You shall live in booths for seven days; all who are native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 23:42-43

I think we are all trying to figure out what church will look like as we leave the storm of confusion caused by the COVID pandemic. There is so much uncertainty about what we will be able to return to, and what is changed forever. Many naturally want to “go back to normal” and recreate the church the way we had it, and act like the storm of the pandemic never happened. Others want to continue some of the new learnings and practices we were forced to adopt, and found to be useful: Zoom meetings and streamed worship, for example. And some are going through some post-pandemic stress as they assess the state of their church, like hurricane survivors looking at the state of their homes after the storm has passed.

One thing that I remember from the years of COVID is the faithfulness of God, and the faithfulness of God’s people. Our churches survived amazingly well, through agility and resourcefulness we didn’t know we had. Our faith was tested, and as it became harder to worship and care for each other, we found ways to stay connected with God and with each other, even when exiled to our own homes. This doesn’t mean we did everything right—in fact, my hope is that we learned that God doesn’t expect perfection, but faithfulness, and staying connected imperfectly is better than staying the same, but apart.

As I thought about the possibility of returning to a post-COVID world (if, in fact, we are ready to do this), I thought about the Israelites returning to Jerusalem after the exile. They had much to do as they worked to reestablish their world, starting with the Temple. Their leaders Ezra and Nehemiah gathered them, and read them Scripture, reminding them of the covenant that God had established with them, proved by bringing them through the Exodus, and now bringing them home from the exile.

One of the ways the Jewish people commemorate God’s faithfulness through times of uncertainty is the festival of Sukkot, or Booths, which just happened to have been completed yesterday. I am no expert on this important holiday, but I’ve always been intrigued with it. Along with Passover and Pentecost, Sukkot is one of the three holidays that call Jews to gather in Jerusalem, and has its roots in the traditional harvest festival that most if not all cultures celebrate. While Leviticus mentions the festival of Booths, the holiday is reinstated in Nehemiah 8, when the exiles returned to Jerusalem and tried to rebuild their nation. The people gathered, and the leaders Nehemiah and Ezra read from the Torah to remind the people of God’s faithfulness, and their responsibilities as God’s chosen.

According to Nehemiah 8:14 and 17, “they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the Israelites should live in booths. . . And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them, for from the days of Jeshua son of Nun to that day the Israelites had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.”

During this festival, the people erect temporary shelters and eat in them for a week; some sleep in them as well. I love the experiential nature of this custom, as the people are reminded of the times when they were thrown into crisis, and God brought them through. Whether they were escaping slavery during the exodus, or homeless in the exile, when the very basic elements of life such as freedom and home are taken away, God’s people were able to persevere. Life wasn’t easy, and sometimes God’s care (and our faith) seemed fragile and impermanent, but we got through. I think these booths are also a reminder of the agility we gain with impermanent structures—a skill I believe we need to keep.

As we try to figure out what the church will look like in our post-pandemic world, we are blessed to have leaders among us who have great insight in this. Two of these leaders have been recognized on a national and international scale. Rev. Dr. Terry McGonigal was dean of spiritual life and then director of church engagement at Whitworth University, and now he works with churches around the country as they consider God’s call to them in this very changed world. Rev. Dr. Dongwoo Lee wrote a book on the post-pandemic church which quickly became a bestseller in Korea.

We have the great opportunity to hear from these two leaders and discuss what God is calling us to be in our churches now. Terry can give us insights he has gleaned from the many churches he is currently advising, and since Dongwoo’s book is in Korean, this talk will enable us English speakers to hear his vision for the next-generation church. Consistent with our pandemic learnings, we are holding this mid-year conference by Zoom, on Saturday, October 29, 9 am-noon. We are asking you register by going to https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlcuChqzkrHtyTsKXYLE8huEeDOBHnmPNL.

Whether reenacting our transient existence in ceremonial booths, or gathering virtually through Zoom, it is important to remember that circumstances will change, but the love of God never changes. Even as we have to adjust our strategies and techniques, may we do so with confidence and hope, knowing that God will get us through. And as we live out our lives with this confidence and hope, may we offer this to the communities around us.

