Dear First Pres,

   I first started in full-time vocational ministry in 1996. I was working with kids as a Young Life Intern up in Oakhurst. Since then, every spring, I’ve been involved in some sort of graduation acknowledgment for high school seniors. I’ve attended hundreds of graduation parties. I’ve encouraged hundreds of parents over the years as their teens made the significant transition from high school life to college, military or working life. I’ve even stood with the graduates (particularly as we celebrate all those graduating from high school, college, or post-graduate work) as a graduate. But this year is different.

   On Sunday we’ll be celebrating grads during worship. If you are celebrating a graduation this year, I encourage you to be in worship so that we can acknowledge this important accomplishment and give the Lord thanks. It’s always one of my favorite church moments. This year, for the first time, my own daughter will be standing with the graduates.  It’s a bit surreal for me, but I’m excited. And, I’m extraordinarily grateful.

   When Diane and I arrived in Fresno in October 2012, Kate was 10, Andrew was 8, and Bekah Joy was 6. (Now imagine me sitting with that sentence for several minutes as my mind was flooded with memories because that’s what just happened.) Over these past eight and a half years you, FPC Fresno, have embraced them, encouraged them, engaged them, and loved them. You have been pseudo-parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and big brothers and sisters. You have volunteered in children’s and youth ministry. You have financially supported the hiring of summer staff. You have helped to update the Kingdom Kids, Ignite, and Rooted spaces on campus. And you have prayed for them again and again and again. So, this year, as I stand as pastor and parent with the graduates, please hear me say this from the bottom of my heart: thank you.

None of us are meant to walk alone. We’re designed for community. Each of us actually needs the community of faith to walk in faith. Diane and I can’t raise our kids in Christ on our own. We need others to walk with us in that great endeavor. The same is true for every parent in our congregation and community. So, I pray that Sunday as we celebrate our graduates, young and not so young, may the Lord inspire us to continue being this kind of community for one another and for whoever the Lord would bring into our midst.

Blessings,

Jeremy Vaccaro

P.S. Last year we celebrated with Meagan Bergem as she graduated from seminary. On Friday, at 3 pm she comes before our presbytery for her final examination to be received as a Teaching Elder (pastor). Please pray for her. Then, in faith, mark your calendars for Sunday evening, June 13, when we’ll be ordaining and installing Meagan as our Assistant Pastor for Children and Youth!