The amount is enough to impact everyday decisions about how we spend our money. Meaning, our gift to the church is always our big monthly splurge. But we don’t call it an expense or consider it a duty; those words conceal the truth that generosity is always a choice we make, not an imposition we tolerate. For us, sharing the practical burdens and sacred benefits of belonging to this particular community is a treasured privilege. We don’t give because God said so, we give because you do too, because we’ve chosen to be in this together.

In the pages ahead, you’ll discover how, over the past year, FPC Dallas has “declared God’s mighty acts from one generation to another.” Your faithful generosity will enable us to do the same next year. May God continue to show favor to our communion.

Peace,

Amos Disasa Pastor

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“

IN THE SACRED AND CHERISHED

MOMENTS WE CREATE AND SHARE AS MEMBERS OF THE

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FPC DALLAS COMMUNITY, IT IS

OFTEN THE ‘SPACES BETWEEN’ THAT BIND US TOGETHER.

generation to generation

Generations, in a community such as ours, are in constant conversation. We impart and receive knowledge from one another. We celebrate rites of passage and (re)define traditions together. We offer and accept help from each other, recognizing that to do so is part of the how of living into our faith.

The Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen A—generations today are cast as categories, definers of attributes, highlighters of difference.

But in the sacred and cherished moments we create and share as members of the FPC Dallas community, it is often the “spaces between” that bind us together.

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It is in these spaces between that we offer each other gifts of knowledge, insight, service, faith, and love.

We hope that in the pages that follow you will see how together we—the generations of yesterday, today, and tomorrow—are declaring God’s mighty acts in both word and action through the work of our church. We hope you will see how important you are to this shared project and how, through your commitment to it, you are preparing a path for the generations of tomorrow to carry our efforts forward.

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IN GRATITUDE TO GOD, EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT,

WE STRIVE TO SERVE CHRIST IN OUR DAILY TASKS AND TO LIVE HOLY AND JOYFUL LIVES,

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EVEN AS WE WATCH FOR GOD’S NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH PRAYING, ‘COME, LORD JESUS.’ From “A Brief Statement of Faith”

It flows from our faith.

At FPC Dallas, we follow the way of Jesus where the healing is generous, and everyone is welcome.

Our church is not the finish line, it’s a starting place on a journey to discover the light and love of God. We are an open and affirming congregation guided in our fellowship by the enduring word of God. Through Jesus, the grand promise of redemption and reconciliation continues to captivate and challenge our community of faith, calling us to work towards the transformation of the world.

We experience, explore, and grow our faith in silent meditation and with lifted voice. Walking alongside each other, from our first days to our last, we offer mutual support and understanding as we grapple with what it means to follow the way of Jesus.

our faith

This year, the many ways we do this at FPC Dallas were on full display.

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In March, we learned that the vibrancy of our worship community would grow exponentially when it was announced that, following an extensive and thoughtful search by the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee, we would be welcoming Associate Pastor for Practice and Formation Rev. Dr. Charlene Jin Lee to FPC Dallas. With the installation of Charlene in August, which featured a sermon from Rev. Angela D. Sims, Ph.D., our congregation is now blessed with three pastors whose vision, love, and leadership will define how our church evolves and expands as we move bravely and boldly into our shared future.

As the year began, we explored the messages of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5; during the season of Lent, we considered the difference between loneliness and being alone, and the eternal rest we discover in community. We marked Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Palm Sunday, and we celebrated Christ’s resurrection on Easter.

In April, we celebrated the first anniversary of Wood Street Worship with a barbecue in the Encore Park Amphitheater. Week after week, more and more new friends join this dynamic worship community where the hard questions are not only asked but welcomed.

Beginning this summer, Shifting Faith, a support and conversation group which brought together 30 people interested in deconstructing, questioning, or rethinking issues of faith, God, and church, was offered.

Rev. Dr. Noel Schoonmaker joined us as guest preacher in April to preach on the unity of the church.

And this past summer, we were all Stumped as we accompanied our pastors on a thirteen-week tour through some of the most bewildering scripture passages in the gospels.