In confidence, hope, and gratitude,

Wendy

But now thus says the Lord,
   the One who created you, O Jacob,
   the One who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
   and the flame shall not consume you.                                                              

Isaiah 43:1-2

So the good news is that the Commission of Assembly of the Synod met last Saturday, and approved several grants to support the ministry of San Gabriel Presbytery:

• Interwoven New Worshiping Community was granted $25,000 for its second year of
• A New Worshiping Community in Temple City, with Andrew Ritiau as its organizing pastor, was granted $28,000. Andrew officially began his tenure with this effort on October 1.
• The Hispanic/Latina Women of the Synod received a grant for $7,500 to help with travel costs to the 10^th biannual gathering of Mujeres Hispanas/Latinas Presbiterianas, PC(USA), to be held in Orlando, Florida. This is in addition to $1,800 of scholarships provided by our own Education, Equipping and Empowerment Revs. Margarita Reyes and Amy Mendez are leaders in this effort, and Puente de Esperanza will be administering the scholarships and travel grants.

At the Commission of Assembly meeting, it was asked whether the meeting would still be held, as Florida is recovering from Hurricane Ian. Over a delicious Korean banquet following the installation of Rev. Dr. Kyungmo Koo as pastor of Divine Light Presbyterian Church yesterday, Amy Mendez confirmed that the meeting will be happening.

Dr. Koo’s installation was a beautiful and joyous occasion, with participants from our presbytery, the synod, and KPCA (Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad), where Dr. Koo had standing and with whose local seminary he has been a professor. KPCA is the closest Korean-speaking denomination to the PC(USA), and in fact many of our pastors have come from the KPCA.

One of those pastors is Rev. Mark Hong, our Synod Executive and Stated Clerk. His entry into the PC(USA) came through San Gabriel Presbytery, when he started as an associate pastor with Korean Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in 1996. Mark continues to be an incredible friend to this presbytery. Sunday afternoon he preached for Dr. Koo’s installation service, but in the morning he preached for Filipino Community United Presbyterian Church in Azusa, who now has an open pulpit since their pastor Rollie Baybay has retired and moved back to the Philippines. Thank God for Mark!

And thank God for the connectional nature of the PC(USA). Not only are we able to celebrate and support each other’s ministries, and share leadership and resources, and connect with sister denominations, our awareness of the larger world is deepened through our fellow siblings in Christ. 

So we can offer financial support to the people whose world was flooded by Hurricane Ian in Florida by going to https://pda.pcusa.org/situation/hurricane-ian/. As you may know, in times of tragedy, we look to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) for direct help, guidance, and coordination, and they ask us to Give, Act, and Pray. The https://pda.pcusa.org/ website has resources for this, including prayers and hymns, for many different crises around the world.

The PDA staff and advisory board were in Southern California two weeks ago, to learn more about the various immigrant ministries of our local presbyteries. During a break, I spoke to PDA staff member Edwin Gonzalez-Castillo about Puerto Rico, which had just been hit by Hurricane Fiona on September 18. He said that the people were terrified of the loss of power because exactly 5 years prior, Hurricane Maria struck, and some people did not get power back for 11 months. You can help Puerto Rico recover from Fiona at https://pda.pcusa.org/situation/hurricane-fiona/.

With our own troubles in North America, it is easy to miss the enormous tragedy in Pakistan. In this monsoon season alone, it has been reported that 1,678 people have died and almost 550,000 people are now living in temporary camps because of the floods that covered 10% of the land mass of the country. Pakistan is vulnerable to floods for many reasons, including poverty, poor governance, overcrowding, and its location on the Indian Ocean (which is warming at a faster pace than other oceans) that includes several of the world’s highest mountains and 7,000 glaciers (the most in the world outside of the polar regions)—and some of those glaciers are melting due to global warming. You can help Pakistan by going to https://pda.pcusa.org/situation/pakistan-flooding/.

