Dear Members and Friends of West Congregational Church,UCC, 

What a time this is for being a church! What a time this is to be sharing the life of Jesus Christ in the ministry of West Congregational Church! In the past three years,we have experienced more challenges and changes than previously would have spanned a generation. Surely by the grace of God,we have navigated these uncharted waters with faith,love for God and each other, resilience, and good humor. And here we are, embarking on a new phase our life and mission. 

  Through all the changes of pastoral leadership and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we've continued to be a mission focused church. Our food pantry continues to serve about a dozen households every week. 

Recovery groups continue to be grateful for the use of our space. It remains our privilege to host weddings and funerals,both for people connected to our congregation and people in our neighborhood. And,while "Little Learners Family Ctr." which uses our building, is not our program,it provides a much-needed service to families in our community. 

  We now have been blessed with the 'bridge' ministry of Rev. David Keller and Rev. Linda Fraser since October 2022. David and Linda bring their distinct styles of worshipleadership to our Sunday morning experience. They also are providing consistent pastoral care to our constituents,offering adult educational opportunities, and supporting our lay leadership. They are not our called,settled pastors, but they are helping us prepare for that next pastor of our congregation. We've enclosed a flier which introduces Linda and David and give you and others ways to be in contact with them. 

 Our theme for this year's Pledge Campaign is, Rooted in Love. We chose this theme because it reminds us that, thoughout these past few years have tossed us around,we remain rooted in our love for God and God's love for us. Being rootedin love has kept us stable. But we need your support for us to a fruitful community of faith. We hope you will prayerfully consider a generous pledge of support for our ministry and missionin the coming year. We knew this before the Pandemic, butit has become crystal clear during the pandemic: being generous lifts our spirits, enables us to be part of a community, and just feels good. Of course, your generosity supports our ministries, butit also blesses you,the giver. 

  A pledge card accompanies this letter. Your pledge of financial support enables our church's leadership to build a responsible budget which spends in accord with our resources. If you haven't pledged before, we hope this will be the year that you start. If you have been pledging,we hope you will increase your pledge. You can bring your pledge to church,or mailit, attention "Financial Secretary'' any time before November 13. On that day, we will dedicate our pledges and celebrate the renewal that is blessing our church. We hope to see you there. 

Yours in Christ's love, 

  Brian Wheeler, Chair Trustees,