I hope you had a joyous World Communion Sunday yesterday. We on Presbytery staff had fun putting together resources for World Communion Sunday, and I was gratified to hear from a few churches that they were helpful to you. As I sometimes say in a prideful moment, for San Gabriel Presbytery, we are the world, and the world is us, and this service is a glimpse of that. The timing could have been a little better, though, since we were also preparing for an equally joyous Presbytery meeting, and helping with two major congregational meetings on Zoom and several other tasks. I’m just thankful that we didn’t get evacuated from the Bobcat fire in the midst of it!

Some of the elements in the service can be used other times, so you’re welcome to go to our World Communion Sunday Google Drive and see what might be helpful to you.

Now that we’ve considered Christ’s church gathering at the Lord’s Table all around the world, we might also consider more deeply the land on which God has placed us. Next week, on October 12, we remember what is traditionally called “Columbus Day,” commemorating Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas. More recently, people have also called this day “Indigenous Peoples Day,” raising the fact that people have been living in this land for many centuries prior to Columbus “discovering” it, and that these people suffered due to the expansion of immigrants from Europe.

The more spiritually damaging aspect of this migration was the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the religious and legal construct that had been upheld by United States and international law, justifying claims of ownership of lands that were taken from indigenous peoples. The Presbyterian Church (USA), along with several other denominations, has repudiated this and apologized for our complicity in perpetuating it. Each level of the church is also expected to recognize and show respect for the peoples who inhabited the land before our ancestors settled on it.

In last November’s Presbytery meeting, we acknowledged the people who have lived in the Los Angeles-San Gabriel Valley area, the Tongva people. Utilizing a wonderful resource on Native American Day (which used to be recognized in September, but seems to be missing from our calendar now), we worshipped for reconciliation with our indigenous siblings in Christ, including the Tongva people but also recognizing Taiwanese and Hawaiian peoples, with whom our Presbytery members have roots. Click HERE for a copy of this worship service, in case you would like to use some of the resources or the brief historical overview of the people who have lived in this area, perhaps for as long as 8,000 years.

We know that the question of land rights is an ancient one. The scripture I reference from Joshua 24 is an inversion of the more frequently used description of God’s shalom, the fulfillment of God’s will of justice and peace for all:

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They shall not build and another inhabit;

they shall not plant and another eat.                       Isaiah 65:21-22a

As we know, the book of Joshua chronicles the conquest of the land of Canaan by the people of Israel, which according to the Bible was God’s gift to God’s chosen. Joshua 24:13 is in fact the culmination of Joshua’s report to the people of Israel of God’s care throughout their history, as the basis for their covenant of loyalty to YHWH. The challenge is: what looks like mercy for the people of Israel, was conquest for the people of Canaan. And it has been too easy for later conquerors to justify their taking of native lands as God’s will.

In North America, the conquest of this land has resulted in Native Americans losing their land and true sovereignty, and they have lost countless lives through exposure to foreign disease, expulsion, violence, and intergenerational trauma. Most recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) reported that the incidence of Covid-19 cases among American Indians and Alaska Natives was 3.5 times more than the rate of White people. The Navajo Nation has lost more people to Coronavirus than 13 states. I was in a meeting recently, and one of the participants is Native American; she started to list the community leaders they had lost already, and it was daunting. And a few weeks ago, Bong Bringas and I heard of the death of colleague Rev. Cecil Corbett, due to Covid-19. Cecil, a Nez Perce/Choctaw pastor member of Inland Northwest Presbytery in Spokane, was a long-time leader of our denomination and co-writer of the hymn “O God the Creator,” which is in the blue Presbyterian Hymnal, #273 (note that the hymn was meant to be sung to the tune “They’ll Know We Are Christians”).

There are different times when a church might recognize the peoples whose land we now inhabit; I often think of this as part of the November Thanksgiving season. My hope is that as we seek Christ’s realm of justice and peace, we seek that justice and peace for all peoples. And as we consider the ways God has given us so much privilege and power—over the rest of Creation and even over other less-resourced peoples—we use this privilege and power in a way that Christ might want us to do. May we add our efforts to God’s will of shalom for this world, a shalom where all are fed, all are respected, all are free to live and work in God’s vineyards together.

