Last night, San Marino Community Church bid farewell to Jeff and Lynn O’Grady, as Jeff retires and they get ready to move to Nashville, Tennessee. It was an upbeat evening of gratitude for Jeff’s leadership, and the impact he has had on the church. He leaves San Marino healthy and hopeful for the future, with support for their remaining head of staff, Jessica Vaughan Lower. Jessica showed her capable leadership by reflecting on a pastor’s life, and how well Jeff has led his. She spoke about the pastor as an “emotional extremist,” putting words to a phenomenon with which I am quite familiar.

In the life of a congregation, you can go from the highs of new life to the tragedy of sudden death, with many mundane tasks that still need to be tended to throughout.

In my own way, I’ve experienced some of that this weekend, and I’m a bit weary. I expect my fatigue may come from several factors, including the weather turning back to cold and cloudy, some uneven sleep, and the cumulative impact of life in 2021. This weekend, my version of emotional extremes includes the high of preaching and meeting with a congregation on Asian-American awareness which was a great joy, the gratitude but also some grief in saying good-bye to Jeff, and the cumulative impact of Zoom fatigue.

Life on Zoom has its benefits, but also its bumps and discomforts. Whenever we’re in breakout rooms, and we get snatched out of the group at the designated time, I think of Philip being snatched away from his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. We are very aware of Zoom’s benefits of broader, more cost-effective participation when we don’t need to travel to a meeting; conversely we miss the casual and friendly interactions, and the sense of being one body, when we meet in person.

The word for the near future is hybrid, as we find ways to retain the advantages of on-line meetings while we also cautiously move back into in-person activities. Most of our churches will be looking at this for worship and other aspects of church life. And the General Assembly has announced a hybrid design for 2022, including a series of in-person committee meetings flanked by on-line plenary sessions. See an article on the new design and docket here. Interestingly, the current plan for the national church is to continue all meetings on-line throughout 2021.

As I try to envision how this hybrid GA will look, my fatigue takes over. I’ve been noting that as we slowly transition into whatever post-pandemic life will look like—a transition that seems to be as fraught with uncertainty as was the transition into the pandemic—we will witness many different emotional responses as we process this massive disruption in our lives. For instance, I noticed last week I was more irritable (even more than usual!), and this week I’m tired. As the adrenaline levels move back to normal, I have to accept the fact that I may not be as productive as I process all that has happened for me—and this is true for every one of us!

So it’s timely that May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I think we all need to give ourselves permission to tend to our mental health. This isn’t easy or comfortable for most of us, because we take our mental health for granted, and even make judgments when mental health is at risk. So I’m thankful that the PC(USA) has a Mental Health Ministry, and that they have seen fit to provide a grant for our presbytery to offer some support for our churches.

With the help of our Chaplains for Honorably Retired Presbyterian Church Workers, Lauren Evans and Diane Frasher, and COM member and Jungian analyst Sophie Eurich-Rascoe, we are planning on a three-pronged approach:

• We will offer three webinars for church leaders and anyone interested in these topics: managing post-pandemic stress, suicide prevention, and recognizing and responding to mental health concerns in our
• We will hold support groups as we reflect on how life has been this past 14 or so months. The groups will be open to everyone (with clergy in a separate group, for more open sharing for pastors and church members alike), on-line, and facilitated.
• We will organize a set of resources curated and archived on-line for use by our churches. The resources will include a referral list of local therapists, information on issues such as suicide prevention, and materials designed for on-line distribution or printing at your

We hope to announce specifics for these activities and resources starting in May. In the meantime, the Office of Mental Health Ministry has compiled this list of resources.

As we go forward, let us care for ourselves as well as each other. Let us take a break, take a walk, get some fresh air, and give our eyes a break from screen time. Let us be aware that we will all be processing life in our individual ways, but we share the experience that life as we knew it has radically changed. And just as we need time and rest to heal from an illness, let us take that time and rest to recover from these strange times. And let us rest into the grace and care of our loving God, and may we always remember that it is not up to us alone to do the work of the church—the Holy Spirit works through us. As we turn towards Pentecost on May 23, let us give thanks for God’s glory, witnessed and reflected by our ordinary and extraordinary lives.

Thanks be to God!

I am quite the procrastinator. You may have noticed that at times I am able to reference very current events in this column, because usually I write the column early Monday morning. Sometimes I don’t make the deadline I set for myself, let alone deadlines that others set for me. For instance, I noticed that several cars have registration tags that say 2022, which confused me. Did they get some kind of special tag that is good for two years? Aren’t we still in 2021?