It is difficult to imagine how to have hope in the midst of so many catastrophes. But we are a people of hope, because Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise that God will be with us, protecting us, calling us by name, claiming and redeeming us, even in the face of flood and fire. As I mentioned at the beginning of this column, we are also a people of resources, and God has entrusted much to us.

May we demonstrate our faith of God’s provision through our wise and compassionate stewardship, answering the call to be agents of God’s redeeming love for this hurting world. May we share with others, trusting that God will care for us.

In hope and action,

Wendy

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

I have been pretty negligent in connecting with the Japanese-American community, but thanks to family connections, I was invited to participate in a moving experience this last Saturday. Actually, about 200 of us were there, including clergy like Mariko Yanagihara, Steve Yamaguchi (we were the only Presbyterians), a couple Episcopalians, several Methodists, and a whole lot of Buddhist priests. The group also included a handful of internment camp survivors, many descendants of those who had been sent to the camps, and others who have been impacted by or who are helping to tell the story of the Japanese-Americans in America, including several US Park Service rangers and a few Native Americans, because some of the camps were established on US Park lands and Native American reservations.

While the “Sutra and the Bible” exhibit is still open at the Japanese American National Museum, its co-curator, USC professor Duncan Ryūken Williams, has undertaken a multi-level project to collect and raise the name of every person of Japanese descent who was incarcerated by the United States government during World War II. This effort has resulted so far in one massive book and a website, https://ireizo.com/, listing 125,284 persons by year, from Helen Yuriko Tanaka, who was sent to the camps at age 91, to a baby girl who was born at Crystal City, Texas, a Department of Justice camp that was the last to close. The “Sutra and the Bible” exhibit closes in February 2023, but the Ireichō book will be at the museum until September 2023; everyone is invited to come and make a mark in the book to acknowledge the lives of these individuals, most American citizens, as we continue to honor their memory by standing up for any other group that is being persecuted in this nation.

What struck me on Saturday is how this was a lens into a kaleidoscope of experiences, emotions, and stories that were held by the people in the group. This started in the morning, when the ireizo.com website went live, and my family and countless others started searching to find relatives and family friends in the listing. Since you have to scroll through each year starting at 1850 with Helen Tanaka, I ran across relatives I hadn’t thought about for a long time, such as my grandfather’s older brother Masumi Tajima, whom I remember seeing every year on his birthday, New Year’s Day. As I scrolled, the sheer number of names gave me a more visceral experience of what 125,000 people feels like.

The day was also a reunion of sorts. I hadn’t seen Steve Yamaguchi since he left for Japan, where he is now pastor of Tokyo Union Church. He was representing Santa Anita Assembly Center, which was at the racetrack in Arcadia. I represented the assembly center at Tulare-Kings County Fairgrounds, where most of the Pasadena Japanese were sent until the Gila River camp in Arizona was completed. (My family assumed they weren’t sent to Santa Anita because it was so close that they could escape.) Mariko Yanagihara represented The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, which is now a luxury resort. Another small detention center was at Montreat, the Presbyterian retreat center which is deeply loved by many Presbyterians and somewhat troubling to others. Click HERE for a detailed account of Montreat’s role in the war effort as a holding center for German and Japanese families being sent to Germany and Japan as part of a wartime “prisoner exchange.”

And there were so many stories. One of my fellow Tulare descendants is a very dedicated member of Lake Avenue Church, whose strong Evangelical faith was troubled by the strong Buddhist presence (most of the ceremony was accompanied by Buddhist chants). She shared how her grandfather was a World War I veteran, so when he had to report to be incarcerated, he did so in his US Army uniform. Right before us was the Topaz camp delegation, with Rev. Michael Yoshii, a Methodist pastor who once advised me back when I was in seminary. His calling was amplified through his activism in the movement for redress and reparations, as he came to see how the Methodist churches worked for justice as an integral part of living out their faith. He told me that when coming to this event, his mother told him why she had said the camps was the best thing to happen to their family: because his grandfather was an alcoholic who didn’t get sober until meeting a Christian pastor at Topaz. Not only did he stop drinking, but they found the Christian faith as a source of healing and strength.