In Christ’s peace,

After weeks of heat, smoke, ash, and flames, I stepped outside for a bit on Saturday morning and thought I was hallucinating. The air was cool and damp; in fact it was misting! It felt like a miracle, and was a wonderful reminder of God’s providence before our Presbytery meeting this last weekend.

Our Saturday meeting was our second Zoom-based meeting, and we continued to look for ways to utilize the possibilities of meeting through the internet. We were able to meet and receive Lisa Hansen, new pastor and head of staff for

Pasadena Presbyterian Church, as she was on the road on her way from Texas to California. On the suggestion of GA commissioner N’Yisrela Watts-Afriyie, we also gave people a glimpse of the first on-line General Assembly by playing videos of Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson, which we played for our opening prayer and benediction.

We also experienced the video production talents of several of our younger Presbytery members such as Becca Bateman, who produced videos for the Tapestry Youth Work Week

and the upcoming WinterFest training event. As a couple of us remarked via chat, the WinterFest video made us tear up out of love and gratitude for our San Gabriel Presbytery. Ally Lee coordinated the Call to Worship, led by youth and children from several of our churches. Lauren Evans produced the Scripture readings in Korean, Arabic, Kikuyu, Thai, Farsi and German, hearing the voices of San Gabriel members and friends: Heidi Park (from Seoul), Maher Makar (from Temple City), Priscilla Ngunju (from South Pasadena), Esther Wakeman (from Chiang Mai), and Ryan White (from Berlin).

And Lauren and Jennifer Ackerman produced music videos for worship.

Several of these videos are being offered as parts of a World Communion Sunday virtual service, which will be available for churches early this week. We have enjoyed receiving musical offerings from several churches as well, so churches can choose the music they want, and all or select parts of the worship service. If you’d like to see what is available and download what you want, go to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J_ef_B3rZlMeA8mjF0S0eKuOTW8vJJ8N?usp=sharing.

With the WinterFest video, our Education, Equipping, and Empowerment Committee announced a new approach this coming year. Rather than one day, where attendees are limited to only two workshops, this WinterFest will be held throughout the week of February 1-6, 2021, all online. The sessions will be recorded, and saved as the beginnings of a resource library of trainings on diverse topics for church leaders. And the week culminates in a plenary celebration and worship service on Saturday, February 6. Details and registration information will be available at https://sangabpres.org/wf/

We also met several new friends who are helping us with some new initiatives. Rae Huang, lead organizer with LA Voice, described the voter education work they are doing, and the inaugural Belong Circle, a relationship-building small group approach to help us connect better across differences. We will start the first group on October 13 with a select group of leaders to “beta test” this curriculum.

Tapestry is organizing a larger Belong Circle for youth, and we are inviting young people from any of our churches to participate. Contact Ashley Roque at mailto:ashleylroque@gmail.com if you are interested.

LA Voice has also played a crucial role in helping us envision an exciting new use for the site of our Baldwin Park church property. We hope to use this property for affordable housing and transitional housing for asylum seekers. We are grateful for the multiple ways our mission work is strengthened through our partnership with LA Voice, so this meeting’s offering was designated towards LA Voice; if you would like to contribute, go to https://sangabpres.org/donate/ and designate your gift “to Presbytery Offering” and we will send it to them.

Speaking of asylum seekers, Kristi Van Nostran gave an update on our Immigrant Accompaniment Ministry.  What an inspiration!  This past year we helped 85 people transition out of Adelanto Detention Center, and when we were able, Kristi hosted visits to Adelanto, enabling us to show our support in person. This ministry has been so effective that we received a grant from a mission partner in Claremont, and another year grant from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. This coming year Kristi will be working with San Gabriel and now Riverside Presbytery.

Of course, we heard several reports—on finances, revisions to our Presbytery Employment Handbook, Representation, and we got two excellent perspectives from GA commissioners Maria Cacarnakis and N’Yisrela Watts-Afriyie. Stated Clerk Diane Frasher announced the schedule of Presbytery meetings for 2021: in addition to WinterFest February 1-6, Presbytery meetings will be held January 26 (7 pm), March 20, June 19, September 18, and November 16 (7 pm).

