We seem to be in one of those pivot moments with COVID. The numbers of new cases and hospitalizations are going down by about half, and the most common greeting these days is “Have you been vaccinated yet?” I’m hearing from our local retirement communities that all residents and staff have received both doses of their vaccinations, to their and our great relief. It feels like the gloom of January has alleviated somewhat, and I just hope that we stay vigilant and careful, even as the numbers go from horrifyingly high to just bad.

As the blanket of death has lifted somewhat, I was struck by hearing from Stephanie Kang, who is a chaplain supervisor at a hospital in Whittier. During a committee meeting that she faithfully attended even in her stressful life, she shared the burden of caring: for patients who die in isolation, for their families who cannot adequately say good-bye, and for the healthcare workers who continue to work in war-like conditions of long hours and overwhelming death, exemplified by the four temporary morgues parked at her hospital. I have not asked enough for prayers for our chaplains and health care workers in our communities, as they are focused on their life-saving work now, but also as they transition to the time when they will have enough time for the waves of grief to come in. Our chaplains for retirees, Lauren Evans and Diane Frasher, have been thinking about ways to address the grief that will be welling up in our retirement communities, but also in all of us, and we hope to be able to share more soon.

In the life of the church, Ash Wednesday—this Wednesday—is a time for us to remember our own mortality. I have never known a year when our mortality is so apparent, as we contemplate the frailty of our existence on this earth. It has certainly been a time for us to reflect on our need for God, and the great love that God has, so much that God can love each of us enough to enter into our own brokenness in Jesus Christ. I was delighted to receive the gift of a “Lent in a Bag” kit from my family church, First Presbyterian Altadena. I think they were partly inspired by some ideas shared at WinterFest (which is so thrilling to me), and their thoughtfulness truly touched me.

As it happens, this coming Saturday is the 10-year anniversary of my father’s death. Like Stephanie’s sharing, this came to me during a committee meeting, and my first reaction was just reflecting on how old I am now, because a friend responded by being shocked that it’s been that long since he died. But then I remembered another time the Altadena church folk came to our house. Dad had just come home under hospice care, and my sister and I went to Altadena that Sunday morning, as much as anything to let them know that he was near death. Several members of the church asked if they could come visit him, and so they came that afternoon and surrounded his bed with their love and prayers.

At the time, Altadena had a young man playing piano for worship, and he brought his portable keyboard so they could sing for my dad. The young man’s father (who happens to be Fuller professor Mark Lau Branson) whispered to his son, reminding him that Mr. Tajima preferred hymns rather than praise songs. Noah said “yeah, Dad, I know.” And so they sang some hymns, prayed, and said farewell. Dad went on to the Lord shortly after they left.

Yesterday was Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent. I tend to think of the Transfiguration as a moment when the curtain between eternity and mortality was pulled back, giving Jesus and his followers an image of the life that never ends, as Jesus neared the end of his earthly days. That day 10 years ago was an image for me of how church can give that glimpse of heaven, as my father’s soul was lifted up to eternity by the songs, prayers, and love of his church family.

As I share this precious memory, I am heartbroken that not all deaths can be experienced in the loving embrace of family and friends, especially during this pandemic. Perhaps this is why I am so grateful to the nurses and other healthcare workers who have taken on that added role as human bridge to loved ones who cannot be physically present. I can only pray that just as we can know the love of God without God appearing to us in the flesh, all those who transition into eternal life are drawn forward by God’s grace, and the temporary pains of this world are quickly forgotten.

And for those of us left behind, I am grateful beyond words for our churches who are finding ways to love our people, especially those who are grieving. Even if we are apart, even when we lose loved ones, we are not alone, we are not forgotten, and thank God we are all loved by God, and each other. Mortal as we are, in Christ we are saved forever.

