A Word from Dean

Dear Western Friends,

I hope your Christmas Day was merry. Now we prepare to welcome the New Year!

Your officers will start the year off on a gallop;

• The Session and Deacons have a Leadership Training on the first weekend of 2024,

• The new officers get installed the next day, and

• Session and Deacons meet again within the next two weeks.

• Meanwhile, various reports are being written for our Annual Meeting on the 28th.

I want to highlight this for you so that you can appreciate the dedication of your officers. They give considerable time to ensure that Western runs decently and in order. One or more of them may be reaching out to you, asking you to be on a committee or task force. I hope you will give them your support. To be frank, Covid caused some committees to become under-represented to the extent that they could not function well. 2024 is the year we will reassemble and recommit so Western can thrive!

Please let our Stated Clerk, Becky Koenig, or me know if you have a willingness to serve on a committee, or if you would like to work on a particular event or short-term project. We need some “laborers in the vineyard” (Matthew 20: 1) right away.

Grace and peace,

The Rev. Dr. Dean McDonald

Let me express my thanks, again, to all who made our Advent special, and our Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve beautiful and joyous!