We heard about the funds offered to all churches, to help alleviate the financial challenges from COVID- 19: $2,000 for every active church and fellowship, and 10 churches requesting and receiving $10,000 grants. We also heard from three of the national church agencies: René Myers on the Matthew 25 initiative at Presbyterian Mission Agency, Maggie Harmon from Presbyterian Foundation, and Mickie Choi from Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program; blessings to Mickie especially, as she will be retiring at the end of 2020. And we heard from Veronica Ota from Wyoming, who was enrolled as a CPM Inquirer, and Sam Bang, who will be starting a new worshiping community in Rowland Heights.

As our churches have learned, there are certain advantages to this technology. We are getting better attendance than in physical meetings: 150 participants on Saturday. We are able to connect with friends near and far. We weren’t able to gather at San Marino Community Church, who was scheduled to host us, but San Marino’s Jessica Vaughn Lower celebrated communion with us.

All in all, this meeting gave us inspiring glimpses into the life of our presbytery, highlighted some exciting ministries we are offering, and celebrated the connections with the larger church. In the midst of uncertainty and challenge, our churches and all levels of the Presbyterian Church (USA) are finding ways to be a beacon of hope and light for ourselves and this hurting world, a reflection of the glory of our God. Thanks be to God!

In Christ’s peace,

Wendy

It has been a full month since we received any new orders from the LA County Department of Health. It actually does not feel like that long, but that last big new order (to close worship indoors) was dated July 17, 2020.

Since then, many of us have adjusted our thinking from “when will this end” to “this is the new normal.” Most of our churches seem to be planning to worship online at least until Christmas; one person asked what was so special about December, and I said it’s just a marker far enough into the future that we don’t have to keep wondering whether everything will be turned upside down on a moment’s notice.

In other ways I’ve noticed how life is adjusting to the new normal. Last week, PPC called their head of staff in a well-attended and well-considered congregational meeting via Zoom and landline phone, in three languages. The Presbytery Executive Commission has decided that at least the next two Presbytery meetings, on September 26 and November 17, will be on Zoom. People are making life decisions and contemplating moves, including pastors.

This last weekend was to be my first meeting as a new member of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission. The meeting happened, though with a few twists. There was a business meeting, and then a hearing, all via Zoom—and the hearing could be viewed via livestream. But since the hearing was on the dispute with SFTS that was raised during this last GA, I recused myself due to my complicated feelings about SFTS. As it turns out, the Synod of the Pacific commissioner is Scott Clark, one of my successors in my position as Associate Dean of SFTS. So we spent the weekend watching and commenting on the hearing, along with almost 500 other observers.

I am guessing that people who have not attended seminary might wonder why there was so much furor over the status of SFTS as a PCUSA seminary. Even I find it remarkable how much stronger is my attachment to SFTS over my other schools, whether undergraduate or my other graduate degree.

I remember going to interim ministry training many years ago, near the height of the controversy over human sexuality. Two other attendees happened to be national leaders on opposite sides of the controversy, and they were known for speaking forcefully in opposite directions. However, upon seeing each other at the training, they hugged each other with joy and asked about their families by name. I asked them about this surprising affection they had for each other, and they explained that they had gone to seminary together, some 40 years prior.

In my years in ministry, I have noticed the indelible impression one’s seminary experience has on their theology, collegial relationships, and views on the PCUSA. One church leader asserted that the vast majority of churches seeking dismissal from the PCUSA were pastored by graduates of non-PCUSA seminaries. I know many pastors, as effective and loyal as any, who graduated from non-PCUSA seminaries. On the other hand, I had a visceral negative reaction to the claim that SFTS was “not a PCUSA seminary.”

Of the many concerns I have about SFTS, one thing I would never imagine is that SFTS is not PCUSA. In fact, after beginning seminary at Fuller and transferring to SFTS, my first reaction was frustration that SFTS functioned as an arm of the PCUSA, which limited its understanding of ministry. I have since learned how much the seminary experience is one of enculturation to the identity and ethos of minister, and how our CPMs count on the seminary to help shape them as pastors consistent with our understanding of Presbyterian ministry.  This also impacts the intangible understandings of the pastoral role that need to be taught to commissioned ruling elders, especially in the power dynamics and boundary responsibilities that pastors must acknowledge and uphold, even in awkward circumstances.

