I am about to create new heavens
   and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
    or come to mind.                               

Isaiah 65:17

This very familiar passage from Isaiah is in the lectionary for this coming Sunday, and it’s a good one for San Gabriel Presbytery as we look to the future.

It has always been presented as a very positive, hopeful prophecy. But I remember an Old Testament professor who confessed that she kind of liked things the way they were, or at least didn’t hate them so much she wanted all the former things to be banished even from our memory! And I have often thought about how disorienting this new life in Christ can be, especially if you attempt to abandon all that was familiar for you in the past—and for some folks that isn’t just bad habits or addictions, it may be toxic family members or friends who find your recovery to be threatening.

But almost by definition, the new life is unknown. You are the same person, but you’re not. You’re in the same place, but you see things differently, and your actions may be totally changed. My cousin once did a documentary that included, as I recall, an interview with a young woman who left her life as a drug dealer and had chosen to go straight. This is morally great news, but it meant that she lost the material wealth the drug dealing supplied, and ended up sleeping under a freeway overpass because she could not get a job that would enable her to pay her bills. Jesus warns us that following him does not protect us from difficulties or danger—in fact, we are warned that it can bring danger. And yet, we believe that following Jesus is the better way.

This coming Saturday is our year-end Presbytery meeting—have you registered yet? And the funny thing is, I am more unclear about what will happen in this meeting than nearly any other. We will have the standard year-end actions like electing new leaders and approving a budget for next year. But beyond that, I do not know what else will be announced. And no matter what, new leadership always presents change.

Of course, for many that change can be positive—refreshing at least, freeing for some, and maybe a needed correction! Adjusting to new leadership can be challenging, but it’s always needed. We are not in the business of creating dynasties, and only God is unchanging—but God is so much greater than we can ever comprehend, we can change a million times and still be well within the wideness of God’s creative genius.

The mistake would be to shrink back and try to hold on to what was familiar, or magnify the danger of an uncertain future. I am writing this column from Louisville. I got in at about 10:30 pm Louisville time (which is only 7:30 pm Pacific time), but that was 5 hours and several new routes later than I had planned. Peter Tan-Gatue is also here, because this is the annual meeting of midcouncil leaders. Peter was set to arrive when I was supposed to (it’s too late for me to call and confirm), because he flew in from Ontario. Now I had a very bad experience with the Ontario Airport, so I have held on to my vow to never use them again—and see where that got me! But at least I was willing to try to fly here. This past week there was a flurry of emails from folks who decided to cancel their trip out of fear of the reduction in flights due to the government shutdown. I chose to come anyway because I have to present a couple of times, and the ongoing multiple levels of uncertainty we’ve seen recently have left me a little fatalistic—after all, I can’t imagine how crazy I’d be if I tried to control or predict every twist and turn in life! As it turns out, the reason for my flight delay was not the shutdown anyway, just a plain old regular mechanical glitch. And Southwest has confirmed that my flight home should go as scheduled (as well as airlines can predict, anyhow). I’m supposed to come home Wednesday night—let’s hope I’m back by Saturday!

No matter our circumstance—whether dizzy from unplanned change or trapped in persistent mediocrity or suffering—there is only one thing of which we can be certain: the goodness of God, whose compassion and wisdom are far beyond our own. Let us give thanks for God’s constant care through our lives, and look ahead with confidence.

See you Saturday,

Wendy

When his time of service was ended, he returned to his home.           

Luke 1:23

It’s now less than two months until I retire. I apologize to those who are probably tired of me talking about this; you’re probably saying to yourself, “retire already!” What with Advent coming up, don’t worry—I won’t be focusing too much more on this.

I do feel the need to say what I anticipate will happen after December 31. I figure that I should do something similar to what we ask of pastors when they leave their church. That is, I will not be in contact with Presbytery folk for at least a year, and will likely not be involved after that unless invited by my successor. There is a Presbyterian exception to this, which is that pastors might stay in contact with their “friends.” Honestly I never understood that, because there are varied understandings of what a “friend” is. And those who know me well know that much of what I talk about is work- related, so it would be difficult to have even a friendly conversation without straying into talk about the Presbytery, and that would be frustrating to me.

