Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Abba to give you the kindom.

Luke 12:32

We are looking ahead to Memorial Day, which represents many things to many people. In fact, Memorial Day was one of the first times I learned that my family church’s version of Presbyterianism had a Japanese flavor to it.

We Japanese love our dead people, so Memorial Day was a big deal at First Presbyterian Church, Altadena. When I was a kid, I’m pretty sure we had a separate service on Monday night, when we could honor all our beloved who passed away, especially but not limited to those who died that year.

When I was in seminary, I was living in the Bay Area, and had joined a church up there so I could be more active in church life. It was a large White church in Silicon Valley, and one Memorial Day Sunday, one of the elders spoke about honoring those who died in military service, which is the official purpose of Memorial Day. I said that in my church growing up, Memorial Day was for everyone who had died, not just military. I was told in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that Memorial Day was for those in the military, and no one else!

Recently, I happened to be at my family church in Altadena on Memorial Day Sunday, and I noticed that they still had much the same kind of remembrance for our ancestors, but Elder Bob Uchida first explained that while they understand that Memorial Day honors those who died while in the military, this church chooses to remember all those who are important to them. They also added a candle for those who died in the military. I was very happy about this, because churches from minority cultures are often told when they are doing the “wrong” thing, and very frequently the people bow to the majority culture folks who are always happy to correct them. What I sensed was that someone tried to correct Altadena, and while the church acknowledged the dominant culture tradition, they explained that in this church, they also honor their own tradition. It was a great example of hearing the correction of the dominant culture, but holding their ground.

“Memorial Day” has come to mean even more things. In Israel, Memorial Day was held at the end of April this year, honoring those who died in defense of the modern state of Israel, and also victims of terrorism. But it has also become the day for an interfaith service that is attended in Israel and Palestine and streamed around the world, and is called the largest Israeli-Palestinian jointly organized peace event in history. You can watch this year’s Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony, a steadfast call for peace from Israeli and Palestinian families who are joined across the battle lines by their common grief for loved ones.

On a much more secular level, Memorial Day is often considered the start of summer, and the occasion for Memorial Day sales.

So as I look ahead to summer, I see it will be a season of transitions. Newly-retired pastors Cyndie and Rob Crowell will be going to Canada, where they intend to spend half of the year while they use Zoom to stay connected with their Presbytery commitments. At our June 14^th Presbytery meeting, we expect to welcome two new pastors to our churches and Presbytery, and to close Village Presbyterian Church. We will also welcome back Stated Clerk Rev. Jihyun Oh, who has come to visit us several times in the wake of the Eaton Fire. She will give us context for the future of the church, as we gather to discern the identity of San Gabriel Presbytery as you seek a new executive presbyter.

Indeed, last week the Presbytery Executive Commission approved the job description and nominating committee for the Executive Presbyter. The committee—Pat Martinez-Miller, Bong Bringas, Amy Mendez, Harlan Redmond, and Carl von Bibra—have not met yet, so the process for applying isn’t set, but you can read the position description and consider whether you or someone you know might apply. The search committee members will be asked to participate in the June 14^th meeting, so they can hear directly your thoughts about the kind of leadership you should be seeking in the near future.

As a lead-up to the June 14^th meeting, there will be Zoom-based panels on June 12^th and June 13^th to prime your memories, hearing about ways that San Gabriel Presbytery and some of our churches have responded to major challenges in a way that became transformative. These panels should be inspiring, and I look forward to hearing folks talk about how they sensed God’s will to take a bold new step into a changed future.

It is human nature to worry about change, and what the future will bring. But Jesus came to bring a new future into being, and recent events these last few years have shown us that change will happen, whether we worry about it or not. As people of faith, it is crucial that we remember—and tell others— that in spite of the worries of the world, we are held in the heart of a loving God who delights in offering us a new, blessed life, on earth as it is in heaven. May we live into that promise with confidence, sharing the love we have received with so many who live in fear.

Peace,

Wendy

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:2

Last week I went on my first trip in a long time. I can’t remember the last time I was on an airplane. There were two trips to the East Coast in March and April that I cancelled; though I have been able to get stronger without any new episodes of bleeding, the possibility of bleeding is always in the back of my mind, and I did not want to be stuck on an airplane if it started again. But this week’s work was in Seattle, and I thought the trip was short enough that I could do it—and thank God, I did.

