August 2025 – Ministry Newsletter
When you meet together sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart! Ephesians 5:19
From the keyboard of Dr. Ross Jutsum
Dear family and friends:
Greetings from Florida on a very hot July summer day. Tammy and I traveled to Williamstown MA in June where I served for the 23rd time as Music Director for the Williams College Reunion Concert. Again, at the invitation of our dear and long-time friend, Martha Williamson, who attended our wedding 47 years ago, I was privileged to direct and accompany the program. (Martha is best-known as Executive Producer of “Touched by an Angel.”) This was the first time Tammy attended. One especially moving moment was when I led the group in the singing of “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “Amazing Grace.”
Following that weekend, we spent a week at our daughter Heidi’s place in Woodbridge CT “baby-sitting” and spoiling our two oldest grand-children, Grace (12) and Gabriel (9). Heidi was on a business trip to Uganda and Kenya and Dad Ryan was at a writing retreat working on two new books in his capacity at the Yale University Center for Faith and Culture. I also attended the Elm City Vineyard Church before returning home with Tammy – Heidi and Ryan were part of the worship team that Sunday.
Tammy and I are looking forward to our trip to Australia at the end of August. We will visit family in Queensland and serve at a couple of churches. It will be wonderful to catch up with my sister Claire and husband Keith, brother Bruce and wife Janine, sister Margaret and husband Lex, brother-in-law Ian, and numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews! This will be the first time we go back together in more than 15 years.
On July 4th we gave a concert here at our condominium building in Florida. In addition to leading well-known patriotic songs like “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and “God Bless the U.S.A,” I was also joined by 5-year-old Maddie, a grand-daughter of one of our neighbors, and “taught” her how to play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!”
We enjoy fellowshipping with many of our neighbors in our 89-unit building and have developed quite a number of close friendships in our 3 and ½ years since moving away from Southern California. Music truly is the universal language and is a wonderful way to share God’s love in our community.
When we return from Australia, in October we will be traveling to Destin, Florida where I will once again serve as Music Director for a week-long church conference. In addition to providing accompaniment for the worship services, we will also give an evening concert.
Above are our 7 grand-children all together in Conakry, Guinea, where younger daughter Lisa and her husband Jonathan serve as missionaries – Jon as a pilot. Heidi and family traveled from Connecticut for a couple of weeks’ visit. We are so happy to see the cousins getting to know each other so well.
Tammy and I so appreciate our family and friends and are so grateful for your prayers and support of our ministry and those of our daughters.
Please know we continue to pray for you and yours.
With heartfelt gratitude, love and prayers
Ross and Tammy