I noticed that last week I boasted of the joys of serving San Gabriel Presbytery.  While I have been so grateful for the great things happening in many of our churches and in the life of the Presbytery, there was a little voice in the back of my mind worrying that I was starting to think we were causing the good things to happen—and what does that mean to those who are facing challenges?

As it happens, I had the opportunity to do some good soul work last week.  In meeting with the leaders of one church, I became aware of how vulnerable I am to a particular sore spot for me, the pain of rejection.  This awareness came around the same time that I was walking with another colleague dealing with their particular sore spot. 

You know what I mean by sore spot—we all have particular places of woundedness, and many of us live our lives making sure to protect them.  But since we like to be seen as strong and whole, we often hide our wounds, so others aren’t aware.  I’ve seen that some of the biggest blow-ups in churches happen when those wounds are unwittingly opened, and rather than speak to our hurt, we react, often with a response that is less sacred but less real, which leads to further misunderstanding.  Unlike just about any institution in our lives beyond our own family, church is a place where we are most vulnerable, where more of our personal lives and families are known, where we are encouraged to confess our sins and weaknesses, and where we seek the ultimate spiritual connection with our God and with each other.  I believe this is the reason that abusive behavior in the church is so damaging—and I would suggest that not only pastors, but all church leaders should be aware of the great responsibility we have to treat each other with care.

Now my guess is that we all have at least one sore spot.  We may have several places of woundedness, but some are worse than others, so much so that it impacts our life decisions.  I have always believed that an essential part of my sense of ministry is the fact that I’ve always felt like an outsider, not being totally and exclusively committed to any one group.  Honestly, my work in the church is the only time I have felt so committed, but even so I am—we are—in a church tradition that allows for openness of thought and connection with the world.  But even more honestly, I might have chosen to put myself on the margin rather than risk having others push me out there.

Another tendency I have, which I think I share with many if not most Presbyterians, is the “fix it” attitude we take to any challenge we face.  Because we Presbyterians like to proclaim the gospel in deed as well as word, and we have been and tend to be leaders by personality, we are prone to believe we can take on whatever comes up in our lives and our churches.  In fact, we have to remind ourselves that the mission God calls us to is not what is feasible or reasonably doable by ourselves; we are called to let ourselves be used by God, who can do much more than we can imagine.

So why all the true confessions?  I found myself in a situation where it seemed that some church leaders were finding much more excitement and support from outside the Presbytery, and I felt like I should be doing something to compete, but any attempts wouldn’t work.  So my attempts to fix it fell short, and I anticipated a day when we—or I—would be rejected.  How do I deal with this?

There will always be times when we feel helpless to make things work the way we want, and sometimes we can’t even understand why things are happening the way they do.  As uncomfortable as it feels, the answer to these situations is not to simply turn away, or reduce the issue to something we can easily fix.  Perhaps we need to live in the brokenness, and remember that we are not in fact in charge . . . and pray.  Let us live in humility, and take those reminders that while God has given us much in resources and responsibility, we are but wounded servants.  We are not able to do all by ourselves, yet under God we are able to do and experience great things

I think you can tell this is not an easy topic for me to discuss.  My guess is I’m not the only one to struggle with confronting our limitations.  We as Presbyterians live in the tension of having a strong sense of purpose in God’s world, while having to remind ourselves that we are helpless without God.  So we live in total gratitude that God is with us, and goes to great lengths to show us grace every day.

Peace,

Wendy

Once in a while I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessing I have in serving San Gabriel Presbytery.  This weekend was such a time.

Saturday was WinterFest, our annual training day.  Captained by Rev. Ally Lee of Knox Pasadena, and coordinated by the Education Committee of the Presbytery, this day was a source of inspiration, education, and empowerment.  I have heard from several of the participants appreciation and immediate application of what they learned from plenary speaker Rev. Alexia Salvatierra and all the workshops, especially the large interactive afternoon on “Mobilizing Your Church to Serve,” led by Rev. Jennifer Ackerman and Sophia Alecci.  We will be receiving the PowerPoint presentations from Rev. Salvatierra, so let us know if you want them and we’ll send them to you.  And if you want to get more involved in the Matthew 25 movement, you can talk with Knox Presbyterian, who is a member church, or go to https://www.matthew25socal.org/.

