Two days ago, the United States celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It took 12 years of war and deliberation for the Constitution to be written and signed, another year for it to be ratified, and, finally, in 1789, to come into operation. The two documents complement one another. The first identifies the need for independence from tyranny, and the second, the way to govern ourselves to prevent future tyranny. Both documents are beautiful and flawed. They have inspired others and continue to inspire all of us.

 Several years ago, I confirmed my oath as an officer in the United States Air Force to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It began my career as a military chaplain and helped me understand my obligations to the people who lived and worked in the United States. In addition, the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, an umbrella group that included PC(USA) chaplains, required adherence to a standard of conduct and ethics that encompassed the spiritual care and support of all people, regardless of their religious affiliation.

 For over 30 years, I served the people of the United States Air Force and other members of the military, advised politicians, provided spiritual support, and led worship services to maintain the free exercise of religion. I was privileged to baptize babies, children, and adults, to officiate weddings, and to bury those who gave their lives in service. I served at bases throughout the United States and around the world and was deployed to several countries in Africa and the Middle East. I helped to provide medical and humanitarian support to refugees.

My allegiance to the United States is strong because it is where I was born and where I have served. But my allegiance to Christ is stronger because it guides my life and faith. I am a citizen of the United States, but more importantly, I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

God’s kingdom does not have national boundaries and does not require oaths to remind me of my fealty. God’s Kingdom is something that will come in its finality when Jesus returns, but it surrounds us, and we see glimpses of it when we see acts of love and justice in this world, when peace overcomes war, and when people walk with God. Followers of Jesus are citizens of God’s Kingdom, regardless of where we were born, the color of our skin, or the culture we grew up in. We need to remember this. We celebrate it every Sunday, not with parades and fireworks, but with prayer and song.

 I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God. I am a Presbyterian. And I am from the United States. I celebrate my country’s independence, but more importantly, I yearn and look forward to our final independence from our current suffering to the glorious gathering at the throne of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem.

On Saturday, June 13, at the Presbytery meeting, we commissioned our two
commissioners and our young adult advisory delegate and prayed for them and their work for the greater church. Today, the 227th General Assembly begins its online committee work. Our commissioners and our young adult advisory delegate are working hard this week and will head to Milwaukee at the end of the week. For full information on the 227th General Assembly, go to the following website: https://pcusa.org/about-pcusa/church-structure/general-assembly/general-assembly-gathering. You can observe their work during any open meetings and the plenary sessions. The denomination will be looking at the new structure of the PC(USA), changes to world missions, the ordination and commissioned ruling elder processes, and recommendations.

Next month, I’ll share an update with you on all that happened at the General Assembly. I’m excited to be there to support our commissioners and delegate, and I hope they feel the prayerful support of all the members of the Presbytery of San Gabriel. Please lift us up in prayer for the next two weeks.

For those who may be interested in serving as a commissioner or young adult advisory delegate to the 228th General Assembly in 2028, please note that active participation in the work of your local church and the Presbytery will be an important consideration for your selection. For more information on where General Assembly will be held in 2028, follow along online during the plenary sessions beginning June 28.

We have misplaced the nominating forms from the June Presbytery meeting. For those of you who filled out a nomination form to be considered for service on a committee or commission, please complete the attached form or contact me directly with the committee you would like to serve on and why you feel you would be a good fit for that committee.

In the past two months, I’ve attended several churches, each offering unique experiences. At Live Oak Community Church on May 17, uplifting praise music from the worship team set a joyful tone before Pastor Andrew Ritiau preached on John 12:20-50, reminding us that Jesus is the light. His message focused on letting go of unimportant things to turn our attention to God’s Kingdom. The congregation’s warmth and friendliness made me feel welcomed, and arriving early for the pre-service coffee hour helped me connect with others.

On May 24, I joined the congregation at La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church. Even though I arrived late, I received a warm welcome from the ushers and so many people during the passing of the peace. The focus on this Pentecost Sunday was on how we make sense out of what took place on the day of Pentecost and how the Holy Spirit shapes and forms us.

The Rev. Jonathan Hughes encouraged us to read scripture as part of our prayer time, because prayer rooted in the story of God helps us see what God is doing in the world. The Holy Spirit helps us proclaim what Christ is doing in the world. Using the Azusa Street revival as an illustration, we were encouraged to rely on the Holy Spirit to make sense of what took place on Pentecost and on Azusa Street, and to recognize how we focus on the wrong things and miss how God is working to break down human barriers. He encouraged us to see what God is doing and name it, or the world will miss it.

On June 7, I worshipped with the MidEast Evangelical Church (MEC) in Temple City, where its Arabic/English service included meaningful moments such as the baptisms of an adult and an infant, along with communion—the sermon, based on James 1:2-8, focused on wisdom and perseverance, inspiring the congregation and graduates to continue in their faith journey. The church celebrated graduates from elementary to college, filling the service with joy and enthusiasm. I recommend experiencing one of their bilingual services to meet this vibrant and welcoming community.

Today is the second Monday of the month, and I’m sharing how my faith shapes my interaction with people and God’s creation. A good place for me to start is with the Statement of Faith that I shared with Presbytery in November. I’m sharing the entire statement of faith this week, but I will look closely at each section in future months.