You may not think any of this is important. But I have been burdened lately by the struggles of another seminary that is dear to us, Fuller Theological Seminary. They have sustained severe financial difficulties that were made all the more painful when their move to Pomona fell through. There are members of our own Presbytery whose ministries are being changed or curtailed due to Fuller’s need to cut back their staff, so if nothing else some of our friends and colleagues are facing difficult life decisions. (By the way, the same is happening at the national level of the PCUSA, with 35% cuts being made in Louisville, as a result of severe cuts in shared mission giving, which reflect financial constraints at the local level.

Thank God we have not been experienced this as critically as other presbyteries.)

I have never been strong in the area of Christian Education, but I do see how our families, our churches, and our seminaries have great responsibility to form our members as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. This does not mean forcing them to fit into one rigid mold, but to help each of us to realize God’s will for us, and to nurture and strengthen the diverse gifts that God gives to us, to be used for the glory of God and in the service of Christ’s church. Like the sculpture that is already complete in Michelangelo’s marble block, we all contain the spark of the Holy Spirit within us; the job of our seminaries and all of the church is to chip away the constraints (like sin and prejudice) that keep us from being all that God wants us to be.

I ask you to pray for our seminaries, who are going through a very painful season of transformation, that they may find new ways to form and nurture our future pastors. And I ask that you consider how your churches are intentionally training and developing your members, as you are the seminaries that form and nurture our future church leaders. Together, we are all parts of Christ’s one church.

In Christ’s peace,

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is an ethnic church.  We are a child of the Church of Scotland, and even now there are still signs of our Scottish heritage.  The first time I realized this was at my seminary, where every commencement service began with a procession, led by a bagpiper.  At the General Assembly, the people often enter the first plenary session following a bagpiper.  Our friend and 1001 New Worshiping Communities staffer, Sean Chow, remembers with fondness his favorite childhood church event, the annual Highlands Games at 1^st Presbyterian Oxnard.  Even our denominational revulsion of bishops may come from John Knox’ fight with bishops who challenged his reform movement and acted as agents of the English crown.  (A great insight for which I will always be thankful to the late great Robina Winbush.)

So our church family ancestry goes back through the Church of Scotland (with a nod to the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam, aka New York), to the Roman Catholic Church, to Paul’s trip to Greece, where he met and taught the first Christian convert in Europe, the businesswoman Lydia.  Some believe that the Philippian church was started in Lydia’s home, with her prayer circle of women.

As Acts 16 tells us, the only reason Paul went to Philippi was out of frustration.  He had been visiting existing churches to strengthen them, going to who was familiar, but his path was blocked.  In a dream, a man from Macedonia begged him to come and help them, and so he went, and got to Philippi.

We continue to struggle with the limitations that have been set upon us by the Coronavirus, and yet these restrictions have caused us to try new things, and live out our faith in new ways.  Several churches report that they have more people joining them in virtual worship than would come into the sanctuary on any given Sunday.  And now, as churches are being forced to hold congregational meetings by Zoom and phone, they are finding better attendance.  One clerk of session said that their recent meeting had better attendance than they’ve had in many years. 

And yesterday, Pasadena Presbyterian Church held a congregational meeting with great attendance, joining by Zoom and phone, held in Korean, Spanish, and English.  Again, heartfelt thanks to Rev. Ally Lee, who gave technical support for the meeting.  It was definitely the most complicated virtual meeting we have held in San Gabriel Presbytery, but recommendations were made, discussion happened, votes were cast, and PPC called Rev. Dr. Lisa Hansen as their new Pastor and Head of Staff.  We hope to receive her into San Gabriel Presbytery at our September 26 meeting.  And yes, the September 26 and November 17 Presbytery meetings will be held by Zoom.  Congratulations to PPC and welcome Lisa!

You can hear Lisa preach to the PPC congregation in English and with translation in Korean.  She also visited the service in Spanish before the 4 pm congregational meeting.  In the sermon, Lisa shared an experience climbing to the top of Mt. Sinai as an Air Force chaplain.  She was set to preach at sunrise, and they did arrive there in time to see the sun rise, and to kneel in silent prayer.  Though she had her message ready, she was struck dumb by the power of God, speaking to them in the silence.

This was the strong image I heard in her sermon, ironically as she spoke about being silenced.  We are descendants of Paul’s thwarted attempt to carry out HIS mission—but God had other plans.  And we cannot know right now what new ministries are being started in this time of restriction and frustration.  As has been said, God can make a way out of no way.  Our only job is to keep going, and follow.

In Christ’s peace,