May 2026 – Ministry Newsletter

May 2026 Newsletter

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs.                                                                                                                                        Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.”  Psalm 100: 1-2, 4

From Dr. Ross Jutsum’s keyboard:

Dear family and friends:

Greetings from Florida on a beautiful spring day.  On the left is a picture of my leading worship on Easter Sunday at the Grace Communion congregation in Big Sandy, TX.  It was wonderful for Tammy and me to be back in our old stomping ground.  (We lived in East Texas for 8 years from 1990 to 1998.)  Along with Pastor George and Sarah Strub and Jerome and Helen Ellard, we caught up with fellow musicians and long-time friends, Tom Crabb, Rick Peterson and Marty Yale.  Following this worship service we were able to catch up with Tammy’s nephew Matthew White, his wife Jennifer and their five children over lunch.  We were hosted for several days near Dallas by Pam and Rand Wilcox, whose wedding I had the pleasure of performing two years ago.  We were also able to connect with Jeff and Suzy Molnar (Suzy Catherwood) who were students in our Young Ambassadors group back in Pasadena, CA in the early 1980s!  It had been about 30 years since I had seen Jeff and Suzy and almost 40 years since Tammy last saw them.  It was great to catch up!

Also, in April we visited another of our old stomping grounds in Sierra Madre CA where we lived for 23 years until our move to Florida in 2022.  We gave a “driveway concert” on our cul-de-sac.  During the pandemic, unable to travel in music ministry very much, I started this tradition where we would invite our friends and neighbors for a one-hour concert of all kinds of music (classical, jazz, hymns, rock and roll etc.) and fielding requests from the audience.  Our neighbor Ken Wagner turned 99 this past March and we wanted to honor him this time with a concert along with 40 or more of our friends.  We were able to stay with our dear friends Eve Jebens and Glenn Hickman whose wedding I also had the privilege of performing several years ago.  Eve and Glenn have a German shepherd named Sweetie and she is really sweet except when a stranger comes to the door!

In June I will once again serve as the Music Director for a Reunion Concert at Williams College in Williamstown MA.  Hosted by our dear long-time friend Martha Williamson (of “Touched by an Angel” fame) I have the opportunity to accompany and direct graduates of the College from the classes of 1974-1978.

We are looking forward to being with our kids and grandkids in Connecticut in August.  Lisa and Jonathan and their 5 children (twins Evelyne and Isaiah aged 10, Solomon aged 8 and twins Aaron and Noah aged 6) will be on a sabbatical from the work with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Guinea in West Africa.  Prayers would be much appreciated for Lisa and her family, and for Heidi as she travels internationally, and for her husband Ryan, who continues as a professor at Yale University teaching theology and serving in the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.  Our other two precious grand-children, Grace (13) and Gabriel (10) are blossoming, and like Evelyne, Isaiah and Solomon, are doing well on their piano studies.  All the boys are also crazy about soccer!

Tammy and I so appreciate our family and friends and are very grateful for your prayers and support of our ministries.  Please know we continue to pray for you and yours.

With gratitude, love and prayers,

Ross and Tammy