In the fall, Hope Is a Long Game offered a series of slow sermons drawn from the Exodus story for people still wandering and always wondering why we must wait. As the year comes to a close, we celebrate All Saints in November, and anticipate the birth of Jesus during the season of Advent.

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First Steps Classes ramped up again in March, and Home Groups, which debuted last fall with four groups, has now grown to seven.

These multigenerational gatherings offer opportunities to explore faith and find fellowship among like-minded and -hearted friends.

Adult Sunday School classes welcomed speakers as diverse as Dr. John Williams, Rev. Deanna Hollas, Brenda Snitzer of The Stewpot, former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, and Rabbi Shawn Zell.

Book discussion groups bookended the year with the exploration of best-selling author Anne Lamott’s Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers during Lent and writer Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Moses, Man of the Mountain as a complement to the fall Hope Is a Long Game sermon series.

Over this past year, we have welcomed more than 40 new members to the church. In August, a new member luncheon celebrated those who had recently joined. These wonderful new members of our community join some 125 of our friends who have been members for more than 40 years! Twentyeight have been members for 60 years or more.

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MEMBERS FOR 60 YEARS OR MORE Janita Wells

94 years

Zoe Stafford

65 years

Joan Mead

83 years

John Eickmeyer

65 years

Nell Baker

79 years

Edward Beanland

64 years

Joe Brockette

76 years

Mike Haney

64 years

Jody Morgan

75 years

Monroe Waak

64 years

Deanna Pomeroy

75 years

Corinne Moore

63 years

Joy McMinn

72 years

Anna Curry

63 years

Madeline Moore

71 years

Mark Hollingsworth 61 years

Elsa Miller

70 years

Ken Pickett

61 years

Amy Horby

69 years

Linda Pickett

61 years

Eleanor Otto

69 years

David Johns

60 years

Mary Lou LeBeau

68 years

Alayne Sprague

60 years

Ann Perkins

68 years

John Fox Holt III

60 years

Martha Wertheimer

66 years

David Brass

60 years

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week talking about a specific scripture and how it relates to them, floated the river, did arts and crafts, played games, and enjoyed the beautiful Hill Country views.

Montreat was a joy-filled time for FPC Dallas’ high school seniors and one rising junior. They spent the week getting to know each other, rockhopping down a river, climbing up a mountain to the lookout point, shopping in Black Mountain, and spending the evenings together enjoying ice cream and snacks.

Not to be left out, the children of FPC Dallas gathered to learn and grow through Kids@Study throughout the year. Kidquake rocked Gilmont in April as 5- to 10-year-olds from churches throughout Grace Presbytery gathered to learn Bible stories, experience camp activities, and spend time with old and new friends.

Our kids also had a blast this summer at VBS. With the theme Changemakers Lab, VBS featured Bible stories and activities selected to help kids reflect on how they are grounded in God’s love and how their unique gifts can make a difference in this world. Summer ministries concluded with the first Mission M25 day camp, where children put into action Matthew 25’s call to acts of compassion and justice in our world.

We were thankful and excited for a 100% increase in summer ministry participation from 2022 to 2023, and we celebrated with an energized community of families at our fall kick-off bowling event.

Always welcome in worship, our children and youth took center stage for Youth Sunday in February, Confirmation Sunday in April, Senior Sunday in May, Scholarship Sunday in August, and the Children’s Sabbath in early October.

All things youth got a boost in May with the arrival of Emma Rooney, our new Director of Youth. In addition to her role at FPC Dallas, Emma is the inaugural Mission Immersion Director for Dallas Youth Mission Co. (DYM). FPC Dallas and DYM have a covenantal partnership with expansive initiatives that include mission immersion experiences, Youth Group, and summer retreats, as well as ministry-funded ventures and scholarship opportunities.

Junior High Jubilee took our middle school youth to Mo-Ranch for an opportunity to meet other young people their age from all over Texas and beyond who gathered to grow in their faith. They spent a

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“

...WE GATHERED TO SHARE LIFE

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IN ALL ITS FORMS,

LAUGHING, EMBRACING, AND WAITING ALONG THE WAY.

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If you attended the Roll into Fall Ministry Fair in September, you would have been greeted by 28 church ministries ready to welcome you into their folds.