In the quiet of this Lenten season, may we know peace,

Wendy

This may be the easiest column I’ve every written. All I need to do is reflect for a moment on last week’s WinterFest, and I see abundant proof of Bruce Reyes-Chow’s assertion in his keynote presentation: that God has already given us more than enough to do the work of God’s realm. If not obvious, the corollary is that the abundance is there, and it’s up to us to see it.

stop being surprised by how well you and the churches you serve have done during the pandemic

Apparently I am one who did not see it, because I was struck by Bruce’s first statement:

(If you want to see Bruce’s slides, go to https://www.slideshare.net/breyeschow/slideshelf#. We will make the recording of his presentation available in a couple of weeks.)

Immediately I realized that my surprise was a result of low expectations of what we are willing or able to do—or, worse, what God is willing or able to do through us.

But when we are open to the gifts that God offers to us, the abundance is amazing.

The most obvious abundance was shown through the EEE (Education, Equipping, and Empowerment) Committee, who organized WinterFest. They were the ones who responded to the restrictions of COVID-19 by deciding to change our 6-hour Saturday event to a weeklong extravaganza, and to record the sessions as we build up an on-line archive of trainings. All the sessions were recorded and will be made available later this month; look to future Monday Morning Updates for the link.

This video library will go along with worship resources that were first developed for World Communion Sunday, and more will be developed for the Easter season. (More details on that later.)

As it turns out, the majority of participants joined us every night, so that it started to feel like a weeklong all-Presbytery retreat. And because one of the themes of this WinterFest was “Let’s learn from each other” (do you remember that wonderful promotional video that Becca Bateman made?), many of the sessions were led by our own people, which gave all of us a glimpse into the wonderful creativity and faithfulness of our church leaders.

This turned out to be a timely pivot from the crisis of grieving what we were used to and wondering how to do church without meeting in person, to dreaming what we will be and wondering how to do church in person while also extending our reach and mission through online connections. We don’t want to shut down this new era of evangelism, moving beyond the confines and exclusivity of physical gatherings, as we consider what we will bring back, and what new ways of church we will continue in the coming “hybrid” world of the church.

For myself, I would like to retain the flexibility of allowing for remote connections, and the opportunities that arise from that, including broader participation and the ability to share resources and ideas (ask Millason Dailey and the Calvary folk about ways to keep connected with church members and the community, or ask Peter Tan-Gatue about smartphone prayers!). My biggest hope is to retain the permission to make mistakes as we try new things, and the natural feedback loop that I trust has been infused with grace. And as we saw with WinterFest, let us have eyes to see and appreciate the gifts of our own people, if we give them a chance to share them.

And let us always give thanks. For WinterFest, we give thanks to lead organizer Pat Martinez-Miller, along with other EEE Committee members Jennifer Ackerman, Sam Bang, Shawna Banks, Becca Bateman, Deidra Goulding, and Peter Tan-Gatue. Thanks to the many presenters, the 100 or so attendees, and witnesses to our connectional church like Bruce Reyes-Chow and Alice Ridgill who joined us from as far away as the Bay Area and North Carolina. And many, many thanks to incoming Stated Clerk for Administration, Ally Lee, who as EEE member created and managed the coordinating work and technology platform which allowed WinterFest to blossom without a hitch. Ally is taking this week as study leave, as she prepares for her expanded clerk responsibilities. Please let me know if you need anything this week, so she has time to focus.

As we look ahead to our hybrid future (not now—the PEC guidance to plan to worship out of the buildings at least through Easter holds; Bruce Reyes-Chow shared that his church in Palo Alto will not hold worship in their building until September), let us never forget how God provides, in abundance. And let us always look to God for guidance, and look to each other to see what God can do through us!

Blessings in all the ups and downs of life,

Wendy

As we move into 2021, our Presbytery meeting last Tuesday marked many transitions.

We thanked Jennifer Ackerman and blessed her as she has moved to Portland, Oregon, and completed her term as chair of our Education (now Education, Equipping, and Empowerment) Committee. This was also Diane Frasher’s last meeting as Stated Clerk, and we thank her for her service in that ministry, while we are grateful that she continues in our Presbytery family as Chaplain for Retired Presbyterian Church Workers at Monte Vista Grove Homes. Roberto Ramírez completed his term as Moderator of the Presbytery Executive Commission (which followed his service as Vice Moderator and Moderator of the Presbytery). David Cortés-Fuentes and Josey Saez Acevedo have settled in Puerto Rico, and we approved David’s request to transfer his membership to el Presbiterio Noroeste there. And we marked the deaths of Dick Hettish, Ross Kinsler, and Lee and Don Hawthorne, all beloved and devoted saints to family and the people of God.