During the ceremony, Duncan Williams, who is a professor and Zen Buddhist priest, born and raised in Japan of British and Japanese parents, talked about the healing he hoped would be offered through this project. He spoke of kintsugi, which was described by Kirsten Weir in a 2020 article on post- traumatic growth for a publication of the American Psychological Association:

In the traditional Japanese art of kintsugi, artisans fill the cracks in broken pottery with gold or silver, transforming damaged pieces into something more beautiful than they were when new. Post-traumatic growth is like kintsugi for the mind.

I have reflected before about us Presbyterians and our penchant for perfectionism. While it is good to be diligent, it is through our brokenness that we are amazed by God’s healing grace, and through our humility that we allow Christ’s light of hope to shine. And as we see others who are being demonized in society, it is crucial that we remember the stories of our own people, because all of us have been the “other” at some point, for some reason. In our recognition of our own human frailty and recovery, may we best share the healing power of God to a hurting world.

In peace and hope,

Wendy

I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?        

Isaiah 43:19a

Last Tuesday we had a very productive Presbytery meeting. There were so many new ministries celebrated that I honestly feel that years from now, we might look back on this meeting and give thanks to God for giving us the opportunity to strike out on new paths, as we seek to welcome more of our neighbors into the “big tent” of Christ’s grace.

Upon recommendation of the Commission on Ministry, we welcomed four pastors into ministry, all from different backgrounds. Rev. Dr. Erik Wiebe, the only one of the four already ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA), is the new Associate Pastor for Adult Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Care for San Marino Community Church. He comes to us from Santa Barbara Presbytery, and we hope to soon receive his wife Kate, also a minister member of Santa Barbara Presbytery.

Rev. Dr. KyungMo Koo is the new pastor of Divine Light Presbyterian Church. Most recently, Rev. Koo was a professor and an ordained minister of the Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad (KPCA), a denomination with whom the PC(USA) has a close reciprocal relationship.

A ministry plan for a new worshiping community in Temple City was approved. The plan, originally conceived by Ruling Elder Andrew Ritiau, creates a partnership between Westminster Presbyterian Church in Temple City and Arcadia Community Church, where Andrew was serving and first led a similar ministry. The Presbytery commissioned Andrew to be pastor for this new ministry.

Northminster’s pastor, Rev. Dr. Charles Campbell, has decided to go half-time, and their session created a co-pastor model so that Charlie could continue to share his outstanding gifts in worship leadership. The session requested that the Presbytery authorize the ministry of Sam Bang to serve as Co-Pastor for Congregational Life, focusing on pastoral care, administration, and connecting with the community. Sam brings over twenty years of pastoral experience in Christian Reformed and other churches, and administrative leadership at Fuller Seminary. Sam is also on Presbytery staff, and will continue serving the Presbytery part-time as he serves Northminster half-time.

The Presbytery also received a first-year report from Interwoven new worshiping community, and approved second-year funding. Another new worshiping community, Haven, was also endorsed to be enrolled with the Office of the General Assembly. Interwoven and its team, led by Harlan Redmond, continues to fine-tune their ministry as they offer a prophetic voice for justice and significant

commitment especially to those seeking spiritual, emotional, familial, and economic healing and development. Harlan carries on in spirit the legacy of community development that was at the heart of South Hills Presbyterian Church. Haven, initially led by Rev. Dr. Vikki Randall, seeks to be a welcoming family for LGBTQIA students and their families, people of faith who seek a spiritual home that offers God’s love and affirmation. Both these new worshiping communities received $10,000 seed grants from the national church.

I am so grateful that we are able to partner with and support these gifted and faithful pastors as they open our church to more of God’s children, especially those who have not been traditionally served by the PC(USA). These ministries also represent a diversity of cultural, theological, and socioeconomic backgrounds—diverse, yet committed to work together in mutual respect for the sake of the gospel. Thanks be to God!