Through these ministries and in moments spent together, we gathered this year to share life in all its forms, laughing, embracing, and waiting along the way.

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There was a happy hour, a game night, a potluck at Nell and Jim Carvell’s lake house, and a performance of the play Love Letters. One of the gatherings included a Clear Choices seminar that featured speakers from Forefront Living, Methodist Hospital, Neptune Society, Compassionate Choices, an estate lawyer, and a representative of the FPC Dallas Foundation. Participants received an updated resource booklet for making end-of-life plans.

First Thursday Women’s Gatherings and Table for Ten are going strong, the latter welcoming dozens of folks who are new to our community and eager to learn more. Our brand new Young Adult Group has grown to more than 65 members.

Opportunities to share a meal are always popular and always a delight. Ash Wednesday Dinner, Easter Brunch, Palm Sunday Picnic and Easter Egg Hunt, and the Pentecost Picnic are just a few of the events that brought together generations at FPC Dallas.

At monthly events, Young St. Seniors gathered some 65 of our age 50+ community members to enjoy fellowship and hear from speakers such as Ken Fairhill, who talked about the making of “The Wizard of Oz.”

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The multi-generational All-Church Retreat at Mo-Ranch in July brought together 138 adults and children of all ages—up from 66 in 2022!— for faith, fellowship, and beautiful sunsets. We spent time getting to know each other better, listening, talking; we rested, we were renewed, we rekindled our relationships with God and with others. There was music, bubbles, popsicles, and smiles all around.

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“

...MUSIC-MAKING IS SEEMINGLY

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EVERYWHERE, BRINGING PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TOGETHER.

At FPC Dallas these days, music-making is seemingly everywhere, bringing people of all ages together.

Jam Camp, a week-long half-day camp that accompanies VBS, saw major growth in its second year of programming. Sixty-two Jam Campers rotated through classes led by professional music teachers and some of our very own FPC Dallas musicians. By Friday, Jam Campers were confident in their ability to perform on a variety of instruments and led music in worship the following Sunday morning.

2023 marked the third year of our come-as-you-are Summer Choir, which meets before worship on Sunday mornings in the summer to learn anthems to be sung that day. Youth and adults of all ages, experience levels, and backgrounds are invited to sing from the chancel. In November, the FPC Community Recital will invite FPC Dallas musicians for an hour of exciting and engaging music in our sanctuary. Players of all ages and experience levels are encouraged to participate.

Volunteers abound at FPC Dallas, offering love and building community.

Folks have signed up to help at VBS and Jam Camp; to be Sunday School teachers, Youth Group adults, and substitutes for Service Project Day; and to feed hungry teenagers.

Volunteers abound at FPC Dallas, offering love and building community.

Handy Hands had no problem getting their hands dirty helping members of our community with basic repairs around the house. Hospitality Partners, meanwhile, helped us find our way, and Stitch and Pray gifted four individuals with prayer shawls. Giving souls have offered up donations to the Medical Equipment Lending Library to help those in need. A generous donation made possible the purchase of a new van with a lift to support our Transportation Ministry.

Our Deacons wrote 186 cards to people in our community offering care and joy. Home Communion was provided the first Sunday of the month to those unable to attend services. Dozens of lilies and poinsettias were delivered at Easter and Christmas, bringing beauty into the lives of the recipients.

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WHATEVER YOU DID

“

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TRULY I TELL YOU, FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE

BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF MINE, YOU DID FOR ME. Matthew 25:40

It’s not just our immediate congregation that feels the love. From the youngest to the eldest, members of our church community go out into the world to offer support and assistance, to learn and become agents of change.

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our community - 21 -

The Stewpot—in its 48th year of service to our neighbors— continues to go from strength to strength.

Food distributions have shared some 23,000 pounds of food on average each month to more than 1,300 individuals. In 2023, Food Recovery brought in an average of 58,700 pounds of food for distribution and use for more than 21,000 meals served at The Stewpot’s Second Chance Café at The Bridge each month.

The Stewpot has become a critical part of the city’s efforts to provide housing to the unhoused. Building on its successes in rapid rehousing, it was one of six organizations selected to receive part of a $22.5m grant from Housing Forward for permanent supportive housing in 2023.