We were also blessed to have Rev. Samuel Son, Manager for Diversity and Reconciliation with the Presbyterian Mission Agency, who led two workshops on diversity as a gospel issue.  As I experienced this WinterFest, I realized that I as Executive Presbyter had virtually nothing to contribute to the event, and the host church, Northminster Presbyterian, did a phenomenal job creating a comfortable and welcoming home, even while they are without a pastor and their usual al fresco lifestyle had to adjust to the pouring rain.  So in deed as well as in word, WinterFest showed us much of what we dream for the church—the priesthood of all believers, gathered in the name of Jesus Christ to work for Christ’s mission in the world—and those believers include young leaders, people of all races, lay people and clergy alike.  Thank you to everyone who prepared, served, and participated.

I wanted to connect more with Samuel Son, who came all the way out from Louisville just to be with us.  He preached and led adult education at Pasadena Presbyterian Church on Sunday, so I went there.  I regretted missing West Covina’s worship service, as they were honoring Rev. Don Maddox, who has been a faithful preacher and moderator of session during their trailblazing transition to being a Presbytery fellowship.  As Revs. Mary Ellen Azada and Jennifer Ackerman begin their ministry at West Covina next Sunday, Don is now helping with St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in La Puente, along with Rev. Charles Castles.  They were asked to help since Rev. Ken Tracy had to complete his ministry due to severe neck and back pain.  I continue to be so grateful for our incredible corps of retired pastors who serve and lead in so many ways in this Presbytery.  Thanks to Don, Charlie, and Ken, and we pray for the doctors to find a way to alleviate Ken’s back pain.I ended up staying at PPC until 9:30 pm on Sunday.  Here’s a brief outline of my day:

10 am   Worship in English (concurrent with Spanish-language worship)

11:30    Adult ed in English

12:30    hang out with some of the Latino leaders, eating posole (during the Korean-language worship)

1:30      lunch with the Korean ministry

2:20      Adult ed in Korean and English

4:00      visit with Revs. Samuel Son, Dongwoo Lee, and ShinHwa Park (during Japanese-language worship, a partner ministry of PPC’s Korean ministry)

7:00      Concert of Korale, an all-Korea choir of college singers, in the sanctuary (during the evening worship in Gamble Lounge that welcomes all, including people who are sleeping on the streets of Pasadena).

Whew!  I should mention that other than the choir concert, this is pretty much the schedule for every Sunday at PPC—and that doesn’t include church school for the kids, choir rehearsals, and other meetings!  So even as they are continuing to work for the transformation of their church, the people of PPC continue to be a beacon of light for many people from multiple backgrounds and circumstances, and they are rapidly becoming a model of intercultural ministry for the whole denomination, as folks enjoy each other’s gifts, as folks attend multiple events across ministries.  May God continue to bless PPC, especially as they are starting to put together a Pastor Nominating Committee for their installed head of staff.  And thank God for the amazing leadership of interim pastor Rev. Ann Oglesby-Edwards and all the leaders and staff of PPC.

As Sam and I parted, he kept mentioning how much he learned from this brief time with San Gabriel Presbytery.  While I told Sam how some of our mission work is rooted in connections through our immigrant churches, I didn’t mention how some of our members are also are struggling with the powers of the world themselves.  Among them are Ricardo Moreno, whose hearing in Venezuela was postponed yet again.  While we continue to pray for him, I am reminded that here in the United States we require asylum-seekers to come repeatedly to court, sometimes while being held in detention in a jail-like facility.  We also pray for Betty, a key leader of one of our churches, who has become the administrator for two other of our churches—so this extremely diligent and talented young woman of faith is now crucial to the ministry of three of our churches!  She is also a DACA recipient, and is up for renewal this year.  I am grateful that our Justice Peacemaking and Mission Committee voted to support her renewal application (which requires a $495 fee), and that by refusing to hear the case on DACA, the Supreme Court has allowed DACA to continue for at least another year, which I am hoping means that our leader’s renewal will be granted.  Let us pray for all the Dreamers who are contributing in so many ways to this nation, including our own San Gabriel Presbytery.

And the wide-ranging ministry of San Gabriel Presbytery continues.  Today, Rev. Rob Crowell, Elder Pat Martinez-Miller, and staff Wendy Gist go to Peru, to attend a Living Waters for the World conference (Rob is Vice Moderator of the LWW Peru Network Coordinating Team), check on existing installations, and plan for a new installation in Lima.  Prayers for their safe journey.  And please remember the “Peace-ing It Together” conference on Saturday, Feb. 23, hosted by Knox Presbyterian in Pasadena.  Please see below for more information.  

Do you feel blessed for being part of the ministry of San Gabriel Presbytery?  I do!

