A Message from Our New President
Dear Virginia United Methodist Foundation (VAUMF) and Development Company (DevCO) Friends and Ministry Partners,
I write this as I begin my second week serving as your new Foundation president. It gives me great joy to serve Christ’s Church, our VAUMF/DevCo family, our board, and staff in this new way. Leaving my season of ministry as the assistant to the bishop/chief operating officer of the Virginia Conference was a hard decision, but I am confident that this opportunity to serve, and journey with you, is in the will of God. I am deeply thankful to our Bishop, Sue Haupert-Johnson, our Foundation Board of Directors, our DevCo Board of Managers, and our dedicated and gifted staff for placing their trust in my leadership. I am excited to serve Christ and you!
The work that we do as the Foundation is vital in fulfilling the mission of the Church to be a transforming, deeply planted, presence in this world. Let me unpack this statement with a story.
My wife Sallie and I took our rescue beagle, Poppy, for a walk at Robious Landing Park last weekend. We do this occasionally, but this time one thing caught my attention as a metaphor for institutions and leadership during these challenging times. Over to the right of the trail, on the sloping bank of the James River, was a large tree that had fallen over.
As you can see from the photo, the roots were exposed, the trunk was nearly horizontal, and the foliage hung precariously over the James River. What a mess it was! I imagined that erosion, wind, deferred maintenance and shallow roots led to its new bleak reality. Simply, because of its shallow roots and lack of care, the tree could not weather storms and other environmental stressors.
Deep life-sustaining roots and faithful caretaking are always essential. This is especially true during times of difficulty. What stressors do you have in your life? For each of us that is a personal question, but we, undoubtedly, have communal stressors as well – political and social turmoil, wars, the economy, injustices, an illegal drug epidemic, etc.
Whether personal or communal, local or international, spoken or unspoken, the more evocative question we might ask ourselves is not “What stressors do we have in our lives?” but “How deep are our roots in creating a solid foundation?”
A solid foundation, one with deep spiritual roots exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23) and a divine call “…to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” is life-giving and transforming; this is especially true when we are experiencing challenging times, personally and within our global family. (see 1 Peter 4:10)
Your Virginia United Methodist Foundation and Development Company are growing and replete with vibrant fruit; in short, the VAUMF and DevCo have a strong foundation with deep roots (grown over 54 years of dedicated Christ-centered service and mission.) Our staff members are exceptionally gifted, client-driven, and dedicated “stewards of God’s grace.” We see our fiduciary responsibilities as a sacred duty, our client relationships as a precious joy, and seek to be the transformative presence of God in all that we do in our ministry.
We want to get to know you and see if there is any way we can serve you as partners in ministry. If you want to learn more about your Foundation and DevCo, feel free to reach out to me or any staff member. You can also read our 2024 Annual Report here. A plethora of information about your Foundation and DevCo is available on our website.
It was a great walk with Sallie and Poppy at Robious Landing Park. That tree reminded me of the words of the prophet Jeremiah during another season not unlike our own, so I close with his words:
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
– Jeremiah 17:7-8 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)
With thanks and prayers,
President, The Virginia United Methodist Foundation