I have been part of the training program for new executive presbyters, which includes a one-week residency in early May for three years. This year was special for several reasons. This was the first year that Karen Sapio came, along with two of her new Bay Area colleagues, Neal Presa (San Jose) and Laura Mariko Cheifetz (San Francisco). Neal and Laura are among the most visible leaders in the denomination, but neither has been on presbytery staff before. It is also the last year I will be teaching in the program, because the faculty is limited to active practitioners only, and the plan is for me to retire by the end of 2025 at the latest. This was the first time I had one of those “this is the last time I will do      ” feelings, and it was bittersweet, though I confess I do feel a sense of freedom, as well as grateful confidence in the staff that will continue to serve this Presbytery.

This was one of the greatest blessings out of my health troubles, how the rest of the staff proved that they can carry out much of the support of the Presbytery’s ministry just fine. This will be a gift to you all, but also to my successor. This is also a timely gift, because it is likely that the Presbytery Executive Commission will launch the search for my replacement tomorrow—so keep your eyes open, and if you know anyone who has the potential to serve you productively, let them know!

There was one other very special characteristic of this year’s program, and that was the joy shared by all the participants—almost 50 of them; the largest group of participants ever. I was with the third- year folks most of the week, including the initial check-ins. The folks were so upbeat in their check- ins that I asked a few of the folks during the break how it was that they were so happy? Were they just putting on a good face for us, or has presbytery work become much easier lately?

The folks assured me that they were authentic in their feelings, and that they have processed together some very difficult situations. Thanks to the initiative of two of the cohort members, the group has been meeting together on Zoom and at national church gatherings, so they have become a very tight, loving, mutually supportive set of colleagues. This was most impressive because in their first year, this group was so quiet (we faculty described their first-year stance as “deer in the headlights”) that we worried about them. We were delighted to see them arrive in the second year as a cohesive group, and this year they came as deep friends.

But as the participants told me, they have faced difficulties. In fact, even in the course of the week, one of the third-year cohort members had to leave because her husband had a heart attack, and a second-year participant was called away to say good-bye to her dying stepfather. And several people came to the training having suffered great losses this last year, including parents and, in two cases, brothers who died unexpectedly at a young age. However, their mutual care and solidarity was such that they could find joy in their gathering, joy that looked almost like defiance against despair. It made me hopeful for the future of the Church, because the shrinking of the national staff means presbyteries will be even more crucial to keeping the PC(USA) connectional.

We all have the opportunity to respond even to the hardest situations with mutual care and joy. A week ago last Friday, I followed my visit at the damaged apartment building with a visit to First AME Church in Pasadena, in order to apply for aid from the Red Cross. This turned out to be a 5-hour marathon, but the folks in line were very supportive of each other, the church volunteers were helpful, and the Red Cross volunteers were amazing, especially in their respectful and caring attitude even as they could see frustration levels rising.

There are so many random acts of kindness happening. Some members of Altadena Community Church were surprised to find a painting of an angel appear among the rubble, on one of the stubs of a wall. They do not know who painted it, but perhaps it was a visitor to the church, because one of the most beloved parts of their worship is a very active prayer time.

Presbytery executives gathering to consult and pray with each other . . . the many volunteers and others showing concern to victims of fire and other disasters . . . the countless anonymous individuals offering their gifts to people they will never meet—all these folks and others show that we can face trials of all kinds when we do it together. That togetherness can take all kinds of forms, even with total strangers—and indeed, those strangers might turn out to be angels.

As I often have said, we are blessed, that we may be a blessing to others. Let us give thanks for the opportunities to provide help, even to angels we do not know.

Peace,

Wendy

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!”