Peace,
Wendy

I remember several years ago the first time I felt old.  I was at a coffee shop, and saw a large number of young people gathering.  This was in Los Altos, in the northern end of Silicon Valley, a very high-rent district.  The young people were Caucasian, not making trouble, but they were all dressed in black leather and spikes, their hair stringy and unkempt.  I watched them carefully and realized that if they got rid of all the Goth makeup and cleaned up a little, they would be very attractive young people.  Why were they purposefully making themselves look so ugly?

That’s when I realized I was old—that generation’s idea of beauty and style was so alien to me that I could not understand or accept their choices, and I withheld my positive evaluation of their lifestyle until they conformed to my values.  As I look back, I can add that of course they couldn’t care less what I thought—they were living their lives fine without my acceptance.

I think this is happening in our church.  A growing number of people live not attending church, and we churchgoers, who like church the way it has been, keep wondering when those young or new people will wake up and come back to us.  But the young people now—who, by the way, are starting to outnumber us Baby Boomers—never went to church, so they aren’t coming back at all.  For them, to step into our churches is to step into foreign territory.

Now we assume that the way church worked for us should work for everyone else, and so we keep waiting for the day when the world will come back to what is now foreign land.  We are like American tourists speaking English in France—perhaps if we just talk louder and slower, they’ll get it.  But the reality is, French speakers in their homeland don’t appreciate being yelled at in a foreign language.  We church goers are no longer the norm; we are the minority, so we can’t assume people need to learn our language.

This is really painful for many of us, because we just can’t understand how something as precious and life-giving as our church might not be the same for those who live outside our church.  Everywhere I’ve gone, people say that if they can just keep doing church the way they do it, the world will wake up and come to them.  I remember 15 years ago in Hawaii, with native Hawaiian elders who spoke passionately about reaching out to their young people.  They knew that if they could reach them and make them memorize the Ten Commandments, they’d stop taking drugs.  Some of us remember the best moments of our youth group and think if we repeat the activities of our youth group days, young people will swarm into the church. 

But we are getting tactics confused with the essence of our faith.  There is no one path towards salvation; we come to know God in different ways; that’s why there are so many Christian faith traditions.  It’s not that we should keep trying to find the one way that everyone should follow; it’s that we take different paths to find God.  Now of course we Presbyterians have our own ways—we learn about God, and about Jesus Christ, by trusting what the Bible tells us; we tend to grow our faith through learned preaching rather than through ecstatic spiritual experience; we would prefer living out our faith in the world rather than shutting ourselves away from it. But that doesn’t mean we have to stick to all our practices.  Indeed, if we prioritize the Bible’s teaching, then we have to consider the repeated messages that in Christ, all is made new.  We as followers of Christ are not called to stay still and preserve our traditions, we are called to allow lives to be changed not in our image but in Christ’s—and we have to remember that Jesus Christ’s way often offended the church leaders of his day.

So what do we do?  Do we hold on to what we have, waiting for the world to come to their senses and come back to us?  Or do we throw out everything that has been precious to us?

We have to be gentle with ourselves and with others.  We appreciate that when everything changes around us, the comfort we received from familiarity is being replaced with an unknowable future.  This is true in our nation and in our church.  But just as we live into that future, we come to realize that it’s survivable, even kind of exciting, and question those who yearn to Make America Great Again.  My prayer is that as we live into the future church, we don’t yearn to Make Our Church Great Again, but instead remember that our comfort, our confidence, our strength, our very future comes in Jesus Christ, not in the traditions we have developed to worship Christ, or even in the people who learned about Christ with us. 

And again, let us have the mind of Christ as we care for each other as we live into this strange future.  Who knows?  God may bless us in ways we could not anticipate.  This is coming true at West Covina, where the session and congregation chose to become a fellowship of the Presbytery, giving up their own control of their ministry and their property.  After six months of letting go and struggling through the transition of this unknown territory (because there isn’t really precedent for a chartered congregation to go back to fellowship status), West Covina is ready to receive Mary Ellen Azada and Jennifer Ackerman as their new co-pastors.  Who would’ve thunk—two gifted, vibrant and experienced pastoral leaders coming after the people effectively closed their church.

As we look ahead to the future, we know that change can be painful and jarring.  Some change is temporary, as we learn new behaviors and let go of what we know and love.  Even if the ultimate outcome is better, the transition is uncertain and sometimes even violent.  As we hear of the turmoil in Venezuela, as we pray for a more peaceable and just future for that nation, we also pray for our brother Ricardo Moreno, who has lived for the last two years under unjust accusations and has had to report to court on a monthly basis.  He has yet another hearing this January 30^th, where he may be brought to trial or exonerated.  Let us pray that he is freed, that he may commit all his energies to the ministry of reconciliation to which he has been called.  Ricardo is thankful for all prayers and offers of help, especially from Pasadena Presbyterian Church, where he served as CRE pastor for the Spanish Language Ministry.  We thank God for keeping him safe but also pray for his freedom, and the resources for his life and future ministry.