As I think about my role in the Presbytery, besides falling into a clerical role quite often, I’m aware that I carry quite a bit of organizational memory. I intend to offer to my successor that they can contact me if they want some background—but I’m quite aware that this might not happen, as people often find their own answers as they relate to congregational leaders. And that’s OK—after all, this is an opportunity to try new things, and not be trapped by my peculiar viewpoints!

I do worry for myself, because I rely on work to structure my days. In fact, I am blessed to have been employed pretty much continuously since college, so I don’t know what life will be like without a job. I told a friend who retired a few years ago that I’m afraid I will be terribly bored, and he said that I will enjoy the boredom. We’ll see. I will continue to serve on the national and synod levels, and I do feel called to volunteer in interfaith efforts to rebuild Altadena, though I don’t know exactly in what capacity. Oh, and I am getting closer to deciding to rebuild on my property. But I trust that God will let me know how I can be useful in the future. The good folks in Hawai‘i have contacted me, and though I don’t see myself going immediately, who knows? I may go back eventually.

While I worry about my boredom, I do not worry about the Presbytery. I fully expect that there will be some adjustments, but you all will figure out what needs to be done. Like in times of COVID, priorities will become clear, and some of the adjustments will be corrective in nature. I trust that God will send a gifted and committed person to support the Presbytery, and I will be excited to see what will happen with the perspective of a new leader. I’m also very grateful for the leaders we already have in the Presbytery, both new and “veterans”—together you will carry on the culture of welcome and openness to God’s leading that is such a distinctive gift of San Gabriel Presbytery.

As I write this, I wonder if I’m being too vague. In the next couple of months, I will try to address some loose ends—but again, there will always be loose ends, and sufficient grace and gifts to deal with whatever comes up. God has blessed this Presbytery so much, and there’s no reason to think God won’t continue with the blessings!

Thanks be to God, and to you,

Wendy

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow.

Isaiah 1:16-17

You may have heard that we don’t just read the Bible, but the Bible reads us. I experience this when a lectionary passage speaks to our current situation in surprisingly insightful ways. For instance, last week I shared a passage from the lectionary for October 19, from 2 Timothy 4:3-4, which to me is an uncanny prophecy on our current situation as a nation divided into groups solidified by media that confirms our world views and isolates us from opposing or broadening perspectives, thus leaving us without a common base of knowledge or values, and subject to manipulation by leaders who know how to appeal to our unfulfilled, unspiritual desires:

For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but,
having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit
their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander
away to myths.

I preached on this passage yesterday, and offered up the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as an analytical framework that might keep us Christians from falling into the trap of following false prophets who tell us what we want to hear. Briefly, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral uses four approaches to help us consider an issue theologically. Here’s how I describe the four sides:

1. Scripture, most importantly, which tells us about God and God’s will, and also provides a common knowledge base for group discernment;
2. Tradition, which provides the collective wisdom of now thousands of years of spiritual ancestors (this includes our Presbyterian polity, which is the codification of our beliefs about how we are to be church together);
3. Reason, which includes not only using our intelligence to proceed even when taking leaps of faith but also engaging in the world’s advances such as technology; and
4. Experience, especially in community, as together we are able to inspire each other with our personal experiences of God’s saving and healing love through Jesus Christ.

I suggest that these four approaches, taken together and discerned in community, can help us respond to the complicated and unprecedented issues that arise with alarming regularity these days, from COVID to political violence to the impacts of social media to artificial intelligence.

Going back to the Bible reading us, the passage from 2 Timothy is so strikingly prophetic for our current situation that I told some folks it reminded me of another passage. That passage came during a time when I was consulting with churches in Hawai‘i, and the process was so complicated that churches were getting entangled in the steps, so they couldn’t get to a clear vision that folks could remember and act on. When I shared that passage, a church elder said, “You’re making that up; that isn’t really in the Bible!”