While we honored the transition out of ministries and relationships, there were also many opportunities to celebrate new ministries and new friends. Harlan Redmond was enrolled as an Inquirer under care of CPM, and Bruce Myers was received as a member of Presbytery and Site Pastor for the West Covina Ministry Center. As Diane leaves her role as Stated Clerk at the end of February, the Presbytery voted to appoint Ally Lee as Stated Clerk for Administration beginning March 1. And we elected William Maweu and Veronica Ota as members of both Justice, Peacemaking and Mission and Self-Development of People.

Later in our meeting, Deborah Owens and Dave Tomlinson were installed as Moderator and Vice Moderator, respectively, of Presbytery, and Deborah is hoping that we can focus this year on what it means to be a Matthew 25 Church. Our national church has asked the church at all levels to consider three focus areas as a Matthew 25 Church:

• Building congregational vitality by challenging people and congregations to deepen their faith and get actively and joyfully engaged with their community and the world.
• Dismantling structural racism by advocating and acting to break down the systems, practices and thinking that underlie discrimination, bias, prejudice and oppression of people of
• Eradicating systemic poverty by working to change laws, policies, plans and structures in our society that perpetuate economic exploitation of people who are

Deborah’s work as Moderator began almost immediately, as this last weekend, she led a celebration of ministry at San Marino Community Church with the installation not only of Jessica Vaughan Lower and Jeff O’Grady as Co-Pastors/Co-Heads of Staff, but also of San Marino’s incoming Ruling Elders and Deacons. It was a great demonstration of the importance and interconnectedness of all ordered ministries in the Presbyterian Church. I recently reread an essay from Joe Small, who once led the Office of Theology and Worship in Louisville, called “The Travail of the Presbytery” (you can google it for some good historical context). In it, he wrote:

. . . all of the ordered ministries were bound together in the common task of ensuring the church’s fidelity to the Word. Therefore, in whatever ways Reformed ministries might be ordered today, they must remain undivided. When a minister – pastor, elder, deacon – performs any ministerial act, it is performed on behalf of the whole ministry; no one may act alone as the representative of Christ.

As part of this connectional church, we were happy to hear from Mark Hong, our Synod Executive/ Stated Clerk, who reflected on the ministry of the Synod, especially in partnership with our seven presbyteries: Santa Barbara, San Fernando, San Gabriel, Riverside, Pacific, Los Ranchos, San Diego.

Roberto Ramírez highlighted the Presbytery Executive Commission’s letter to all our churches, giving guidance to strongly recommend all our churches continue to worship online and/or outdoors at least through Easter.

The fruits of our connectionalism were also reflected in the number of grants we have received and also given. Thanks to a $70,000 grant from the House of Rest, we can continue to offer chaplaincy ministry among our retired pastors, missionaries, and church workers, with Lauren Evans and Diane Frasher continuing in their roles. The Justice, Peacemaking and Mission Committee announced grants through the El Monte Initiative. They approved $28,978 to CaliCenter at Puente de Esperanza Church in La Puente and $9,000 to the food distribution program at El Monte Community Presbyterian Church. JPM was also able to give smaller grants, to help the staff of Living Waters for the World in Peru ($300), and food distribution programs at Immanuel Presbyterian in Koreatown and El Monte Community Presbyterian ($600 each).

Continuing in their focus on meeting basic needs in this time of pandemic, JPM designated this meeting’s offering to the San Fernando Valley Refugee Children’s Center. You can still donate by sending a check made out to San Gabriel Presbytery to: 9723 Garibaldi Avenue, Temple City 91780, with “Presbytery Offering” on the memo line. Or, you can give online at sangabpres.org/donate and use the drop down menu to “Give to Presbytery Offering.”