Matthew 25:21

Our denomination (and many other Christians) often talk about Matthew 25 as their guiding light. But it’s a long chapter, and usually the part of Matthew 25 we follow comes in verses 31-46. But before that comes the story of the very rich man who entrusts some of his wealth to three servants. While I often paraphrase God’s promise to Abraham, “I will bless you, , , , so that you will be a blessing,” this parable goes further, even admonishing us to make sure we are in fact passing on the blessings—even building on the blessings—that God has given us. While we like to quote the praise “Well done, good and faithful servant” which was given to the two servants who did something with the treasure entrusted to them, we don’t like to repeat Matthew 25:26-30, the curse against the servant who hid the treasure out of fear.

As I reflect on this last week, I see many ways Presbytery members have pleased God by using the gifts entrusted to them.

First I want to recognize some folks who have been great leaders and contributors to the ministry of this Presbytery, in many ways. At our April Presbytery meeting, we recognized Rob and Cyndie Crowell, who are headed for retirement. In fact, yesterday there was a joint worship service at Trinity Presbyterian Church, celebrating the ministries of both Cyndie, Trinity’s pastor, and Rob, pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Arcadia.

We didn’t make clear that as Rob retires from his ministry at Village, he is also retiring from his chaplaincy work at Westminster Gardens. And another Presbytery leader, Diane Frasher, who came to us first as Stated Clerk and then as temporary pastor of Westminster Presbyterian in Temple City (now Live Oak), and most recently has been chaplain at Monte Vista Grove Homes, is also retiring from her position. Both Rob and Diane were honored and thanked by the respective communities they have served so well, and we as a Presbytery are grateful for their support of our retired church workers, and to House of Rest for funding these important ministries. We are in the process of reviewing the chaplaincy program, and will soon be opening up the positions for others who feel called to work with some absolutely amazing Presbyterians! Cyndie, Rob, and Diane have all served God in many capacities, utilizing the abundance and variety of gifts God has showered on them. Good and faithful servants indeed!

As a presbytery, we are also stepping up by offering the many and varied gifts God has entrusted with us as a body.

Last Friday, I was able to visit the apartment building on Figueroa in Altadena with gift cards funded by PDA. I was given the good news that the hot water in the building has been restored, and nearly all the apartments now have gas and electric, so the apartments are livable again. Also, the residents meet regularly, and NDLON (National Day Laborer Organizing Network, at https://ndlon.org/) and the Pasadena Community Job Center have done an outstanding job of helping them and many other immigrants understand their rights, so even in the wake of the massive raid in Pomona, the residents feel safer and empowered to live their lives in our community. Trinity Presbyterian has been supportive in very hands-on ways with the Job Center, just as Westminster in Pasadena is offering their building to other churches, and will soon be hosting the ACTS Food Pantry, which was housed at Altadena Community Church before its building was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

I mentioned last week that we will be donating to Door of Hope’s matching grant drive. Door of Hope, with the leadership of Presbyterian pastor Megan Katerjian, is working tirelessly to find housing for displaced families in San Gabriel Valley. They were offered up to $150,000 in matching funds, but as of last week, they had not yet reached their goal, even with the $6,000 we committed to them. But we found out that the matching grant drive goes until May 18, so there is time to donate! Go to https://doorofhope.us/ to give online.

And over the weekend, Lisa Hansen, pastor of Pasadena Presbyterian, represented San Gabriel Presbytery at a community leaders’ breakfast hosted by LA County Supervisor and Chair Kathryn Barger. She offered PPC as a site for meetings between Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) and community members who are struggling with the decision of whether to sell their land to developers, or whether to work with NHS to keep their land and rebuild. We celebrate the work of so many local nonprofits such as NHS, Habitat for Humanity, and Beacon Housing (an affordable housing group founded by a member of La Cañada Presbyterian Church) as well as Door of Hope and others. The Los Angeles Times just ran an article on the efforts of NHS; you can read it at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-02/in-a-bid-to-blunt-disaster-gentrification-in- altadena-nonprofits-look-to-buy-burned-lots.

Patrick Perry, chair of our Justice Peacemaking and Mission Committee, has been in meetings with the Eaton Fire Collaborative and others as we discern how to best help in the community rebuilding efforts. We hope to elicit major funding from our national church, including PDA but also the Presbyterian Foundation and PILP, for the rebuilding effort. We are already involved in community organizing work, and we are preparing to provide emotional and spiritual resiliency events for community members and leaders, with participation not only from PDA but spiritual directors and therapists who are members of San Gabriel Presbytery.