As it happens, that passage shows up in the lectionary for this coming Sunday, from Habakkuk 2:2: “Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.” Sort of an ancient version of the “elevator speech” approach to short, pithy mission statements!

Another part of the lectionary for this Sunday comes from Isaiah, and it acts as a corrective for those who find the Wesleyan Quadrilateral just too complicated. If we become paralyzed by theological correctness or overly diligent analysis, it is important to be reminded that God gives very simple, direct instruction repeatedly throughout the Bible, especially “seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow.”

Sometimes God’s instruction can be scarily simple. May we have the faith to follow, even when the vision is plain for all to see.

Peace,
Wendy

For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but, having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.                                   

2 Timothy 4:3-4

I am close to finishing my time in Korea, and here I am using a Hawaiian word. I do not want to risk misrepresenting the Hawaiian language, but the word “kaona” is pretty consistently translated as “hidden meaning,” for instance an unspoken reference in poetry or song. The passage from 2 Timothy was in the lectionary for yesterday, and I would suggest that many of us might recognize the kaona of some of today’s challenges in this holy word.

In fact, the issue of fake news came up a couple of times during my time in Seoul. Riverside EP Frances Lin and I attended the English traditional worship service at Young Nak Presbyterian Church, a huge and historic church. Two pioneer Korean-American clergywomen, Mary Paik and Unzu Lee— I believe Mary was the first Korean woman ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA) —come from families that were among the charter members of Young Nak some 80 years ago. In the sermon, the pastor used the term “Garbage In—Garbage Out” to warn against taking in misrepresentations of the Christian gospel, words that demonize people or give up on hope.

Sadly, I heard that the church in Korea, including the Presbyterian Church, has become aggressive in insisting that their leaders, even their members, sign written statements that condemn homosexuality as sin. I heard this from two dear friends: Rev. Dr. Hee-kyu “Heidi” Park, a minister member of our presbytery who is a pastoral counseling professor at Ewha Woman’s University, and Sung-hoi “Sean” Kim, an alum of San Francisco Theological Seminary (Southern California campus) who is now a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. Sean was elected last year to represent the Goyang-A district, on the outskirts of Seoul. Wikipedia says “Goyang A is widely regarded as a progressive and liberal stronghold” and that Sean won by a wide margin—that’s not surprising!

The anti-queer rage is strong enough that both Heidi and Sean have to be careful how they advocate for inclusivity. Heidi has more freedom, and she is doing some exciting work. She attends a historic and very activist church, Hyangrin Church, a Presbyterian church that counts among their founding members the theologian Byung-Mu Ahn, a founding father of Minjung theology. The church asked her to help members of the queer community who need counseling. They initially thought they could train lay people, but found that the people needed more in-depth counseling, so Heidi asked her students if they would be willing to help, and she now has 14 students counseling up to three clients each. So she is now running the only church-based counseling service for LGBTQ people in all of Korea.

As a politican, Sean has to be much more cautious. Even though he attends a church in the more progressive of the two main Presbyterian denominations, and he is not in leadership, he was pressured to sign this anti-gay statement. He is on a committee that was to approve the President’s nominee to represent South Korea on the UN Human Rights Council, and in the hearing the nominee spoke in graphic terms the reasons gays must be reversed. Sean pointed out that someone who speaks this way is not appropriate for a UN body protecting human rights, and for that he was personally condemned by the pastors of his own district, accusing him of not being Christian.

Sean had hoped that he could serve the church, but in the current climate, he would have to publicly condemn queer people in order to serve, so he went into politics instead. But he fondly remembers his time in seminary, with his studies and expansive theology and interactions with the diverse student body, and what he learned there still guides his work, and he still has hope that he is able to use his influence to help the poor and outcast in Korean society, which include not only queer people but also workers and immigrants.

