Mary said,

“My soul proclaims your greatness, O God,
     and my spirit rejoices in you, my Savior.

For you have looked with favor upon your lowly servant.
     Surely from now on, all generations will call me blessed.”

Luke 1:46-48

 I’ve been overwhelmed with the generosity that has been shown to me as I near retirement. (Yes it is coming; next week will be my last column.) There have been gifts to help me travel in the freedom of retirement which humble me. But there have been other kinds of gifts that have touched me as well, such as notes from people giving specific examples of how I impacted their ministry—and I’m doubly thankful that they have chosen to focus on the positive impacts.

There have even been unexpected gifts related to my post-fire life. My beloved staff colleagues surprised me with Christmas ornaments, since of course I’m starting from scratch on Christmas décor. And I find sweet gifts from the Eagle Rock neighborhood where I am now living. For instance, nearly everyone has a dog or two, so we’re always seeing each other as we walk the dogs (yes, I take two walks a day, which is new for me). I appreciate the friendliness and consideration of my neighbors, especially when my dogs act out a little. And on one of the routes I take, there is a budding ceramicist, and like all folks working with clay, they have “seconds” that this artist decides isn’t quite perfect.
So they put the pieces out on the driveway with a sign inviting folks to take what they want for free. This has happened a couple times so far, that I go out walking with my dogs, and come back with lovely hand-made, beautifully glazed ceramics pieces!
Another unexpected gift has been Lisa Hansen beginning to attend meetings related to the Presbytery, and she and I have had meetings to discuss my perspective on the life of San Gabriel Presbytery, and some of the active projects and priorities that I will need to hand off to her. I’ve always been amazed at Lisa’s ability to handle multiple responsibilities at once, and she has shown great ability to grasp the complexities of this ministry, so while there needs to be room for her to make the changes she discerns, the transition will be as smooth as can be hoped for.

While we are all too familiar with the Christmas story, we have to remind ourselves that this greatest gift of all came through multiple unexpected gifts, from a baby coming to the aging couple Zechariah and Elizabeth, another baby coming to the unwed teenaged virgin Mary, and angels singing to the glory of God to shepherds tending their flocks at night. Every time, the recipients of the gifts first
responded with fear (which is why I don’t feel bad that when I discern God’s will, I often feel fear). But I love Mary’s song in response to the news given to her by the angel Gabriel, because she’s pretty confident in what she’s about to do. I often think that her confidence about this awesome new call comes with her youth. But young as she is, she is aware of the historic legacy that she has been given, a blessing that will be honored for generations.

This last week I saw some unexpected gifts that I hope will come in 2026, gifts that will celebrate God’s goodness for generations. First, you may have noticed a flyer in today’s MMU that came out of a collaboration of Veronica Ota and Katherine Lee Baker, as they highlight some opportunities for young adults from across our presbytery to come together and get to know each other and learn about opportunities to make a difference in our world. Please forward the flyer to anyone you think might be interested.

Then I heard from Harlan Redmond that Dick Young, the director of Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center at Lake Tahoe, came to Interwoven last Sunday, on the recommendation of Zephyr Point board member N’Yisrela Watts-Afriyie. N’Yisrela has been trying for years to make Zephyr Point more accessible to diverse members of the PC(USA), especially for young people. Dick’s
presentation showed the incredible beauty of Zephyr Point, which led Interwoven’s worship leader to suggest a church retreat in 2026! When I heard about it, my brain exploded, in a good way, like it did when Mona Morales Recalde asked if La Casa could be a landback. I asked Harlan if they might be open to include others for a retreat, and he said yes. I told Harlan about the road trip we took to Zephyr a few years ago, and we had a blast. And the leaders of Love Community Church in Azusa (aka Filipino Community United Presbyterian Church) have fond memories of growing up at youth camps at Zephyr Point—that’s how they know Bruce Reyes-Chow, who continues to have a close relationship with them, and with Zephyr Point.

