2022 Impact Report

IMPACT REPORT

Vienna Presbyterian Church

A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR HOPE

Joy and strength – two words for 2022! We experienced so much joy as a congregation, and after a couple years-worth of COVID and pastoral transition, we regained our strength through that joy. By the time 2022 came to a close, we could move forward with a unified mission and purpose. We are “a caring fellowship, bringing Christ into our diverse community, through discipleship and service.” As you read this impact report, I pray that you will be able to see that mission lived out in so many different ways.

As I think about the “caring fellowship,” I am struck by the ministries of groups such as DivorceCare and GriefShare I’m not sure that we as a congregation realize how many people have joined our fellowship because they were introduced to us through those ministries Our Deacons and pastors tirelessly show up with meals and support for those who are sick or grieving

While the ministry of the caring fellowship is a quiet one, the ministry of “bringing Christ into our diverse community” is a boisterous and exuberant endeavor Everywhere the community turned this year, they saw VPC show up and pour ourselves out for the community Between events like Church Street Stroll and Trunk-or-Treat, Bags of Love and Rise Against Hunger, we have rebuilt and strengthened so many relationships among our neighbors and larger community

Holding all of that together is the ministry of “discipleship and service.” From small groups to large gatherings, opportunity upon opportunity was offered to all ages throughout the year to draw closer to Jesus. With the addition of Maddie Schmidt as our Director of Children’s Ministry and Beth Webster, stepping in to lead our Youth Ministry until our new director arrives, we have seen a reenergized NextGen ministry that engages children, youth, and whole families. Their partnership with Kim Snyder, our Director of Life Groups and Adult Education, has helped us to make sure that we are meeting people where they are and helping them to move closer to Christ

Perhaps my greatest joy this year is seeing the strength of the lay people of this church Our volunteers are so faithful, so smart, and so dedicated, that YOU – led by the Spirit and strengthened by Christ – have embraced the idea that WE are the church together!

Our Session has called our Annual Congregational Meeting for Sunday, February 5 at 10:15am in the Sanctuary We will meet for the purposes of: 1) Receiving the Annual Report and the 2023 budget 2) Approving the Terms of Call (compensation) for our Lead Pastor (me) and 3) electing an additional Elder and additional Deacons to fill out unexpired terms. In order to celebrate the year gone by and respect everyone ’ s time, we are providing this report to you in advance so that you can take the time to review it and ask any questions that you might have in advance of the meeting. Please reach out to me at hope.lee@viennapres.org, Chuck Allen (Clerk of Session) at session@viennapres.org, or Nina Graves (Managing Director) at nina.graves@viennapres.org so that we can answer your questions or receive your comments in a timely manner.

As we begin this new year, my prayer is that our joy in the Lord will continue to increase as our strength in His power grows!

In the Grip of Grace,

“The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength ” Nehemiah 8:10

An "under the radar" ministry, VPC's confidential, quiet, one-on-one ministry of care, Stephen Ministry, was well used by God in 2022

Twenty-four men and women actively served as Stephen Ministers. They cared for more than 30 individuals in 2022. But it's not about numbers. Our Lord brought healing and hope in the lives of hurting and injured men and women through these highly-trained and deeply devoted Care Givers.

In the fall, VPC relaunched our 60s Plus fellowship group with a potluck luncheon and a guest speaker This group was longing to reconnect and it has become a popular monthly event

A CARING FELLOWSHIP

Paul tells us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn ” (Romans 12:15) VPC’s GriefShare Ministry does just that Using the 13-lesson videos and personal workbook developed by GriefShare, they met via Zoom on Sunday evenings with those who have lost loved ones. Yes, we mourn; but there is also rejoicing when we see participants seriously reading the Bible for the first time and some joining our church family; when we see participants talk about their loved ones with smiles rather than tears.

My participation in GriefShare has put me on right path for healing and recovery and has made a difference in my life

I think I can gain more insight and closeness to God if I dig deeper into the Scriptures and this workshop enables you to do that

God returned VPC's DivorceCare Ministry to hands-on, in-person care in early 2022, delivering historic numbers of suffering men and women to VPC's DivorceCare. Family is one of God's masterpieces. When the home breaks the heart breaks, resulting in a broken spirit.