In some ways, Sean’s political work has kaona, as he is quietly doing God’s will in the secular sphere. And on a lighter note, we had a wonderful time with Yvonne Harmon, elder at Northminster Presbyterian in Diamond Bar and immediate past moderator of the Synod of

Southern California and Hawaii. Yvonne loves Korean dramas, and dreamed of coming to Korea to see the country that has become such a force in world culture today. Though she planned this as a solo trip, by God’s providence she came at the same time we did, so we all had some great experiences—like having the 250+ delegates of Jeonju Presbytery sing “Happy Birthday” in Korean to Yvonne! And Yvonne got to dress in Korean period wear—so perhaps Yvonne offers some kaona of her own, as she reveals her true Korean identity.

May we all find ways to share God’s love with the world: in the church and out in the world; in our community of birth and in our community of choice; in and with our own people and with people who seem different from us. In the end, all that matters is God’s love for all of God’s people, and all of God’s creation. May we enjoy all that God has made.

Blessings,

Wendy

Who laid the earth’s cornerstone when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

Job 38:6b-7

I am writing this column from Jeonju, Korea (more specifically, the Jeonju Best Western—yeah, really; welcome to the global economy). Yesterday I was able to preach to Jungbu (Central) Presbyterian Church, was hosted to a bibimbap lunch (Jeonju is known for its culinary arts, including its fame as the birthplace of bibimbap), and attended a special afternoon worship service for Korean Thanksgiving, with the baptism of 13 people (3 babies, 5 young people, and 5 adults). So far the visit has been a blessing, and the people have been way more than gracious. However, we have been praying for Synod Executive/Stated Clerk Mark Hong, who has been experiencing severe back pain even as he tries to fulfill his commitments for this trip, including preaching twice yesterday morning. Since I’m at the start of the trip, I don’t have much more to say about my journey, except that I’m thankful for being able to be here, and I’m tired from jet lag, so this column is a brief grab bag of items.

Back in the USA, today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and we celebrate in two ways:

• The national church released a short article to promote a short video documenting the Siban’gna landback. The article includes a link to the video; click HERE to go straight to the This is a great gift, as it helps us remember the joy and gratitude we felt that day, it encourages us to keep the connection alive, and we hope to be an inspiration to other presbyteries and churches to recognize the ways God opens to them, to contribute to reparative justice in our world.
• Let us pray fervently that the Gaza ceasefire take effect with the release of all remaining Israeli hostages and the ability for aid trucks to enter It is not mentioned often, but the Palestinian people are the Indigenous people of the land now called Israel, but regardless how this conflict is described, the suffering in Gaza is horrendous and an end to the violence and blocking of humanitarian aid is needed beyond measure.

Late last week we heard the sad news of Father Chris Ponnet’s unexpected death. Father Chris was the long-time director of spiritual care at Los Angeles General Medical Center and director of the St. Camillus Center for Spiritual Care. He was a staunch advocate for LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, and the abolition of the death penalty, and through LA General and St. Camillus he oversaw an innovative CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) program, supported Angel Interfaith Network, and was the on-site supervisor of the chaplain staff that includes our Protestant chaplain, a position now filled by Stephanie Kang. Father Chris was having chest pains which led to surgery, and he died while in surgery. A light for compassion and justice has gone dim, and we all pray for the people Father Chris cared for, including his family and the many patients who sought medical aid at LA General. LA General’s CEO, Jorge Orozco, informs the hospital staff at https://www.youtube.com/live/TKPL3ZPX48U—fast forward to 4:33 to hear the heartfelt announcement.

Finally, with the leadership of Juan Sarmiento and San Fernando Presbytery, we can commemorate 170 years of Presbyterian mission in Los Angeles. As Juan writes,

In a year marked by devastating fires and distressing immigration raids, Presbyterians in Los Angeles are still celebrating a story of faith. This fall, discover the 170th Anniversary Podcast, sponsored by the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)— six episodes tracing a story of courage, creativity, disruption, and grace.

Learn more at https://lapresbyterians.net/ #PCUSA #losangeles #podcast

The life of faith in Southern California is indeed full and dynamic. May we live fully into our calling as God’s people, even as we also take the time to rest and stay open enough to discern and respond to God’s call to us, in the myriad ways we may serve.

Blessings,

Wendy