09/14/2023
It’s that time of year again, when… bit by bit, the days get shorter and the air turns crisp…. that time of year when some begin thinking about the holidays and I am routinely approached with the same question, “Are you doing ODE this year?”. Perhaps you too were curious, or maybe you were one of the many to already ask me that question. I sincerely appreciate your faithfulness to the ministry and that your heart is kind enough to take the time to enquire about it. And that friends, is the reason for this note.
The last time we had the honor of presenting ‘One December Evening’ at VAC was 2018. Yes, close to five years ago. Ooof. If it wasn’t in print in front of me, I’d have trouble comprehending that it’s been that long.
In late summer of 2019, I had written a fresh production for that year’s Christmas, and the final draft was ready to go…. We had a cast, a song list, and preparations were in full swing. Then, as many of you recall, our Senior Pastor announced that he would be leaving VAC. I was asked by the elders of the church to hit the pause button on ODE for the year, as lessening the load would make it easier for the VAC staff to navigate the situation. Our team graciously did, with the ambition of returning in 2020 to stage the play that was already written.
And then, the world changed…
With the Covid pandemic and the obvious necessary precautions for safety reasons, ODE sat on the shelf for a few years. With the more recent lifting of all gathering regulations, many have thought that the ‘One December Evening’ ministry would now return. Unfortunately, this is not the case; the decision, despite multiple meetings with leadership, was to move in a different direction and create another seasonal outreach opportunity for the church/community.
Leadership felt that too much change in staff and congregants had occurred, and therefore felt the ODE ministry would not be missed. As such, leadership did not feel it necessary to update the gathered church, but did give me their blessing to briefly explain and thank those who had been involved with it. I will respect their decision, and also bless them as they continue their work.
If you’re like me, and One December Evening was part of your Christmas tradition – I’m sorry. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t also share that - though I’m grieving with this news, I count myself extremely blessed to have been a part of such an amazing ministry and era of this church. Many of you trusted this ministry so much that you invited your neighbors, friends and coworkers to join you with traversing across the church thresholds (some of you inviting dozens at a time) to hear stories of how God loves each of us and cares about entering into relationship with us. We all experienced first-hand a VAC community who came together with a common purpose of serving those who attended, showering them with delicious desserts, kindness and favor. We laughed, sometimes cried, definitely had a few heart feels, and we always enjoyed incredible live music.
My purpose in bringing this information to light is to not only answer your kind questions, but to most importantly thank each and every individual that ever served as part of the team, and that number is HUGE! Serving alongside each of you has become some of my most cherished memories over these two decades. You have made a difference in so many peoples’ lives; we repeatedly heard testimonies every year about what was happening from those attending…. This wasn’t just a show as many have come to know Jesus because of your willingness to share your gifts. If you, at any point in the last 20-year run that ODE enjoyed, served as a set designer, set builder, tech team member, host, greeter, Pastor, parking attendant, actor, musician, prayer team, server, etc., etc….. thank you!!! We couldn’t have done any of this without you!! And a very special thanks to my lead team over the years, including Nicole, Kim Severson, Tracy & Sean Arnold, Tammie & Len Egely, Katherine Zalit, Jon Buller, Tyler Lewis, Kevin Bader, Ruth Nordstrom Young, Wayne Loewen, Wil Wiens, Ryan Young, Stuart McKnight, Jeremy Kinniburgh, Reg Reiger and Rick Rabuck. Collectively, our teams logged thousands of hours in bringing these productions to our community, and I wouldn’t take back one minute of it!
Maybe another day, another place…. God will bless us with the opportunity to do it again for His glory.
Love to you all,
Jason
