Dear Family in Faith:

     A Happy and Blessed New Year to all in our family of faith. The year 2011 was a wonderful year for our congregation and for this I give thanks to God. My prayer is that the year 2012 will find our congregation as lively, supportive, loving and devoted as we experienced in 2011.
     We ended our year with a wonderful Christmas celebration. Linda and I want to express our thanks to all of you for the many greetings, gifts and supportive words. I also want to extend our thanks to Wendy and Kent Tong for their dedicated work in decorating the church for Christmas. They do a wonderful job for us.
     I don't think we could have topped our celebration on December 18. It was a long, but fun and satisfying day. The service of worship was a real treat. We are truly blessed to have so many fine musicians who share from their hearts. I am grateful for all of the young people who assisted in worship that morning. Even in the midst of our worship that day, we showed what we are all about when four of our men left to assist one of our members who was in distress. Once again, we enjoyed a sumptuous feast following worship and I thank all who made that possible. That afternoon found us leading worship at the Elmwood at the Shawhan. There, we had a special treat when we visited the fourth floor. Former Tiffin Columbian Choral Director, Mary Miller (a resident there), at our request, directed us in four part harmony in singing "Silent Night." It was a beautiful and grace-filled moment. From there we took our songs on the road and then it was back to the church for pizza and Mitch Albom's movie, "Have A Little Faith." Talk about a busy and wonderful day.
     The following week, in the beauty of our sanctuary's Christmas finery, Kevin Brodman and Danielle Bachtell were united in Christian Marriage. It was a beautiful event with wonderful music and a special day for our congregation to celebrate Kevin's arrival home from the Marine Corps.
     Christmas Eve followed the wedding and again, in the beauty of candle light we celebrated our Lord's Birth in song, story, Communion and Fellowship. The sanctuary was full and the love of the Baby of Bethlehem warmed all of our hearts. This year found us returning for Sunday worship on Christmas Day. It was a fun time of fellowship, breakfast, worship and Communion in an informal setting. A fun Christmas was ours this year.
     2012 has begun and it has begun with a special project for our church family. As Janice Hill wondered during our worship on New Year's Day, "Do we know anyone who works on furnaces?" The answer is, "Yes." The next day, our crew from Tong's started installing a new heating system for the Sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, the Lobby and the Office. I am enjoying working on that crew as we replace the existing systems which served us so well for twenty years. The new systems will all be located in the basement with the air conditioning condensers being the only thing outdoors. Our original equipment was all outside. The new furnaces and air conditioning are state of the art, high efficiency Carrier equipment. Kent has designed the system with great care that we might enjoy more optimum heating and cooling while enjoying the cost savings which comes with the newest high efficiency products. We have known for quite awhile that we were on borrowed time with our original equipment.
     As I look to 2012, I am optimistic. Our worship life is strong and vibrant. We are truly a family of faith in the truest and fullest sense of the word. We know God loves us and we rejoice in that love. Not only do we rejoice, we share it with one another and take it out into the world. We have a strong faith and we know the power of prayer.
     Continue to use that power as we pray for all who have special needs, especially those in need of healing. Pray for your church and its leaders. And above all, give thanks to God for the wonderful family in faith he has given each of us.

In Our Savior's Love,

Pastor Doug DeVos

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