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Susan Alexander Yates

Susan Alexander Yates

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A Celebration: God’s Spectacular Faithfulness Over 40 Years

by Susan Alexander Yates

 This past weekend we had a big celebration at the Falls Church Anglican.  My husband, John stepped aside as the Senior Pastor of the church after 40 years. Family and friends came from all over the country to celebrate with us, including our 21 grandchildren and our 5 kids and their spouses. We are so thankful for these wonderful years here but most of all — above all — for the faithfulness of God during these years. 

We were forty years younger — and dripping with children!

Over these years we’ve seen God’s hand in the way He has:

  • Brought many into a personal relationship with Himself.
  • Sent numerous people out to the mission field.
  • Taught us how to be his ministers in the marketplace.
  • Built up ministries:
    • a significant youth ministry and ministry to families
    • fellows ministry (post-college internship),
    • Timothy program (training young church planters),
    • a healing center where many come for healing prayer.
  • Led us through a painful separation from our denomination and the loss of all of our property.
  • Enabled us to build a new sanctuary in a diverse neighborhood which will enable us to broaden our outreach to internationals.  

We simply cannot count the number of ways He has been faithful. 

One of the biggest blessings for us has been the people that God has brought to our church. We have raised our kids together, cried together, laughed together, grown up together. We have been taught, challenged, pushed, forgiven, and stretched by these wonderful friends who have “filled in our gaps.” 

Here are some photos from this weekend. Many friends and family came from far places to celebrate with us.

Now we are looking forward to a sabbatical — time to rest and time to hang out with our kids. After a while we will be back at church to be involved as is appropriate.

In the future we hope to focus on training up young pastors.

Today, we are simply overwhelmed with gratefulness to God for giving us the privilege to serve, learn and grow with these amazing people, our family.

It’s a great hand-off, John Yates to Sam Ferguson! 

 

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May 29, 2019 · 10 Comments

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Comments

  1. Victoria Pope says

    June 13, 2019 at 10:07 am

    John and Susan,
    Wow! What a wonderful ride!!! I am so proud and thankful for you both as well as your incredible ministry. I wish I could have been there.
    Enjoy your sabbatical and perhaps God will provide a way to reunite with y’all in the near future.
    My love always!!!!
    Vicki

    Reply
  2. mary ann says

    May 31, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    Beautiful-well done good and faithful servants of the Lord!
    Love you~

    Reply
  3. Claudia says

    May 30, 2019 at 10:53 pm

    My heart is just full looking at these wonderful family pictures, and remembering our times with you! Blessings, and God’s grace be with you wherever He leads you. Come see us in Charleston!

    Reply
    • Susan Alexander Yates says

      June 13, 2019 at 9:31 am

      Claudia, thank you so much for writing! We do miss ya’ll and we may show up on your door step one day!

      Reply
  4. Linda Reeb says

    May 30, 2019 at 10:43 pm

    Congratulations from Lloyd and me. You guys have been mentors to us from afar and we have learned a lot about family life from you both. Thank you for your willingness to share!

    Reply
    • Susan Alexander Yates says

      June 13, 2019 at 9:33 am

      Dear Linda,
      Thanks so much for writing! It means a lot. We are thankful for you and Lloyd! Blessings, Susan

      Reply
  5. Jennifer Tricarico says

    May 30, 2019 at 7:01 am

    Susan – this post brings all the beauty and tenderness… so glad to hear your voice on this a bit. My Instagram post on this said (sorry if this is long), “We welcomed the AMAZING Sam Ferguson as our new pastor and we are so excited about what God will do in this new season. So it’s sending off a pastor we have loved as he enjoys a well-earned retirement, and welcoming a pastor we also love. It’s just a crazy privilege to be joined into this ‘body’ and a witness to healthy, Godly leadership in action. It’s all the feels…Reverent. Celebratory. Bittersweet. Exciting. It’s…Holy.”
    We love you both, Susan. Thanks for your prayers and leadership – in my fam’s case for 17 years. ENJOY the sabbatical. We will miss you!

    Reply
    • Susan Alexander Yates says

      June 13, 2019 at 9:34 am

      Dear Jennifer,
      Thank you so much for loving us well all these years and for welcoming Sam. We truly do believe the best is yet to dome!!!Blessings, on you and your family! Love, Susan

      Reply
  6. Amy Boucher Pye says

    May 30, 2019 at 4:31 am

    I was following the celebratory weekend with interest from across the Pond. So wonderful to have these celebrations for God’s mercy and love through your service over the years. I’ll be ever grateful for how John prayed for the release of a husband for me! Here I am in England 20+ years later!