Each month, an average of 1,748 volunteer hours have been donated and almost 2,000 phone calls have been answered, the majority from folks seeking assistance.

The Dallas community recognizes The Stewpot’s pivotal role in serving our neighbors: it was awarded an Excellence in Collaboration Award at Trusted World’s annual Breakfast Fundraiser and this year’s Soup’s On fundraising luncheon raised the most yet.

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This spring, we learned just how meaningful the efforts of our Presbyterian Women are to the children who receive the pillows and puppets they create for the young patients at Children’s Medical Center.

My name is Adrian Perez, and I am reaching out because your church donated a [pillow] to Children’s Medical in Dallas. My son was admitted to the hospital in January of this year with liver failure. During his stay, he was given a yellow pillow. The pillow is yellow with cats imprinted though out the material. The reason for the email is because I cannot find any place that sells that material.

His pillow has seen better days and I would like to replace it, he takes that pillow everywhere...

Then in March, Sharon Belcher reached out. In 1970, the parents of then-5-yearold Sharon were told their daughter wouldn’t make it past age 40 or be able to have children. The following year, Sharon was scheduled to have openheart surgery at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. While in the hospital, she received a cat-shaped pillow that was crafted and donated by our devoted Presbyterian Women Projects group. Sharon wrote: I have kept it for 52 years now.

The acts we perform that we consider small can sometimes be the biggest acts others receive. My thank you is 52 years late but I wanted to thank your congregation for my stuffed cat that I received at 6 years old in a scary situation. God bless you all!

On February 23, 2023—a year after Kaiden’s journey with his sweet yellow pillow began—he was gifted a second purrrfect, Kaiden-approved pillow made by the same loving hands as the first.

Sharon is now 58 years old, has two children, and has been married for 39 years. She exclaims, “God is good!”

Our new All-Church Mission Weekend held at Camp Gilmont in February was attended by 33 people from age 4 to 70+. Children, youth, and adults all participated in mission, enjoyed smores around the campfire, and took communion with a Gilmont mug as a chalice. Also in February, the Pop-up Mission Assembly Shop turned over $2,000 in supplies into Manna Bags for our neighbors in need.

This year saw the launch of a partnership with Youth Mission Co. for summer Dallas Youth Mission.

FPC Dallas hosted over 90 students and youth leaders from as far away as Denver, Colorado; Kerrville, Texas; and Lafayette, Louisiana who came together to build community, strengthen their faith, and learn about social issues. They also donated their time and energies to agencies throughout the Metroplex working towards justice and in service of others, including numerous hours working with The Stewpot’s Volunteer Program.

The Refugee Ministry Team, together with Handy Hands, worked hard to prepare to welcome the Al-Sammaraie Family who came to the United States seeking asylum. Their efforts to collect and deliver furniture, housing supplies, and other necessary items meant that the family arrived not just at an apartment but at a home.

Over the course of a year, Presbyterian Women craft some 2,000 pillows and 6,500 finger puppets to help take away the pain of finger pricks. At Mission M25 day camp, a new generation joined their efforts when a group of FPC Dallas 2nd—5th graders helped them stuff around 100 pillows.

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FPC Dallas continues to live into its commitment to healing justice, equity, and transformation. This year, This Is Crucial welcomed author and educator Bronwyn Harris who talked to Amos and Charlene Han Powell about her experience teaching in the most violent part of Oakland, CA—what the local police call “the killing zone”—and author and educator Dr. William Yoo who spoke about his book What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church.

Members of the Good Trouble Lamentation Group who, as people of faith, lament to acknowledge injustice and suffering and request God’s help in redemption, have held a number of gatherings throughout the year. The focuses of these have included healing justice and equity, gun violence, Christian nationalism, as well as the processes that migrants must navigate and how FPC Dallas is working with local organizations to assist.

To help guide the church’s equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives, our church engaged the firm Diversity Crew. Since the summer, this group of consultants has sought information from our members, staff, and volunteers through questionnaires, focus groups, and conversations about their experiences of and in our church community. All have been invited to share their stories, and we are eager to learn and grow from their findings.

