2017
Newsletter – Aug-Oct 2017
After twenty years of “State of the Heart Ministries” and sharing in hundreds of worship services in quite a variety of places, denominations, worship traditions and situations, we prayerfully considered what would best serve as a worship resource to provide for our many brothers and sisters who meet in homes, in house churches and fellowship groups. More often than not, there is no live accompaniment for the singing, and many folks have chosen to use worship and praise DVDs that are available out there.
2017
Newsletter — May-July 2017
The year began with a delightful visit to Grace Communion in Bellflower CA, a church I have served in at least twenty times in the past twenty years! The following weekend took me to East Texas serving in the Dallas North and Mount Pleasant congregations of the Church of God 7th Day, and at New Beginnings Christian Fellowship in Big Sandy, and a jam-packed Monday morning with concerts for both the Big Sandy Junior High and Elementary schools and a program at the Big Sandy Rotary Club! Many thanks go to pastors Raul, Jose and Jerome, and my wonderful hosts in Longview, dear friends and college classmates, Sue and Lee Berger.
2017
Newsletter – February-April 2017
We just received a text from Nairobi, Kenya where Heidi, accompanied by now nine-month old Gabriel Joseph, is doing some important work with her organization, Innovations for Poverty Action. This well-traveled young man spent two weeks in December with Heidi and Ryan and sister Grace doing some team work in Guatemala for IPA in conjunction with Ryan’s work at Yale.
2017
January 2017 Ministry Newsletter
In mid-September, Tammy and I were delighted to participate in the dedication of Gabriel Joseph McAnnally-Linz, along with Heidi and Ryan and proud sister 3 year old Grace at the Elm City Vineyard Church in New Haven CT. I was also honored to make a return visit to Grace’s Neighborhood Music School and give a concert for her lively pre-school class of three and four year olds.
2016
Newsletter — August-October 2016
On June 11, our daughter Lisa and her husband Jonathan welcomed fraternal twins, Evelyne Kathryn and Isaiah Frederick, to their family. Both weighed in at almost 7 pounds and we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them these past 9 weeks! It is a very exciting and special time in the Jutsum household! For three weeks, our growing family also welcomed daughter Heidi and her husband Ryan, and their 3 year old Grace Victoria and 3 month old Gabriel Joseph.
2016
Newsletter — May-July 2016
On Thursday, April 28, our older daughter Heidi, husband Ryan and grand-daughter Grace welcomed Gabriel Joseph into the world and to their precious family. Gabriel weighed in at 8 pounds, and was 21 inches long and he has long fingers!!! Of course, Tammy and I are thrilled to welcome our second grand-child and look forward to meeting him very soon.
2016
Newsletter — February-April 2016
2 and ½ year-old first grandbaby Grace will be welcoming a baby brother in April. Heidi, Ryan and Grace joined us for two weeks over the holidays and we enjoyed many wonderful times together, including lots of singing and dancing! In other exciting news, we learned that younger daughter Lisa and her husband Jonathan, currently serving in Central Asia, are also expecting and they will welcome TWINS in May!!!
2015
Newsletter — November 2015-January 2016
On November 8th, I was picked up from my Milwaukee Airport motel at 5 a.m. by Pastor Raymond Olson, a dear friend and pastor of Harbor Missionary Church (a Grace Communion congregation in Juneau WI.) Ray also serves full-time as a Prison Chaplain at Dodge Correctional Institution in nearby Waupun WI. After driving some 55 miles, we arrived at the facility, went through multiple levels of security and set up in the chapel for the 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. worship services.
2015
Newsletter — August-October 2015
Uganda, and Kenya for Heidi’s role as External Relations Manager for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). In each country, there is an IPA office, and Heidi visited fieldwork, trained staff, and attended conferences throughout the four weeks. In this time, Ryan was also able to finish and submit for publishing his new book with Miroslav Volf, A Public Faith in Action: How to Think Carefully, Engage Wisely, and Vote with Integrity, due out early next year.
2015
Newsletter — May-July 2015
Tammy’s dear mother, Grace, passed away on March 20, the first day of Spring, in her 85th year. Grace had lived with us in Southern California for more than 10 years before moving up to Washington state a few years ago to be closer to Tammy’s sister, Linda and her family. Since my “Mum” died way back in 1980, “Granny,” as Grace was affectionately known, was like a mother to me as well these past few decades, and dearly loved by our daughters, Heidi and Lisa. We held a “Celebration of Life” at our home a few weeks ago, connected by Face Time with family and friends in Washington and Texas. In addition to sharing fond memories of Grace, we also sang some of her favorite songs.