    Enjoy the rest and reliving of the fun celebration. Thanks for modeling the spiritual discipline of celebration to us!

    Reply
    • Susan Alexander Yates says

      June 13, 2019 at 9:35 am

      Thanks so much Amy! We think of you often and are proud of your family’s good work in the UK. Have a wonderful week with Tara and the girls! Love, Susan

      Reply

Hello, I’m Susan.

Susan Alexander Yates

I’m a wife (of more than 50 years), mom to five children (including a set of twins), and grandmother to 21 (including a set of quadruplets!). My favorite time of the year is when all my kids and grandkids are together for a week of “cousins and family camp” in the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia.

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More of our Family Camp fun from Labor Day weekend More of our Family Camp fun from Labor Day weekend. Such a joy! ⁣
⁣
Be sure to check out the blog for more details and pics. (Link in bio or go to susanalexanderyates.com/blog)⁣
⁣
* Poppy (John) is always happy to get help with the horses and the kids love them.⁣
* There's always a competition of some kind going on! Volleyball, a hula hoop contest, a ping-pong tournament. ⁣
* The "ice cream gutter" is a cherished annual tradition!⁣
* Lots of hanging out, and even some quiet moments, but not a lot of sleep. ⁣
⁣
If you want to host a camp or family event of your own, check out my book Cousin Camp for all kinds of ideas. (Link in bio.)⁣
⁣
#christianmom #christianfamily #grandparent #cousincamp #familycamp
One Word: Mystery One Verse: “To them God ch One Word: 
Mystery 
 
One Verse:
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
 
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You are a God of mystery. It’s a glorious mystery. I can’t explain you even though sometimes I want to. Your mystery is part of what makes you so much greater than man. Thank you that you, with all of your glorious mystery, have chosen to dwell in me.
John and I are in Colorado for a week’s vacation John and I are in Colorado for a week’s vacation, still celebrating 54 years of marriage! We had a fun dinner, sharing about folks who have been role models-mentors for us in ministry and family life over these years. It sparked a fun discussion and thankful memories!
We're so grateful we got to host another Family Ca We're so grateful we got to host another Family Camp over Labor Day weekend!⁣
⁣
Here's a peek behind the scenes. I'm sharing all the details (and more pics!) over on the blog, check it out. (Link in bio or go to susanalexanderyates.com/blog)⁣
⁣
1 - We had 33 of us this year!⁣
2 - So much prep and shopping. But I never clean before they come because I learned that's futile. 😜⁣
3 - Lots of cousin bonding.⁣
4 - My daughter-in-law @christenbyates, who's a professional artist, set up an art station this year and the kids loved it.⁣
5 - Cousins with their camp journals. (I keep the journals at my house and they get to write in them every year.)⁣
6 - John led a short teaching time every day, this year on Psalm 139.⁣
7 - Meals are crazy when you're cooking for 33 people!⁣
8 - There are shoes everywhere. 😂 ⁣
9 - The kids actually did dinner cleanup this year, without any prompting! ⁣
10 - A few of our guys.💙⁣
⁣
#christianfamily #cousincamp #familycamp #christianmom #grandparent
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One Verse:

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
 
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Cousin love at Family Camp! These are 2 of our you Cousin love at Family Camp! These are 2 of our youngest grands. (We have 21!)

Catch the blog later this week for details and more pics.
This photo of me and John is from our trip to Isra This photo of me and John is from our trip to Israel last fall. When we first got married, I didn't know what being a pastor's wife would entail. Now after more than 50 years of marriage I understand a little better (although I can always learn more!).⁣
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I'm sharing an interview over on my blog with @thegospelcoalition's Front Row Seat series on Supporting Our Husbands.⁣
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We discussed how pastors’ wives can support and encourage their husbands in ministry, marriage, and life. But so much of this applies to any marriage, whether your husband is a pastor or not.⁣
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You might want to share it with your pastor's wife -- it will encourage her!⁣
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This is how we feel right now -- we finished our A This is how we feel right now -- we finished our Annual Family Camp yesterday!

4 days with 33 kids and grands; 19 teens sleeping on floors and outside, 44 bags of trash, 15 gallons of ice cream, 67 dirty towels, 135 ping pong games, 90 individual miles hiking on the AT, gleaning from Psalm 139, 532 tickles and hugs, and 2 exhausted grandparents--who are deliriously grateful!

More pics coming soon.

* numbers are estimates 😆

Copyright © 2023 · Susan Alexander Yates · All Rights Reserved
Calligraphy by Jessica Blanchard · Paintings by Christen Yates
Blog and Ask Susan Photo by Natalie Puls Photography · Books Photo by Cambria Elizabeth

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