As we look ahead to 2023, we also have begun to make plans. The Presbytery approved the following minimum compensation standards for our pastors, as follows:

NOTES:

1. Minimum BoP medical dues $11,500
2. General guidelines for reimbursable expenses: half-time solo pastor gets 100%, if not may be pro-rated
3. See revised Presbytery Minimum Policy for leave policies, including Personal Time Off (or equivalent) of 12 days per year (or 6 days at half-time; no accrual from year to year) which can be used for various personal needs such as sick leave, jury duty, personal or parental responsibilities. At any time, 3 days shall be available for sick leave.

The schedule for Presbytery meetings in 2023 was also announced:

• Saturday, February 4 at 9:00 am
• Tuesday, April 25 at 7:00 pm (Zoom meeting)
• Saturday, June 17 at 9:00 am (Day of Service)
• Tuesday, September 19 at 7:00 pm (Zoom meeting)
• Saturday, November 18 at 9:00

In this Presbytery meeting, we committed Presbytery resources to new ministries with prayer and hope. These actions are not easy or guaranteed; COM is now working to provide training in Presbyterian polity and practice to help prepare pastors who are new to Presbyterian ministry, church members are adjusting to changes in their churches, and we must always remember that new worshiping communities do not automatically grow into established congregations. But I have seen God bless us when we are obedient, sometimes in ways we do not expect. Yet they are learning experiences and cause for gratitude, as God continues to give us even more than we need.

My prayer, and my belief, is that we will look back on this meeting and be glad and maybe even a little bit proud of what we started, in service to Jesus Christ.

In peace and hope,

Wendy

“When there are no oxen, the stall is clean, but when there is a strong bull, there is abundant produce.” Proverbs 14:4 (CEB)

As Wendy Gist reminded us last week, the Presbytery of San Gabriel is a Matthew 25 Presbytery committed to building congregational vitality, eradicating systemic poverty, and dismantling structural racism. Last summer, many of us in the Presbytery took the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) with the aim of better understanding our own intercultural competence and subsequently our readiness to engage in antiracism work. The group report, based on 43 participants, was presented and explained by EP Wendy Tajima at the September (2021) Presbytery meeting. The report was helpful and well-received and demonstrated IDI’s potential for further use by individuals and groups within the Presbytery.

The IDI is a 50-item questionnaire developed to assess intercultural competence, which they define as “the capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities.” The IDI has been psychometrically tested and found to possess strong validity and reliability across diverse cultural groups. It is used by numerous organizations, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), to help assess and develop this important capacity. When a person (or a group) takes the IDI, it generates a customized profile report that identifies one’s primary orientation toward cultural differences and commonalities using the Intercultural Development Continuum.

According to IDI, every orientation offers opportunity to further develop one’s intercultural competence. Rev. Molly Casteel, Assistant Stated Clerk and Manager for Equity and Representation in the Office of the General Assembly and a Qualified IDI Administrator, notes that many Presbyterians, like most groups who take the IDI, are assessed as having “minimizing” mindsets regarding cultural differences and similarities. She believes it is worthwhile to invest in developing intercultural competence: “Engaging intercultural capacities builds community…and intercultural competencies are increasingly becoming an asset.” At an IDI workshop last November at the Moderator’s Conference, it was noted that, “Interculturally competent groups have deeper engagement and more fruitful encounters with one another.

Deeper intercultural competence helps a person understand greater complexity in their own cultures, helping them recognize things that are meaningful to themselves and others.”

The Presbytery of San Gabriel is blessed with diversity; however, harnessing that diversity to produce meaningful fruit can be challenging (and messy, hence the Proverb). Developing our intercultural competence is one way we can continue to foster an equitable and inclusive organizational culture where diversity is valued and engaged. If you, your leadership team, or congregation are interested in using the IDI OR if you took the IDI last year and would like to receive an individual debrief and report, please contact me at sam@sangabpres.org.