I figured I should look for my tag, which I paid on time but never got around to sticking on my license plate. I did think to put my registration in my car, but I didn’t take the next step of putting the sticker on my license plate. When I did, I noticed that my tag does say 2021, because the month of my car’s registration was December. Oh well, four months late isn’t too bad—I’ve done worse.

In fact, I remember driving down to the Synod Assembly in 2015, which was held in San Diego.

I enjoyed the drive down and was happy to find parking right across from the church. I was disappointed, however, that there was a ticket waiting for me after I left the meeting, because I had not put my new tag on my car, several months after they were due. I don’t get many traffic tickets, thank God, so I considered it a donation to the City of San Diego and paid the $40.50.

To be honest, the reason all of this came back to me was the recent news of conflicts between police and Black men. I don’t know if you noticed, but the initiating act for some of these conflicts are pretty minor. You may have heard that George Floyd was arrested by the police and killed on May 25, 2020, for passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

US Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario was pulled over in Virginia as he drove his new Chevrolet Tahoe on December 5, 2020. The vehicle was new enough that Nazario did not have permanent license plates, so the police did not see the temporary plate he taped to the inside of the rear window. He was pursued, ordered to get out of the car without being told why, and eventually he was pepper sprayed, forced face down on the ground and handcuffed.

And recently, just before 2 pm on April 11, the police of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, pulled over Daunte Wright; officers said that they did so due to the car’s expired registration tag. They later noticed the presence of an object hanging from the car’s rearview mirror—an air freshener. Officers ran Wright’s name and found he had an open arrest warrant which led to the attempt to arrest him.

He first complied, then eluded them and jumped back into his car. During the scuffle that followed, the police officer mistook her gun for a taser and shot him, and he died soon after.

The Stanford Open Policing Project collects and analyzes an average of 50,000 daily traffic stops throughout the country; so far they have analyzed 200 million stops. They report that: “The data show that officers generally stop black drivers at higher rates than white drivers…………….. In nearly every

jurisdiction we find stopped black and Hispanic drivers are searched more often than white drivers.” A common tactic is to stop drivers for simple traffic infractions, such as expired registration tags, and then search the driver and car, a form of “stop and frisk” that has at times escalated to tragic consequences. What was a $40 traffic ticket for me, cost others their life.

These days, there has been a lot of attention given to police actions, but we know that people are facing all kinds of conflicted situations, sometimes for no other reason than the color of their skin, their age, or their gender. At our recent Presbytery meeting, we had the pleasure of breaking into small groups several times. One time we were asked to share the first time when we challenged, or thought about challenging, racism. From what I have heard, the pattern was that some people of color had stories to share, but dominant culture folks were a little stumped by the question.

I have come to understand this, from when I lived in Hawai‘i. There, I was part of the dominant culture, and for the first time I had a sense that having solidarity with the marginalized was an ethical choice, and one for which I may lose some of my privilege. Though I have more practice confronting racism, it helped me understand how this question may be a difficult one to answer.

But we can’t afford not to challenge racism, and people of all races are starting to understand that we can’t just watch out for ourselves; we must watch out for each other. The question, then, is how?

There are many ways to challenge racism, but the scariest is how or whether to act if you witness an act of harassment or other form of hatred. Stop AAPI Hate offers the following advice in multiple languages for persons witnessing hate, at https://stopaapihate.org/safety-tips/:

• Take Approach the targeted person, introduce yourself and offer help.
• Actively listen. Ask before taking any action and respect the targeted person’s wishes. Monitor the situation if needed.
• Ignore Using your discretion, attempt to calm the situation by using your voice, body language or distractions.
• If the situation escalates, invite the targeted person to join you in leaving.
• Offer emotional Help the targeted person by asking how they are feeling. Assist them to figure out what they want to do next.

There are many other models for bystander intervention, such as the Five D’s of Hollaback! But you get the idea. And it reminds me of times when I have been helped by strangers who intervened when I felt unsafe, and I am grateful that God sent them into my life for that moment.

I am very aware (as I mentioned last week) that we are in yet another era of uncertain times. If we are truly blessed, we are passing out of the pandemic phase into a time of post-pandemic stress, and we can’t tell all the ways this stress will be manifested. So I do ask that we all be gentle with ourselves and with each other—but also, look out for each other, and for all of God’s children who are oppressed.