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“

STILL HERE, ON THE CORNER OF HARWOOD AND YOUNG,

HEART OF THE CITY.

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We gather today in spaces gifted by those who came before, by people who wanted to create a church home not only for themselves, but for those of us whom they would never meet.

FPC Dallas makes its home at the northwest corner of Young and Harwood streets in downtown Dallas.

From this vantage point we have, since the 1920s, watched our city grow and evolve into one of the most dynamic and diverse in the nation. Every day, new Dallasites arrive, excited by the possibilities of this great city.

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“

IN THE

Dallas is a comparatively new city, and several of our buildings, in this context, are comparatively old. And yet, they are alive. They welcome not only members of our church family, but new friends in the community. In 2023, we were able to open our doors widely.

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But music-making in our sacred spaces hasn’t been limited to our FPC Dallas ensembles.

Over the past year, we’ve hosted several performances and countless rehearsals from local and national ensembles alike.

These include The Concordia Choir, The Dallas Street Choir, The Dallas Symphony Chorus, The Turtle Creek Chorale, The Richardson Fine Arts Conservatory, The Junior Players, The Verdigris Ensemble, Joungmin Lee, The Dallas Academy of Performing Arts, The Booker T. Washington Piano Studio, FPC Day School music recitals, and sold-out Candlelight Concerts.

WITH OPEN DOORS AND HEARTS,

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READY TO RECEIVE AND SHARE GOD’S GRACE.

The FPC Dallas Music Ministry presented multiple concerts over the past year that stretched our imagination and stirred our souls.

In April, our Associate Director of Music and Organist Dr. YangSun (Sunny) Yu and Sungyun Kim performed a riveting organ recital featuring works by Rheinberger, Buxtehude, Messiaen, Widor, Bach, Franck, and Litaize performed on the Kate Frierson Memorial organ in the sanctuary.

In October, the Chancel Choir performed Craig Hella Johnson’s moving and meaningful work Considering Matthew Shepard—a three-part fusion oratorio influenced by the 1998 murder of a young gay man in Wyoming—for only the second time in DFW since its regional debut in 2018. Twenty-five years after his death, Matt’s story is transforming the way that we see, know, and love one another—our neighbors, families, and strangers.

Our campus also continues to create opportunities for partnerships with community organizations that allow us to help further and contribute to their important work. Faith and Grief gatherings bring together dozens of people each month, where mutual support and comfort are shared in a compassionate community.

Streetside Showers—a partner of The Stewpot—offers showers and fresh clothes in our parking lot. The Red Cross holds blood drives in Church Street.

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Excitement is building among neighbors, musicians, and area nonprofit leaders who have come for tours to learn about the complicated history of the space and our plans for its future. Often, as tour groups would approach the third-floor space where legends like Robert Johnson recorded their music, a reverence would descend upon the group.

Afterwards, visitors would express their sincere appreciation of the efforts to preserve the building and make it available to the community. This past summer, in the same space where Johnson recorded, the first episode of 508 Sessions, featuring Sam Burchfield, was filmed.

Encore Park is happening, in more ways than one.

Over the last year, it has hosted numerous gardeners in the Community Garden, including the Horticultural Therapy Program of The Stewpot. These gardeners have sown seeds that have fruited watermelons, spinach, arugula, and more.

The 515 Subcommittee initiated a process for potential developers to submit offers detailing their proposals for the 515 Park property owned by the church.

We’ve also got new neighbors popping up all over—from the mixed-use 16-story building going up at the corner of St. Paul and Young streets, to the newlyopened Harwood Park, which offers an exceptional view onto our neoclassical façade.

The Amphitheater hosted Wood Street Worship’s first birthday with a BBQ bash in the shadow of the 508 Park building which will house its future worship space. It will also once again this fall host the annual All Saints’ Memorial Service for our unhoused friends who have passed away this year.

FPC Dallas worship and facilities staff, together with The Stewpot, will collaborate with local homeless service organizations to create a service marked by moments of silence, the naming of those who lost their lives, and an opportunity to grieve together with the tolling of the bell for each individual.

We have a duty to care and realize the greatest use for all areas of our campus. Critical to this effort are the gifts of the FPC Dallas community and the Foundation, and, of course, our dedicated and talented Facilities Team.