Peace,

Sam Bang

Associate for Ministry Development Business Manager

San Gabriel Presbytery has become a Matthew 25 Presbytery, which means we pledge to encourage 20% or more of our congregations to become Matthew 25 churches and embrace these areas of focus:

• Building congregational vitality
• Dismantling structural racism
• Eradicating systemic poverty

This year I have had the pleasure of working with Presbyterian Mission Agency staff, several Mission Co-Workers, and a number of Presbytery staff from around the country to come up with resources for churches and presbyteries to address the Matthew 25 focus area of Eradicating Systemic Poverty. I will give you links to those helpful resources at the end of this column, but for now let’s focus on why and how we should take action to eradicate systemic poverty and live into our Matthew 25 commitment.

From scripture we receive fairly strong messages about how we as Christians are called to take care of and protect the poor and oppressed. And it’s clear we are called to take action. Matthew 25:35-40 tells us that by taking care of the “least” of society we are also serving Jesus. But, providing material needs is not where our call as Christians ends. In Isaiah 1:17 God instructs “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” And in Proverbs 31:8-9 a king “belonging to God” receives instructions that are understood to be from God. He is taught to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

I recently read through the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s Fall 2022 PHP POST. This edition’s theme is Eradicating Systemic Poverty. The front-page article by Andrew Kang Bartlett shares some wisdom from the founders of the long-time PC(USA) partner Bread for the World. He shared that David Beckmann, former president of Bread for the World “often preached an important message: We can’t food bank our way out of hunger; ending hunger requires political will.” Andrew also writes about Bread’s founder Rev. Art Simon, who frequently said, “It’s better to build a fence at the top of a cliff than to have an ambulance at the bottom,” meaning “Let us tackle hunger’s root causes.””

It seems to me our instructions are clear. We not only need to take care of the basic needs of people living in poverty, but we also need to work to correct unjust systems that keep people in poverty by speaking up. Speaking up can take many forms (i.e., letters, emails, phone calls, visits, and marches) and can have many audiences (i.e., city councils, state legislators, federal representatives). We’re lucky. There are a lot of faith-based organizations that are doing great, ongoing research into what specific root causes of hunger and poverty are locally and globally. Often these same organizations offer excellent guidance regarding what we can do to help correct unjust systems, and they are happy to have us partner or participate with them. I have known Christians who are uncomfortable being what they perceive to be political, but I think we all must acknowledge that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, wasn’t afraid to act and speak out in the public square. He held leaders to account and corrected those who were acting unjustly towards others. He spoke up! He called on those in power to do better! He advocated for the poor and oppressed! As disciples of Jesus, shouldn’t we do the same?

Advocacy may seem scary or complicated or too time consuming, but it’s really quite simple and usually takes only a little time. There are easy ways to get involved in advocating for the eradication of hunger and poverty. The Presbyterian Hunger Program, Bread for the World, LA Voice, and CLUE-LA, just to name a few, give us specific messages to speak up about and sample letters when we’re writing to someone. They can also connect us to others who are called to address root causes of hunger and poverty. I urge you to give it a try!

I promised I’d give you links to resources, so here they are.

If you’d like to read more of the Fall 2022 PHP POST, go to: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/php-post-fall-2022/.

The new PMA resources that I worked on to help us as we follow our call to eradicate systemic poverty can be downloaded as a complete packet all at once or individually as desired. Here are the links.

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/matthew-25-eradicating-systemic-poverty-resource-packet/

The Matthew 25 Eradicating Systemic Poverty Resource Packet includes:

• Five Spiritual Practices to End Poverty (worship, learn, relate, act, share),
• Action Suggestions list organized by the Five Spiritual Practices,
• Core Principles and Assessment Questions for poverty work,
• Faith Assertions (our theological, confessional and policy beliefs about eradicating poverty),
• Strategic Domestic and Global Partners to learn more about active partner organizations to walk alongside,
• FAQ on poverty,
• PC(USA) Curated Resources list for each of the Five Spiritual Practices,  
• Additional PC(USA) Resources list for extra suggestions for learning and exploration.

I would be honored to support you and your congregation as you ACT to bring about a just world. I can also connect you to organizations already engaged in this work. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at gist.wendy@gmail.com.

The peace of Christ be with you,

Wendy Gist