If we believe in Easter, then we are Resurrection People, followers of the risen Christ. Christ’s resurrection proves to us that sin and death are not the final answer, if we have the courage to follow Christ’s call to love one another, and to love beyond word or speech—let us love in truth and action.

I think it was Methodist Bishop Warren Chandler who said that he did not fear crossing the river from life to death because “I belong to a Father who owns the land on both sides of the river.” Because we belong to the God whose power is greater than any sin or hatred, let us love in gentleness, in faith, in community, and in action.

In Christ’s peace,

Alleluia! Christ is risen!!

What an interesting coincidence that today, a little over a year but just one day after the Day of Resurrection, Los Angeles County is set to enter the “Orange Tier,” the third of four tiers towards full opening of buildings and activities.  On a personal level, I am getting my first vaccination today, so I feel like I am truly entering into new life—spiritually, physically, and socially.  I can already feel my thinking shifting to things I’ve put out of my mind for 13 months now—travel, in-person meetings, eating Korean food with friends . . . I still don’t know when hugs and singing will be appropriate, but we’re definitely making progress.

It’s important that new life does not mean freedom from responsibility.  The virus is still present in the world, and even as we enjoy lower case and death counts, the possibility of new outbreaks continues, as demonstrated right now in France and Michigan.  So as we Presbyterians understand, we have not been saved for our own pleasure, but we are saved and called into partnership in God’s service.  We continue to be discerning and responsive to the needs of our churches and our communities as we consider the most faithful route towards in-person worship.

Because the progress to the Orange Tier has moved so fast, the Presbytery Executive Commission has not approve any official guidelines, but I thought I would summarize what aspects of the local health orders will continue, what has changed, and some thoughts for your sessions to consider as you plan worship in the coming months.  And please mark your calendars for Thursday, April 22, 7 pm.  We will hold a Zoom-based panel on guidelines and strategies for opening your church buildings.

Most elements of the Health Order have not changed:

1. Mask up—all the time you are in presence of others, indoors or outdoors.
2. 6-foot distancing between households is still in place, indoors or outdoors. There had been mention of 3-foot distancing for children, but this does not apply to churches.
3. Online worship is still safest, so churches are encouraged to continue online worship even after indoor worship is implemented. Outdoor worship and activities are better than indoors.
4. Singing is strongly discouraged; if done, all singers (including leaders) should stay masked and people from different households should be at least 8-10 feet apart with masks. If a leader is not masked, each singer must be 12 feet apart.
5. Instrumentalists must also keep an extended distance (or separated by Plexiglas shields); wind instruments are strongly discouraged.
6. No food or drink should be consumed in a group setting. (Even when it was pointed out that large crowds at a baseball game are being allowed to consume food and drink, the County Health Officer confirmed that churches should not serve food or drink except to go.)
7. Communion elements should be served in a “no-contact” manner.
8. Likewise, offering should be received in a “no-contact” manner.
9. Ventilation is important; keep doors and windows open, and maintain one-way traffic patterns.
10. Building owners should set protocols for activities on their premises and communicate to all who use the facility, with advance notice and on-site signage. All groups using the facility should follow the protocol (conversely, if a church rents space, they must follow the protocol of the building owner).
11. Employer protocols are still in place, including:

a. encouraging working from home or staggering hours in the office
b.egular cleaning (hourly for high-touch surfaces)
c. 6-foot social distancing
d. send any employee or volunteer with symptoms home for self-quarantine
e. reporting: if 3 or more cases of COVID-19 occur among employees within a span of 14 days, the employer must report the outbreak to the Department of Public Health at (888) 397-3993 or (213) 240-7821, or online at redcap.link/covidreport.

12. In PC(USA), the Session approves the protocols for safe environments.

What is changing with the Orange Tier:

1. 12-step groups (Alcoholics Anonymous) and therapy groups can now have up to 12 participants (limit was 10).
2. Indoor worship must still maintain 6 feet between household groups (greater if singing), with a maximum capacity of 50% building occupancy. That means that if a worship space can only hold 30% of building occupancy in order to maintain 6-foot distancing (for instance, if there are many individuals from different households), then only 30% is allowed.
3. Office work is more allowed, but still with 6-foot social distancing, cleaning, etc.