The historic building at 508 Park Avenue, built almost a century ago, is about to enter a new era. The hardhats, soon to be a familiar sight on Park, are a commitment to lifting up its architectural beauty and its lessons; preserving and sharing its history; and creating opportunities for new music, new art, and new experiences for a new Dallas to be created and celebrated.

In 2023, we upgraded our livestreaming capabilities to better deliver the vibrancy of our worship services to those who cannot be with us in person.

Our outdoor signage has been replaced for the first time in

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decades so we can be found by those seeking us and discovered by those passing by.

This year, the Facilities Team has been focused on improving the interior and exterior areas of our campus and considering how different areas can be best used, including for upcoming mission projects. They have also created an Emergency Response Plan which includes installing emergency equipment in the common areas of the church, school, and Community Ministries buildings. Safety Officers have been assigned to initiate this plan throughout our campus.

To prepare for the opening of Harwood Park and all the community members who will be visiting us for events, they worked diligently to freshen up the landscaping and other areas of the campus.

A new parking contractor is helping us maximize our earned income from our parking garage and effectively welcome visitors who come downtown for all the neighborhood attractions.

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IS TO SEEK THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR CITY

AS MINISTERS OF RECONCILIATION,

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THE HOPE OF FPC DALLAS

PEACE, AND JUSTICE.

The hope of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas is to seek the transformation of our city as ministers of reconciliation, peace, and justice. In this way, we seek to “declare God’s mighty acts” here in our corner of the world.

We do this through our sharing of the Word, our hospitality, our love for one another, and our investments of time, talents, and treasure in the world of both today and tomorrow.

our legacy, our future

When we experience what it means to be in community with each other at FPC Dallas—in the spaces in which we celebrate and grieve, in the moments made possible by legacy gifts of those who have passed—we experience how it feels to be loved by those who came before and how we can, in turn, love those who will come after us.

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The FPC Dallas Foundation demonstrates the power of intentionality when it comes to leaving a legacy full of love and impact. On Legacy Sunday in May, we learned how the Foundation is helping to ensure that faith is always “under construction” at FPC Dallas. From the renovation of 508 Park Avenue, to the revamping of Byrd Hall for Wood Street Worship, the Foundation invests in our communal experience both now and in the future.

The funds that comprise the Foundation’s corpus came largely through bequests and other estate gifts. Without these gifts, meeting the expenses of the church on an annual basis would be a challenge, and the work we are able to do in the community would be considerably reduced.

It is through the choice to leave a legacy at FPC Dallas through its foundation that so many who came before have an ongoing impact on who we are as a congregation. And it is possible for each of us to do the same in turn by naming the Foundation as a beneficiary in our estates. If it is your intention to do so, please let us know by indicating it on your enclosed pledge card so we can ensure your membership in the Legacy Society.

It is through the choice to leave a legacy at FPC Dallas through its foundation that so many who came before have an ongoing impact on who we are as a congregation.

No consideration of our legacy or our future would be complete without lifting up the children and youth of FPC Dallas.

This summer, generous legacy gifts to the church from Dorothy Wood as well as the Blakley Family made possible the renovation of the Children’s Wing on the third floor of the church, where so many of our children laugh and learn. Thanks to these gifts, we were able to re-paint and re-floor the area, provide updated furniture in four classrooms, and complete both bathroom and security upgrades. The Children’s Library was spruced up as well, and boasts a host of new books purchased with funds donated in memory of Carole Ward.

This area is used throughout the week and on a year-round basis by FPC Dallas’ children’s ministries as well as The Stewpot’s Children, Youth, and Family Program, and the FPC Day School. The latter holds music classes in this area, and this year will be launching its first kindergarten classroom in the wing.

The legacy of 40 years of nurture, care, and educational programming at FPC Day School

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was celebrated throughout 2023. As it enters its fifth decade, the Day School is growing and improving so that it can serve more students in better and more exciting ways. By the end of the year, it had achieved a four-out-of-four-star rating from Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Rising Star Program, opened a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) Lab, extended financial assistance to over 30 students, held a summer STEAM Camp, and added kindergarten to its offerings.