As friendships were made and our relationship with God strengthened, the pain caused by depression, grief, fear, and loneliness, has been positively affected We also added Wes Hildebrandt to assist as a Facilitator alongside our passionate and caring Facilitator, Judy Dressendorfer

BRINGING CHRIST INTO OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY

In May, the Ministry for Racial Reconciliation and Healing (MRRH) hosted an event with Dr Esau McCaulley discussing One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism in a Multicultural Church This was followed by a series of lively classes and discussions about Ethnicity, Justice, and the People of God.

MRRH hosted the second annual Justice for All concert as part of the Town of Vienna’s Liberty Amendment month activities. We look forward to another great year of continuing to promote inclusion and awareness in our caring congregation and community

VPC Preschool is in its 36th year of weekday ministry to children ages 2 5-5 years Our mission is to provide a welcoming environment to all families, churched and unchurched, that is Christcentered and dedicated to supporting families in the Christian nurturing of their children, by focusing on the spiritual, social, cognitive, physical and emotional needs of the preschool child.

You may not know that our students reflect a diverse community In addition to English, in our kids’ homes they may hear Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Gaelic, Farsi, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian and Hindi They come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and even a few different religious backgrounds At VPCP, they hear about God’s love and His world, and speak the language of laughter, friendship, fun and learning!

VPC has been bringing Christ into our diverse community for more than 20 years through the Great Banquet Ministry! In 2022, VPC hosted four weekends attended by dozens of people from a wide variety of cultural and racial heritages and churches across the region as well as places as far as Mongolia! Guests were immersed in God’s agape love and grace, taking time to be still, to listen, to share, and to hear Christ’s plan for this world and for their lives. Attendees came away energized to serve the Lord and make Him known in their churches, homes, workplaces, and communities. What a great way to offer up our time, our talents, and resources like our building and kitchen to serve our diverse community! For more about the Great Banquet, talk to a friend who’s been or visit www.novagb.org.

BRINGING CHRIST INTO OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY

VPC was all-in with our community. On Easter Sunday, we hosted a community-wide Easter Egg hunt on the Town Green The energy was out of the roof with all ages attending.

In August we hosted a community-wide Block Party followed by our Open House: Taste and See where we showcased every ministry and newcomers and those who have attended for years got a refresher on what VPC has to offer.

In October we hosted two events: a Fall Festival highlighting two mission partners; Belong! and CHO and Trunk-or-Treat where we had more than 1200 people having fun in our parking lot while we handed out tons of candy

We kicked off Advent with Church Street Stroll where we opened the door to the community offering crafts, food, music and entertainment

In December, we held our Children's Musical, Cathedral Brass Concert, Glorious Sounds of Christmas, The Longest Night Service, three Christmas Eve services with an impromptu pageant, and a meaningful Christmas Day service featuring

Discipleship happens at every age, and our NextGen ministries disciple to the youngest among us, from babies/toddlers to high school NextGen turned the page to the next chapter of VPC with some added staff changes: Rachel Peck as Administrative Assistant for Outreach; Maddie Schmidt came on board in July as Children's Ministry Director; Beth Webster, stepped in as Interim Youth Ministry Director in September. The new crew launched last fall ready to take some chances and try new things.

THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

In Children's Ministry we implemented new curriculum helping kids be curious about God as they explore their identity and four key truths: God knows me, Jesus loves me, the Holy Spirit leads me, and I am a child of God. First Sundays brings together families, preteens and teens for dinner

We prayed over backpacks for students off all ages as they headed back to school and fellowship. We started new opportunities for fellowship with Playground Playdates and Moms Morning Meetups providing connection beyond Sundays.

Our Youth Ministry, hosted VPC's annual Youth Sunday where the worship services were planned and led by our youth During the summer we offered several opportunities for college and high school students to get together for a time of fellowship, fun, and studying the Word

Many of our youth participated in the Fun in the Son Youth Conference in Hilton Head and attended The Philadelphia Project Fueling Up gave youth the chance to "fuel up" for the week by enjoying breakfast and the Word on Sunday mornings.

THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

This past year, God worked through VPC’s Adult discipleship groups to provide meaningful experiences to grow in faith and community for more than 550 people Weekly, we saw people heading to their Sunday classes smiling and eager to participate in Bible studies, share parenting advice and conversation, and a have the chance to respectfully address current controversial topics. New life groups (small groups) marveled at the depth of the prayerrequests and Bible study they shared after just a handful of meetings. Groups that have met for years rejoiced in the sense of family they’ve created Online groups brought people together who could not otherwise participate in a group environment that brings them weekly encouragement

Each of our faith journeys with God and this church matters to us as individuals, and to those who experience the light of Christ through us. Thank you to the 80+ group leaders who volunteered to prepare lessons and places to belong because they’ve caught this vision for discipleship!