Some recommendations and things to consider:

1. Again, online worship is safest, and outdoor worship is safer than indoors. You don’t have to rush to worship indoors!  Sessions need to consider what’s best for their members, given the design of their physical space.  Many churches have a committee to focus on opening plans.
2. Require pre-registration for indoor worship, and have all attendees sign in on-site for contact tracing and staying within capacity limits.
3. Ask attendees if they have symptoms, fever, recent exposure to COVID, or have traveled recently when they pre-register; post clear signage on-site asking people not to enter if they say yes to any screening questions (as well as wearing masks, etc.).
4. Communion elements can be offered as self-contained kits or placed in multiple places for small groups.
5. Continue to encourage online offering, or ask people to drop offering in baskets (do not pass offering plates from person to person).
6. Have ushers to ensure sufficient distance between household groups and consider asking people to leave row by row to lessen traffic.
7. Teach church members a no-contact way of greeting and showing care for each other.
8. Phase into opening (start small and grow month by month), and set and communicate a backup plan (eg, if an outbreak occurs).
9. Shorten worship services or the length of time people meet indoors. For instance, one church is planning to have congregants go outside for communion.
10. For child care, consider meeting outdoors but ensure there is enough supervision so children maintain proper distancing and stay safe.
11. Look for ways to encourage vaccination for members and neighbors in your community.

As we move into the new possibilities that come with Easter, with the sunshine of spring, with vaccinations, with the easing of COVID-related restrictions, there is much to be grateful for.  May you know the joy of the risen Christ in your midst, today and every day.

Alleluia! Amen

Wendy

This is Holy Week, and in the span of a week we move from being stuck in a state of despair to the release of salvation, the freedom of new life.

We are in a time when it seems that we are stuck in many kinds of despair. Even as we hear the first glimmers of hope in the COVID-19 pandemic, we also hear of rising caseloads again, and continuing concerns from other countries. We see as a nation the persistent burden of racism plaguing us, manifested in the rise of anti-Asian hatred as well as in the seemingly endless number of incidents of African-Americans dying by the actions of police. And we as individuals are stuck in patterns of addiction and dysfunction, our fulfillment hampered by adherence to so many myths and habits and dependencies that distract us from God.

What does it take to free us of this despair? Sometimes we hope for human effort, such as the herculean efforts of health care workers to care for the sick and scientists to develop vaccine, as well as the simple actions of wearing masks and refraining from “trading air.” Sometimes we fear that we are permanently stuck in our death-dealing ways; this week also marks the beginning of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the man whose knee stayed on George Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive. My own level of despair is that I cannot hope for a sense of restoration from the trial; I only hope things will not get even worse. And during Lent we are often asked to examine our own weaknesses and broken places; I committed to a simple practice of letter-writing that I failed to maintain even for the 40 days of Lent.

In the midst of these difficult days comes a rather spectacular metaphor for our “stuck” feelings: the Ever Given cargo ship, run aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the path of any other ship. With 18,300 containers full of goods, the 220,000-ton, 1300-foot ship was helpless to extricate itself of its predicament —and its failure blocked hundreds of other ships from their forward purpose.

The ship stayed stuck for almost a week, and for days no one knew how to free it. One photo of a digger attempting to loosen sand and mud from under the bow seemed to reflect the enormity of the problem, and how miniscule our ability to resolve it.

Indeed, the prognosis was so uncertain that some ships chose to take the long route around the Suez Canal, which meant going all the way around the continent of Africa, adding weeks to their journey at $26,000 a day in added fuel costs.

The Japanese owners of the ship attempted to acknowledge their regret at the mishap, bowing deeply in humility. But that did not move the ship. Eventually, 11 tugboats from many different countries arrived on the scene to attempt to pull the ship back fully into the water.

They managed to get it to budge about 100 feet, but no more.

In what seems like God’s providence, an unusually high tide was due today. The army of engineers, salvage operators, and tugboat crews involved in extricating the ship coordinated their work with the high tide, and thank God this massive container ship, almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, was freed! The relief, and the freedom which was granted the 300 blocked ships, was immediate.

As we look ahead to Easter, this strikes me as a great metaphor for our life of faith. We seem to be inextricably stuck in our own brokenness, and the enormity of our broken ambition may even impact others. Our own attempts to save ourselves are woefully insufficient, even when we work together. But if we admit our error and coordinate our collective efforts with the awesome power of God to save us, we can experience the freedom of new life.

May we open our hearts and minds to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and in humility may we align ourselves to God’s saving will, that we may be freed to move and live and serve with purpose and gratitude.

And may we live to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever. Let us not rush past the events of this Holy Week, but thank God that our spiritual ancestors told us the good news of Easter. Let us give thanks that sin and death do not have the final answer. God’s power is indeed awesome, and awesome to save!

Looking ahead to resurrection hope,