The work is ongoing—maybe just starting—but I am so grateful for the ways that our churches and our people are stepping forward and using our gifts for the sake of the most vulnerable among us. Surely we are encouraged that God is pleased with the ways we are maximizing the gifts entrusted to us. May we continue to be a shining light of hope for all our communities.

Blessings abound,

Wendy

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:32

I love the story of the walk to Emmaus. I love how human it is—

• how the disciples, not yet believing that Jesus had risen, did what some folks do in the face of crisis—they went home
• how the women learned of the resurrection and told the disciples, but the men didn’t believe them
• that the risen Christ walked with them but they didn’t recognize him, thinking he was the most clueless stranger for not knowing the big news of the day
• they insisted that the clueless stranger stay with them, and only because of their hospitality to that stranger did they realize the Resurrection was real!

I preached on the passage yesterday, but what struck me this year is just the importance of knowing that Christ walks with us, whether or not we even recognize him. We have the blessing of being accompanied by Christ in human garb—but we gain strength from knowing that Christ is with us whenever and wherever two or three of us gather in his name.

This is especially important because the walk that we are called to take this year is a tough one. We know that the rebuilding of Altadena will take years with people partnering across past divisions. We’ve heard about immigrants—and people who look like immigrants—are being persecuted, whether or not they have documentation. And the constitutional protections churches have to carry out our work—the work of being a safe place, a place of welcome and healing—are being taken away. And people’s hard-won rights are being reversed, leaving folks vulnerable because of who they love or how they understand their gender identity.

Following the biblical model for ministry—that of partnerships, even partnerships across long-held divisions, even hatred—the Presbyterian Church tradition has always sought to walk alongside others. Former Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons once said “We are a ‘Do It Together’ people in a ‘Do It Yourself’ world.” And the importance of partnerships is mutual respect, even with people who we don’t recognize as sent by God.

Now that I am feeling better (thank you for your prayers), I’ve been able to get involved in community actions to help Altadena residents to recover. It was inspiring to attend a meeting of the Eaton Fire Collaborative, a group that includes local and national nonprofits, community groups, churches, and individual residents and volunteers gathering every Tuesday to share information and work towards a coordinated effort to address unmet needs, advocate for just development, and dream of a diverse and supportive Altadena community.

I’m also in fairly regular contact with Altadena Congregations Together Serving (ACTS) and the Clergy Community Coalition (CCC), who are seeking ways to support each other and share their resources. There are two events this coming Sunday that ACTS is sponsoring, both at Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church on Altadena Drive. At 2 pm the Los Angeles Faith and Ecology Network is holding a vigil and rally in support of SB 684, the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, which would require the largest fossil fuel corporations to pay for the climate devastation they have helped to cause across California. Then at 3 pm ACTS is holding a potluck, just a casual time for folks to gather, relax, and check in with each other, all with the simple goal of reminding each other that they are not alone.

We as a Presbytery are able to do exciting things together. The Justice Peacemaking and Mission Committee is weighing several different ways to help the people with greatest need in our community, including immigrants, renters, and folks who have not been able to find adequate housing after the Eaton Fire. Two groups are immediately receiving funds that San Gabriel received from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. We are giving grocery gift cards to almost 30 families who are living in an apartment building that was damaged n the fire, but the folks are staying there because they have nowhere else to go, even though the repairs are slow in coming. For instance, even as we approach almost four months since the fire, there is still no hot water in the building. The other group is Door of Hope, who has been a recipient of presbytery offerings in the past. The director, Presbyterian minister Megan Katerjian, lost her own home in the fire. Yet the people of Door of Hope are taking ambitious action to place families in safe housing wherever they can find safe shelter. While the folks in the damaged apartment building have received in-kind donations such as blankets and beds, they do not have income due to the loss of their jobs. The families who are being helped by Door of Hope are receiving furniture and other goods to help them settle in their new homes.