STATEMENT OF FAITH
Lisa Hansen

I believe in God, the Holy Mystery, known yet beyond human knowledge and understanding, the Creator of all that is and all that will be. In love, God seeks relationship, restoring the broken and reconciling the estranged, leading creation to its final harmony with the creator. I believe that all people are created as unique individuals in the image of God. Through our individuality, we have developed different ways of comprehending who God is and speaking about God as a nurturing parent, creator, sustainer, eternal, almighty, and perfect love. Yet, no single expression from our finite realm is sufficient in and of itself to describe the infinite God.

I believe in Jesus, the Word made flesh, the model for how we are to be in relationship with God and with others. Jesus demonstrated God’s love for humankind through his death and resurrection, reconciling humankind and making all things new. Our response to the love which God expended through the salvific action of Jesus is to give of ourselves to and for God and others. Being in Christ means dying to oneself. And being raised with Christ means being for others and not solely for oneself. I believe that Jesus will come again at the final judgment to restore creation to full rightness with God; until that time, the Holy Spirit has been sent to us as our Advocate and Comforter.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, Advocate, Comforter, and Sustainer, who helps us in our weakness, leads us to deeper faith and understanding, and intercedes for us according to the will of God. The Spirit transforms our lives and is the cause of our righteous works. It is the power of the Spirit that leads us to recognize our gifts and to use them. As we lift our voices in song, prayer, and praise to God, we receive guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to be faithful witnesses to God.

I believe that we are called to be the church, one community united by the love of God, to celebrate God, to respect creation, to love and serve others, and to seek justice and resist evil. With the church through the ages, we speak of God as one and three – Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. I believe that the church is called to be a witness to God through the proclamation of the gospel message as it is revealed through the Christ, preaching the Word of God as inspired by the Holy Spirit, participating with the church through the ages in practicing the sacraments, the visible signs of the promise of God; and striving to glimpses of the Kin_dom of God as we serve the world.

On the first Monday of the month, I’ll be sharing with everyone a little bit about me. This week, I’m focusing on how I became a Christian. Some people are born into a Christian home; I was fortunate enough to be adopted into one. I have always known that I was adopted and that my brother was adopted, and I have always known about Jesus. But it was one particular moment in my parents’ lives that changed their faith and their family.

My father was enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. He married my mother after Basic training. They met in Nebraska, where my mother lived, and my father visited his relatives. My father’s family moved to California during the Great Depression, but his extended family continued to farm the land in Nebraska. My father went to Technical Training in Panama City, FL, with his new bride, and was soon assigned to Elmendorf Field in Anchorage, AK.

In Anchorage, they were expecting their first child when my mother slipped on the ice, miscarried, and required a hysterectomy. When this happened, my father was out repairing radios in remote locations, and my mother was alone in Alaska, far from her home and parents in Nebraska. Shortly after her surgery, the base hospital chaplain visited her. He brought flowers and Jesus’ love with him. He prayed for her and for my father and helped to arrange for my father to return to her as soon as possible. Because of that chaplain, my parents, who had grown up going to church but had stopped attending as young adults, became regular church goers and eventually spent many years serving the church as volunteers and Deacons.

Because of that chaplain who went to visit a lonely young lady who had lost her child and future children, my parents became stronger in their faith. When they finally were able to adopt, I ended up in that strong household of faith. I like to tell people that I cut my teeth on a church pew, which is almost accurate. My parents were deeply involved in the church, helping with a new church development, attending two services on Sunday, and participating in mid-week service on Wednesday nights. My mother was also involved in women’s groups, and my father volunteered as the church treasurer.

My faith in Jesus Christ was shaped by the love and faith of my parents, their dedication to the work of the church, their faithfulness in reading scripture, and praying with my brother and me. I believe I ended up as a pastor and a chaplain because of the one great act of kindness, care, and love that the pastor/chaplain showed my mother in her time of greatest need.

On the fourth Monday of the month, I’ll be sharing with everyone what it means to me and us to be Presbyterian. This week, I want to focus on the recent shootings at the Islamic Center of San Diego and how we respond as Presbyterians. This recent attack in a neighboring city brings up several societal issues: the radicalization of young people, gun violence, and religious hatred.

There are many opinions on the radicalization of American youth, particularly of young men and boys. Regardless of what individuals believe the causes are, we can all do better by providing safe spaces in Sunday School and Youth Groups for our young boys and girls to express feelings of loneliness and alienation. We can provide mentors for our young people to help them navigate growing up in a complex world. And we can find ways to involve them in the life and work of the church. As our society struggles to address this problem, we know that one of the root causes is a lack of relationships with others and with supportive adults. The PC(USA) does not have any reports that directly address this issue, but there is a Presby Podcast on it available here: https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2025/3/27/understanding-radicalization-american-boyhood.

The PC(USA) has many resources that explore the causes of and impacts of gun violence. Information on gun violence can be found here: https://pcusa.org/how-we-serve/justice-peace/gun-violence-prevention-response.

Finally, in 2022, the General Assembly of the PCUSA approved a study document entitled “Denouncing Antisemitism and Islamophobia.” This is a wonderful resource with both information and practical guidance to help a Session find ways to counter religious intolerance and hate. https://pcusa.org/resource/denouncing-antisemitism-and-islamophobia.

The PC(USA) has a long history of involvement in social justice issues, grounded in the call of the prophet to seek justice and love mercy as we walk humbly with God. But we also have a long history of following Jesus’ example in caring for our neighbors. So, I encourage each church to find ways at this particular time to reach out to local Mosques, Imams, and Muslim communities and offer not only our prayers and support during this difficult time of fear and grief.

I am/we are Presbyterian, serving Christ in our community and the world.