Eight Day School teachers have been caring for and teaching generations of young students for over 15 years. These include Bonnie Bizelle who has been with the school for an amazing 31 years, Joanna McCullough and Glenda Williams who came to the school 28 years ago, Marvetta Jackson who is celebrating her 21st anniversary, and Sonja Jackson who is celebrating her 20th. One teacher followed in the footsteps of her mother when she became a Day School teacher straight out of high school in 2005. Alicia Tarpley has been with us for over

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The Day School Parents’ Association annual fundraiser came back this year with a (neon) bang. FPC Flashback together with the 40th Anniversary campaign—the school’s inaugural annual campaign helmed by Nell and Jim Carvell and Becky and Larry Sykes— helped ensure the anniversary year was one for the books. A 40th Birthday Party in June, a record number of graduates, recitals, and performances for young and old—including Grandparents’ Day—made the Day School one of the most joyful places on our campus.

Numerous high school seniors, both members of FPC Dallas and The Stewpot’s Children and Youth Program, embarking this year on their college careers are supported in their efforts by the generosity of church members and others who have funded scholarships for that purpose.

These include the Marguerite Mizell and Dr. Dan Foster Scholarships for FPC Dallas students, and the John Freiberger and Mary Louise Tillery Scholarships for graduates of The Stewpot’s Children and Youth Program.

What is more, many alumni of The Stewpot’s Children and Youth Program serve as mentors for current Stewpot students and help them build their professional networks as they grow their careers.

Together we are declaring God’s mighty acts in both word and action through the work of FPC Dallas. Help us create more cherished and sacred moments together in 2024 by making your commitment to the annual campaign by completing the enclosed card or online at fpcdallas.org/2024.

JOHN JOE

a note from john

18 years. Her mother Alice Ware was here when the Day School opened and spent the next 26 years caring for and supporting the development of hundreds of children.

Dear FPC Dallas Family, The journey that this church is on continues to excite and invigorate our staff. 2022 and 2023 represented a return to a campus full of activity. God continues to bless this fellowship financially, as our finances remain stable and strong. Last year’s annual campaign once again topped $1.7 million, the most since 2016. For fiscal year 2022, you fulfilled over 96% of your pledged commitments, and through September of this year we’ve maintained the same pace.

Financially, our campus remains in a very strong position. As many of you are aware, the costs of everyday items as well as those of maintaining our wonderful campus continue to increase. To ensure that we are good stewards of your giving dollars, we have quarterly budget review meetings to assess where course correction is needed. In 2022, the church posted an operating deficit for the first time in the last three years; this was due to non-personnel related increases in expenses. General liability and property insurance costs rose $63,000 year-over-year. Additionally, the church absorbed $122,000 in higher security costs to address an increase in loitering and damage to church property, 508 Park Avenue, and the Community Ministries Building. The good news is that the church’s General Fund (operating) and Special Fund (non-operating) posted a combined surplus of over $400,000.

Campus-wide, FPC Meal Services and FPC Day School both posted surpluses in 2022. FPC Meal Services saw a 35% increase in meal traffic at The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center. Day School enrollment has rebounded and continues to hold steady with more than 100 students enrolled.

Brenda Snitzer, Executive Director of The Stewpot, continues to lead a fantastic expansion of programs. The Stewpot had a very strong operating surplus for 2022 of over $400,000. In addition, this year’s Soup’s On raised the most ever.

Our 2024 campus budgets are focused on implementing the commitments to growth that we’ve made over the last few years. We have a lot of work to do as we near the end of 2023 and prepare for 2024. With the 508 Park Avenue project nearing the construction phase and progress on discerning the future of 515 Park Avenue, this is an exciting time to be a part of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. It is truly a pleasure to see the daily impact this church has on people from all walks of life.

God Bless,

John Joe Sr. Executive Director + Chief Financial Officer - 38 -

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Make your commitment today.

Join us in declaring God’s mighty acts from generation to generation. Make your commitment using the enclosed card or online at fpcdallas.org/2024.

1835 Young St. Dallas, TX 75201 214-748-8051 fpcdallas.org @firstpresdallas @fpcdallas

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