I can’t make this happen, but I was so happy to hear about the possibilities that some of our younger leaders like Katherine and Veronica and Harlan and others can offer, with help from leaders who have been around for a while like N’Yisrela. I have worried that we have been losing ground connecting with the younger generations (though we do have some churches like Interwoven and Live Oak and Good Shepherd Taiwanese and Knox and Love and Mideast Evangelical and New Hope, among others, who have strong intergenerational memberships), and I know that Deborah Owens, chair of our Education Equipping and Empowerment Committee, has prioritized events with the younger generations in their efforts next year. So it feels like a God moment, and I pray that the Spirit continues to move through these leaders and more to break open a new dawn of intergenerational ministry in San Gabriel Presbytery. That would be a wonderful unexpected gift for all of us!

As we continue on our Advent journey, may we have eyes to see the new life that God is bringing into our world. Our world needs it as much now as ever, and we as people of faith can be bearers of good news as much as poor shepherds, young and old parents of infants, and foreign wise men. Thanks be to God! May we enjoy all the gifts God offers us, whether we have been praying for them for years, or they come totally unexpected.

Praising Immanuel, God with us, for all generations,

Wendy

The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6

Yesterday I worshipped with a church I rarely visit, Good Shepherd Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. I know that most of the congregation understands English, because I told them that I often see churches when they are experiencing problems, so the fact that they never see me is good news for them—and they all laughed before the Elder Henry Liao could translate for me!

But this was a celebration, their 45^th anniversary. And from the looks of it, the church is vibrant, and well-positioned to continue serving and celebrating as they transition to the next generation. In fact, this has always been the great gift of this church: their commitment, from the beginning of the church, to include the younger generations. They don’t just take care of them, but proactively think about them, listen to them, bring them into leadership, and invest in their ministry. All generations are present in worship, and the energy of the younger generations is evident everywhere on the church campus. One thing I noticed this weekend is that the worship is much more bilingual (Taiwanese and English) than before. I always wondered about the young people in worship when everything was in Taiwanese, because immigrants’ children who are born in the United States almost always prefer to worship in English. In the past, this church held to Taiwanese in worship, and the younger folk loved the church so much they strained to follow the gist of the worship service. But now, nearly everything was presented in both languages, which I expect is appreciated—at least by me!

My sermon, focused partly on Isaiah 11:1-10, touched on the radical change that had to happen if Isaiah’s prophecy is to take place, and that John the Baptist’s condemnation of the Pharisees and Sadducees seemed to be against their complacency, assuming their salvation was based on their status, rather than active faith. But the call to bear fruit was proclaimed, with force and not a little threat.

It occurred to me that John’s call for repentance exposed a mistake that we all make—that we want the good news to come, but without having to face the disruption of change. One night when I was reading through the Isaiah passage, a pack of coyotes went on the attack outside my house. It sounded awful as they screamed and howled, but of course I wasn’t going to open my door for fear of my little dogs getting out. And it occurred to me—how would the lamb feel when the wolf came to live with her, or the baby goat when the leopard lay down next to him? And what mother would risk having her baby play near the pit of a cobra? And what father would let his child put their hand into the nest of a poisonous snake? In order to live into God’s new world, we have to go beyond our fears, and trust God’s wild, Holy Spirit.

Immediately after my sermon, the children were to present a couple of songs. There was a delay before the doors opened and they came down the aisle, and I was reminded how children’s sermons can be the times in worship when anything can happen. The children did enter eventually, and came up to the chancel. It was a pleasant problem that the children had a hard time fitting in the chancel, especially because they had some hand flags they would use in the second song. So they came up, knocking the pulpit with the flags, and as the teachers were trying to position them to lessen the chance of them knocking each other, I could see one boy in the back who couldn’t help but dance!

And he was pretty good, too!

In that moment, I was struck with the power of this teachable moment, when the kids were leading in worship and teaching us all what the wild, Holy Spirit looks like!