Finally, remember two great events coming up in February—WinterFest this Saturday, and the conference on Peacemaking called “Peace-ing It Together.”  Scroll down for more information on these events being hosted by our own Presbytery.  As we meet together, and worship, and learn, may we feel the upbuilding of the kingdom in our midst.

Peace,

Wendy

Last Tuesday was our most recent Presbytery meeting.  It was a joy to experience the hospitality of Knox Presbyterian Church.  I loved watching the four leaders for communion, the two pastors of Knox and the moderator and vice moderator of the Presbytery.  I believe one of these leaders just turned 50, and the others are a bit younger than that.  While we talk about diversity which is a strength, others have also noted the presence of several young, committed, and gifted leaders n our Presbytery, and that was quite evident in Tuesday’s meeting.

Now this was the first meeting in a while on a weeknight, as we were hoping for more people who are committed on Saturday mornings to attend.  Even though it was a very rainy night, we didn’t have a drop in attendance, though we had more teaching elders than on Saturdays, and fewer ruling elders.  That is what we expected, and frankly the reason we moved Presbytery meetings to Saturdays, so we could be more available to ruling elders who work outside the church.  We have one more Tuesday evening meeting in 2019, on November 19^th at Trinity in Pasadena, and we’ll discuss what we’ll do in 2020.  Let us know if you have ideas about the meetings and the schedule.

Part of the catalyst for this scheduling experiment was to give WinterFest the entire Saturday, so please be sure to register for WinterFest, to be held Saturday, February 2, at Northminster in Diamond Bar.  You can click here to see the schedule and workshop listing, and to register.  As you know, there is a discount and free resources for churches who bring 5 or more people (they don’t all have to register together; just make sure everyone types in the name of the church on the registration form).

Even though there were a couple of small glitches due to unexpected distractions (I blame the rain), I appreciated hearing the observations of Bob McKennon, who came with his wife Donna to represent East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless.  By the way, the offering for ESGVCH was a little over $600; I fear that we had quite a few people who had to leave before we received the offering.  So thank you to those who gave, and I urge everyone to go to their website, learn about their services and donate.  Their website is https://esgvch.org/ and you can donate on-line. 

While we are talking about homelessness, please pray for all of us who will be counting homeless people in our communities this Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.  The Homeless Count not only gathers important data which are used to plan resources, but it lets the people experiencing homelessness know that we care enough to speak with them, as at least in Pasadena there is a rather extensive survey that each person responds to with the counting team.

Anyway, at the end of Tuesday’s Presbytery meeting, Mr. McKennon told me repeatedly how impressed he was with our Presbytery.  He said that compared to other denominations where he’s visited, he felt so much love during our meeting.  What do you think of that—Presbyterians being a witness to love!  I think he was struck by the care expressed when we honored the ground-breaking ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin Park, as the spirit of this church goes on to bless others.  We know that Baldwin Park members have connected with Community Presbyterian Fellowship in West Covina and also Praise Community Church, aka First Thai Presbyterian Church.  I pray that it is a blessing for them to join with other sisters and brothers in Christ, as their participation is a blessing for the receiving church.

Over the last few years, I have noticed that there has been some intentional movement within the Presbytery.  Members of churches now dismissed from the PC(USA) have become leaders at churches such as La Verne Heights and Village in Arcadia.  Other members who have become weary from helping to shoulder a fragile or struggling church have found needed respite and nurture from churches where they can “just worship,” rather than worry if the guest preacher will show up or whether the plumbing is working correctly.  I have heard of churches such as San Marino, Knox and La Verne Heights becoming a place of healing for faithful but tired church leaders.  In one recent example, a couple moved to a church before the wife’s health started to fail, and their new church was able to provide extraordinary welcome and care as the wife went on to the Lord, and the husband faced the holidays alone.  Their old church was so thankful that the couple was able to receive this care.

As I have mentioned, the several administrative commissions have also proved to be an opportunity for the Presbytery to be present with a church, through their time, wisdom, and service.  Our little experiment at West Covina is flowering into something kind of spectacular, and soon we can celebrate new pastoral leadership coming to walk with this group as we see what new thing God will be doing in West Covina!  I always remember the first comment made from the West Covina session to the Presbytery:  “We want to become a fellowship of the Presbytery, and the only request we have is that you not sell the property to developers.”  Not only did we not sell the property, but it looks like there will be all kinds of exciting new ministry happening there!