As I write this, I just received a lovely text of encouragement and appreciation from a faithful leader in the PC(USA), who has been especially focused on the National Black Presbyterian Caucus. The text celebrates the ways God creates every one of us, and this message of affirmation for others was the way he chose to kick off February as Black History Month.

So as we spend this week of WinterFest in body building, and as we begin this month of celebration and remembrance for the profound history of perseverance and faith in Black History Month, and as we focus on how we can be a Matthew 25 Church, we are thankful that we can do God’s work in the world together, supporting each other in love.

Thanks be to God, and see you all this week!

Wendy

Sometimes I fear that I am too boastful about our presbytery. I often point to our presbytery in national meetings because of our diversity, our welcome to immigrant communities, and the demonstrated understanding of the Presbyterian trust clause that enables us to stay relevant in our changing community. For those who aren’t steeped in Presbyterian polity, the trust clause comes from the Constitution, G-4.0203:

All property held by or for a congregation, a presbytery, a synod, the General Assembly, or the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), whether legal title is lodged in a corporation, a trustee or trustees, or an unincorporated association, and whether the property is used in programs of a congregation or of a higher council or retained for the production of income, is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Therefore, if any property ceases to be used in accordance with the Constitution, it is to be transferred to the presbytery so it can be used more effectively in support of the mission of God through the PC(USA).

I can boast about this presbytery because all of the characteristics of diversity, immigrant welcome, and stewardship were present before I joined the staff. As I studied the history of this presbytery, there were key leaders who trusted and loved God enough to be willing to partner with new ministries if it looked like our congregations could not serve the community for whatever reason. So our churches have partnered with, and at times given property to, new churches who better reflected and served the community—and San Gabriel Valley happens to be a land of rapidly changing demographics, blessed with the presence of immigrants from many lands. I don’t know any presbytery that has kept up with the demographic changes in their territory than San Gabriel has.

This attitude of evangelism and generosity is also reflected in our presbytery’s mission statement: To expand the Kingdom of God in the San Gabriel Valley by building a relational Body of Christ that ministers to our congregations, each other, and the world.

1. To strengthen, support and equip our congregations in their work of ministry;
2. To take time for each other by worshiping, praying, celebrating, supporting and depending upon one another;
3. To work for the transformation of the valley by sharing our faith in Jesus Christ, becoming a mosaic of Godly diversity in a deeply divided society, and by demonstrating our faith by engagement in public

In recent years, we have focused on the last part of this mission statement, paraphrasing it as a useful way to describe what we consider a vital congregation: a church that works for the transformation of its neighborhood by being disciples of Jesus Christ, reflecting God’s realm in the loving diversity of our communities, and demonstrating our faith through public engagement.

Because we have been well attuned to our mission as Christ’s church in this valley, the national staff considered us to be a model of their emerging vision for the Presbyterian Church (USA) as a “Matthew 25 church.” In fact, there was some confusion when the national church made this commitment, because we in Southern California were already connected with the Matthew 25 Southern California movement, which focuses on caring for immigrants facing distress, following Christ’s statement that “how you treat the most vulnerable is how you treat me.”

Our incoming moderator, Deborah Owens, wants us to explore more intentionally the call to be a Matthew 25 church, at the congregational and presbytery level. So starting with tomorrow’s Presbytery meeting, we will begin looking at this commitment. Specifically, the Presbyterian Mission Agency asks Matthew 25 congregations and presbyteries to embrace one or more of these three focuses:

• Building congregational vitality by challenging people and congregations to deepen their faith and get actively and joyfully engaged with their community and the
• Dismantling structural racism by advocating and acting to break down the systems, practices and thinking that underlie discrimination, bias, prejudice and oppression of people of
• Eradicating systemic poverty by working to change laws, policies, plans and structures in our society that perpetuate economic exploitation of people who are

I have been impressed with how our churches are already reflecting both these models of faithful churches, as described by our own mission statement and now by the national church. I look forward to discussing this more, starting with our Presbytery meeting, and throughout WinterFest’s week of educational gatherings.

And may God continue to bless you and all our congregations, as we seek to be ever more faithful in Christ’s service.

See you tomorrow and next week!

Wendy