Merry Christmas, beloved FedUp supporters! God is surely with and among us. We give thanks for this blessing throughout the season. I hope you are enjoying special moments with family and friends during this joyous time when many of us lose track of the days. Soon 2025 will be upon us, and I cannot wait to see how God moves in my life and our ministry in the days to come.

Before we close out 2024, I want to leave you all with some very important updates. FedUp is about to begin our fifth year of ministry. Since the beginning, my devoted board members have been by my side. Three founding board members have remained with FedUp through the quite literal blood, sweat, and tears that it takes to begin a meal service focused organization from the ground up. They poured their heart and soul into FedUp as startup ministry which has now transitioned into a structured organization that has experienced immense growth. Their skills in program development, grant writing, and relationship building have paved the way for FedUp to make a great impact in Southeast Michigan.

It is with the utmost respect and heartfelt gratitude for their service that I announce the transition of these three dedicated leaders who helped FedUp become what it is today. Please join me in raising prayers of Thanksgiving for the service of founding board members Tajalli Hodge (President), Pastor Branden Hunt (Vice President), and Dan McConnell (at large member). The years of service they have given to our community were instrumental in our growth. May God grant them rest and joy in the days ahead.

Community member Mykayla Richards has served on FedUp’s board for the past few years, and with her recent move back to Colorado we celebrate the end of her service with FedUp. Her presence on our team brought a powerful and unique experience from the perspective of someone who has a lived experience of homelessness. We are grateful for the ways she worked alongside us attending Board meetings, serving meals from the food truck, and leading at our worship services. May God bless her in the next phase of her journey in Colorado.

As we move into 2025, it is with great joy that I announce Sarah Teare will be transitioning from our Board Secretary into the role of FedUp’s Board President. Sarah has decades of experience working alongside different communities throughout Washtenaw County through her day job at Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. She has served on FedUp’s board for almost three years now and has been a voice of clarity for our leadership team throughout times of transition. She’s a fantastic grant writer but an even better grant reporter who never lets me forget a deadline! She serves on multiple committees within our organization. Sarah is one of my greatest encouragers, and I am so blessed to be working with her in this capacity.

I am also proud to announce that moving from an at large board member seat into the role of FedUp’s Vice President is Barbara Steer. Though Barbara hasn’t been on the board from the beginning, she has been a part of our ministry since our very first free meals at Liberty Plaza in Ann Arbor back in the summer of 2021. Barbara’s years of service with FedUp have looked different – some days she took orders on the food truck, other days she prepped meals in the kitchen, and sometimes she came in to simply wash dishes. These days Barbara meets us at the Day Time Warming Center in Ann Arbor to serve food on Wednesdays and she has joined our Finance and Fundraising Committee. Barbara’s dedication to this work is surely a blessing to our community!

Continuing on as our fearless Treasurer is Sedona Schmitt. I am so grateful for Sedona's last almost two years of service and look forward to another fruitful term with her leadership.

As you can see, I am living this “both/and” Lutheran experience. I am deeply grateful for the profound ways my four departing board members have supported me in this work. I am sad to see them go, but oh so excited for what lies ahead.

Sarah, Barbara, Sedona and I have some announcements about new folks joining our team in January, so stay tuned for next month’s newsletter where you can learn more. If you are interested in serving on the board of FedUp Ministries or volunteering in any capacity, please reach out to me at pastoranna@fedupministries.org.

With love and holiday blessings,

Pastor Anna

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year