It was at the West Covina AC meeting last week (they have met almost every week for months now) when we noticed how local church members and pastors are visiting with each other, welcoming each other, reaching out to help one another, and how God is offering mutual blessings through these movements.  This is how we are a connectional church, not just in our group decision-making and accountability processes, but in our relationships that extend beyond the confines of our individual churches.

During the month of January, I have had the great privilege and joy of preaching at Northminster in Diamond Bar as they have said farewell to Jake Kim as temporary pastor.  Last week I talked about how in Christ we become family, and because Jesus called God Abba Father, we too are heirs of this wondrous and mighty God.  I have seen the love and giftedness of the Northminster family as they go through this time of transition, but I also reminded them that they have extended family, in the Presbytery, and I believe that.

I do love to see how we can be family together, in our local churches, in our Presbytery, and with our community.  May we continue to be filled with the love of Christ, so much so that our love and our joy cannot help but overflow to all the world.

Thanks be to God!

Wendy

Tomorrow evening is the first Presbytery meeting for 2019, at Knox Presbyterian in Pasadena.  The meeting will start with registration and snacks at 6:30 pm and the call to order will come at 7 pm.  We have heard that some people cannot come to Saturday morning meetings, so this year we have two Tuesday evening meetings and three Saturday meetings, in addition to WinterFest on February 2^nd (Saturday).  Hope this will enable more people to participate!

We always try to keep the meetings as efficient and relevant as possible.  We will install our new officers Roberto Ramirez as Moderator and Karen Sapio as Vice Moderator.  Current Moderator Becca Bateman will become Chair of the Executive Commission, and we thank Fried Wilson, outgoing PEC chair.  We will hear the reflections of our General Assembly delegation—Bear Ride, Deborah Owens, and Sophia Alecci—as we look ahead to voting on constitutional amendments in April.

We will show our support for East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless, who operates the winter shelter and provides many services for homeless people in central and east San Gabriel Valley.  And we will receive support, as we celebrate our chaplaincy for retired Presbyterian church workers, funded by the generosity of House of Rest.  House of Rest has generously agreed to fund this program for 2019 at an expanded rate, as Monte Vista Grove Homes has requested that Lauren Evans provide chaplaincy services to them as well.

We will also honor the ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin Park.  The Administrative Commission has been working on resolving the legal issues related to the fraudulent tenant, and helping the members to transition to another church, for now the West Covina Presbyterian Fellowship.  They have been a blessing for West Covina, and it is possible that God may bless the ministry at West Covina in other ways too, which will allow them to continue as a blessing for the West Covina community and now our sisters and brothers from the Baldwin Park church.  The AC will be presenting a report that highlights the unique and groundbreaking ministry at Baldwin Park, a community always dedicated to following Jesus’ call for us to be welcoming of all, and seekers of justice for the oppressed.  I cannot speak of Baldwin Park without thanking Melinda Forbes and Sonnie Swenston.  Melinda especially has dedicated countless hours and worries to supporting the Baldwin Park church these last few years.  My prayer is that she and Sonnie will now be able to gain spiritual renewal in a new church home.

As I look outside my window, the skies are thick with clouds and rain is coming down.  I admit that I hate rain, and when the weather looks like this I would just as soon crawl back into bed.  But I know that rain makes the earth flourish like no human irrigation system can.  (I even saw proof of this, when a previous rain shower made some little plants of mine burst forth in a way that I didn’t think possible, as apparently I had been starving them with my paltry watering.)

It’s important for me to remember that new life springs forth from times that seem dreary.  Last week I attended the memorial services for Leon Fanniel and Zac Bright, and I know there were several other memorial services in our community last week.  As we consider the ending of Baldwin Park’s ministry, and the lives of bright lights like Leon and Zac, the human response is to mourn their loss, and to miss their presence in our lives.  But at Zac’s memorial, I felt this peace, and even as several speakers remembered the complexity and brilliance of Zac’s mind and faith, I sensed the deep love that Zac had for the Lord and for his family, which seemed to be expressed best in music.  Finney Premkumar gave the homily at Zac’s service, and offered a helpful quote which has been attributed to Methodist Bishop Warren Chandler, who 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.”

I was in a meeting yesterday with leaders of a church that has gone through great transformation.  But there have definitely been struggles with this transformation, and I mentioned that even in the best of changes, people can’t help but grieve what once was.  So as we remember the people and the churches of the past, as we look at gray skies and flowered caskets, may we look to the other side of that river, and give thanks that God is the God of all, and in God, rainy days can yield to glorious springtime, and death leads to eternal life.  Thanks be to God.

See you tomorrow,
Wendy