God is working for sure We are having so much fun getting to know each other and sharing our faith journeys.

We’re so glad there's a space at church where people can discuss complex contemporary issues among Christian friends

I’m definitely a work in progress, and I treasure the support and love of those who understand and accept me as I am

THROUGH SERVICE

What another amazing year of Mission Ministry we have to look back on! The year started with a return to in-person Hypothermia Prevention programming – how we missed personally greeting and welcoming our guests during the pandemic! This congregation provided food, a warm welcome, blessing bags, prayers and a safe and warm place to lay their heads for two weeks.

In February, we met our Afghan Refugee family – Khadija, Mujtaba, and Abdul. Released to to our care from Walter Reed Hospital where Mujtaba was recovering from severe injuries, they settled into an apartment in Fairfax where Mujtaba attends Woodson High School and Khadija works for The Kensington as a Certified Nursing Assistant Abdul is living in Maryland and working at Wegmans

It has been a long road for them, but the volunteer team that has walked through every step with them, surely exemplifies Christ’s commandment:

"The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" Leviticus 19:34

We who have been called to care for three Afghan humanitarian parolees have seen firsthand the work of our loving God Indeed, we owe it to our sovereign Lord to witness to His work in our work Our names are not important, indeed, they are distractions; the contributions we made are the story

A team member reflects on the experience:

THROUGH SERVICE

This year, Next Gen participated in Local Mission Week, The Philadelphia Project, packing meals with Rise Against Hunger, assembling blessing bags with our new Veteran’s Ministry, making 110 goody bags for the Town of Vienna’s Parks & Rec and Public Works departments, packaging cookie mixes for local families, making cards for kids in Florida impacted by Hurricane Ian, writing cards for those in our congregation who needed extra love this Christmas, AND helping pack 306 boxes with Bags of Love 2.0 as part of our Giving Thanks and Advent Conspiracy Events

Once again, the Easter Baskets that VPC provided for our partner Homestretch, Inc , helped share Christ’s love to children who are consistently amazed that people they don’t even know care! It’s the perfect embodiment of Christ’s love! Also in the spring, we sponsored our second Earth Care event and, drum roll –Team Vienna was the top earning team in the nation for the World Vision 6K Walk for Water! Thousands of those living without access to water will have changed lives because of you!

In June we wrapped up our Bags of Love program. Launched in the early days of the pandemic, VPC responded generously for 24 months, with more than 500 volunteers contributing over 5,000 volunteer hours, distributing 6,840 boxes of groceries to 27,360 individuals –in total, over 500,000lbs! As needs continue, we ’ ve launched Bags of Love 2.0 to provide cleaning and hygiene supplies to local school pantries

We said good-bye and a huge thank you to Deb Rymer and Suzi Janda for their wonderful contributions to VPC’s award-winning ESOL program. It was wonderful to welcome Staci Stoklos and Melinda Matzen as the new team. God has richly blessed this program and we continue to celebrate the diverse community that is drawn to this beautiful ministry

2023 UNIFIED SPENDING PLAN

Due to the faithful generosity of our congregation and diligent management of the resources to which we are entrusted, VPC is going into 2023 in a strong financial position. Unified giving exceeded our 2022 program, operations, and salary expenses However, accounting standards require us to recognize Glenda Simpkins Hoffman’s 15-month restructuring package in the amount of $190,796 as a 2022 expense even though the package will be paid out in 2023 and first quarter of 2024 This out-of- the ordinary expense resulted in us finishing the year at a loss by $46,000

Your gifts to the Unified Ministry and Missions fund support our Kingdom work throughout the church Gifts designated for a particular program or mission partner are always used for the purpose intended and help VPC meet our budgeted commitments Designated gifts are used first to fund those budgetary commitments If designated gifts equal or exceed our budgetary commitments, Session has the ability to modify the budget to allow additional expenditures.

Complete financial reports and detailed budget information are always available to members. Contact Nina Graves at nina.graves@viennapres.org or 703.938.9050 ext. 133, or Kellie Owens at kellie.owens@viennapres.org or 703.938.9050 ext. 121 for information.