We Presbyterians have been blessed with many gifts—financial resources, educated leadership, and practices that help to organize mission. We do not need to restrict these gifts to our own members, and in fact our churches are doing wonderful work reaching out in many ways to help their neighbors, by inviting folks onto their campuses, giving financial aid, and sharing their expertise in areas such as mental health, disaster recovery, and property management and development.

It is exciting to see how we can provide significant encouragement and support to our neighbors. Indeed, we are called to work together, with each other and with others of various faiths and no faith, in order to ensure more of our neighbors know the blessings that we have known. Certainly, together we are strong.

May we continue to live in Resurrection joy, confident that Jesus goes with us—and knowing that we are now the Body of Christ for today’s world. Thanks be to God for blessing us, that we may be a blessing.

Continuing on our ministry journey,

Wendy

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

John 3:16

Happy Easter!

I pray that you felt the life-giving power of God’s love as we celebrate the rising of Jesus Christ.

I have to confess that Holy Week this year was a whole new experience for me. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my lumpectomy was scheduled for Maundy Thursday, and it did happen last Thursday. I was comforted to find that my surgeon, Dr. Jeannie Shen, is a member of San Marino Community Church, and greeted me before the surgery by sharing that she was hoping to go to their sunrise service and telling me she has been praying for me. After the surgery she said the surgery went very well, so I am feeling good. I have my follow-up consultation this Friday, but this was my last planned surgery, so yeah!

By Sunday, I was able to get up to attend a couple of Easter services, and I was able to recognize evidence of the Resurrection in those services.

The first service was at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and you should be seeing an article in the Pasadena Star-News that highlights how there are now three churches worshiping at the same time on Westminster’s campus! I love that Westminster, right on the border of Altadena, has opened their doors to churches and community groups that have lost their buildings. Last week I was able to visit two of the churches; yesterday I stayed in Lawrence Chapel, across the hall from the church office.

As Altadena Community Church gathered this Easter morning, they brought in some lovely accents of color. First, folks were happy to see some strands of origami cranes strung over the backdrop to the lectern that acts as the pulpit. This church was known for having 1000 cranes for peace flying from the ceiling of the sanctuary. One of the young people of the church started to fold new cranes; some she left in the rubble of the ACC building—apparently some folks saw them and thought it was a miracle they survived the fire! Some she left with her mother, an elementary school music teacher. Mom learned that the third-grade class was reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, so their teacher offered to have the class string up the cranes. Though there was no timeline for the project, Mom was thrilled that the teacher showed up on Friday with the cranes, just in time to adorn the Easter service.

The other splash of color came from one of the church’s treasured Easter traditions, the flowering of the cross. Of course the original cross frame burned in the fire, but the pastor emeritus, upon his retirement, was gifted with a miniature version of the cross frame. Though his house also burned in the fire, the cross was in the garage and was spared—so they had a flowered cross again! Several families in that church lost loved ones in just the last month, yet they were there, with the most beautiful flowers to add to the cross. The bounty of color from all the flowers was a testament that life bursts forth, conquering death.

The second worship service I attended was the third anniversary of Interwoven as a new worshiping community, and there were signs of new life there as well. The renovation is progressing, including new chairs and carpeting in the sanctuary, and they had their first wedding at the church last week. The soloist from the Eagle Rock church now sings with the Interwoven worship team, and she began the service with “Lamb of God” and ended with “Risen.” The chorus of “Risen” filled my heart with Christ’s love:

Risen
   to set the captives free.
Risen
   to ransom you and me
   to bind up every broken heart
   to conquer death and sin.
Risen
   to bring us home again.

There are so many ways God’s death-defeating love is made evident in our lives, and they are not restricted to words, as important as they are. I pray that your Easter was filled with evidence that Christ has risen, that death is not the final answer—that life goes on, and thrives in God’s world. May you see evidence of the Resurrection . . .

in the scent of orange blossoms
in music, performed with passion
in the beauty of a rose
in the kindness of a stranger, or a long-lost friend
in a meal shared with family
in a moment of rest and trust in God’s provision
in the gathering of Christian community, joined by the love of Christ, shared with all the world.

Happy Easter, and may the fulfilled promise of Easter bloom in your hearts and throughout your lives. With Resurrection joy,

Wendy