On this 45^th anniversary, there were many very precious moments for me, like when one of the founders of the very first Taiwanese Presbyterian church in Los Angeles, Formosan on Olympic Boulevard, came up to me to tell me how he sees the name “Tajima” in his hallway every day (his son was awarded a college scholarship as the editor of the Moor, the weekly school newspaper of Alhambra High School, where my father taught journalism for 35 years). And David Huang, the organizing pastor of Good Shepherd Taiwanese, is still full of vigor at 89 as we talked about the church’s commitment from the start to focus on raising up each new generation. And Ming Hsu, the current pastor, and lead elder Henry Liao told me about their new plan to create an outdoor space for the young people at the church, including a meeting area and a basketball court.

As we continue in Advent, we continue to recall the legacies of the past, such as the faithful prophets who shared God’s promises of a restored future, and we recognize the power of a legacy that includes welcoming the holy unknown, such as the Christ child and also the leadership of future generations in our own churches. Thank God for prophets who dared to empower the next generation to do what their parents never imagined! May we be open to wonder and joy and new life—and all the changes new life brings—as we live into the kin-dom of heaven that came with Jesus’ birth.

With Advent hope,

Wendy

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen this glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From this fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

John 1:14, 16

As I mentioned last week, every time I go into one of our churches, I am struck with varied memories of working with them and witnessing their faithfulness. Yesterday I preached at Community Presbyterian Fellowship in West Covina, because their pastor Amy Mendez went back to Guatemala for a family wedding. In the service, we remembered the bold decision the session made to become a fellowship of the Presbytery, which resulted in them continuing to worship on their campus, while also welcoming International Theological Seminary and now three other churches with whom they share ministry. I saw some of the leaders who have been there for decades, the elder who spoke eloquently about the opportunity God had given them to make a significant contribution to the global church by partnering with ITS, and several people who have become dedicated members after their church in Baldwin Park church was closed (and is now becoming the place where 15 families will be able to own property in Southern California for the first time), but also the family of an African ITS student who is now interning there, and the gifted Indonesian musician who is now on staff of the church, as organist and church administrator.

I then went to have lunch at Filipino Community United Presbyterian Church in Azusa, now called Love Community Church SGV, who really live into their new name as a vibrant, fun-loving, committed, intergenerational family of Christ. They enjoy doing mission work in the Philippines but also with Habitat for Humanity locally, and are in the process of opening their ministry to people of multiple cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations and gender identities, with the very able leadership of Pastor Dr. Tracey Shenell. One of their leaders once raised the question of how to be a multicultural church without losing the identity and values and traditions of their Filipino heritage.

This is a very insightful question, especially for an Asian church, because in my experience, when Asian churches receive an influx of non-Asian (especially Western) members, the new members are comfortable critiquing the Asian church, questioning if they are Christian enough because of the ways their church life differs from a typical dominant culture church. It seems to be the religious corollary to the stubborn assumption that Asian-Americans are perpetual foreigners—those of European heritage subconsciously assume that all Asians are new Christians, and too many Asians buy into the expectation that they will never “get” Christianity as well as the people who have claimed the Christian faith for centuries.

I ended the day with Capstone Presbyterian Church, whose ministry really does focus primarily on people new to the Christian faith. Nearly all their members come from mainland China, a nation that was never predominantly Christian, and even with longtime government restrictions easing in recent years, multiple surveys set the percentage of Christians in China at 2-4%. (For a nation as large as China, that is impressive, when one considers that Japan is still less than 1% Christian.) Capstone continues to work to help people with no cultural context for religion of any kind to not only live into the Christian faith, but in a foreign land.

On Thanksgiving, I went to Praise Community Church to preach at their annual Thanksgiving Day worship service, followed by a Thanksgiving lunch. I believe this tradition is one more example of Praise’s strong cultural consciousness, as their rule that the Thanksgiving meal can only have American food (not even rice!) helped teach the church about a decidedly American holiday. This intentional respect for culture has always made Praise a model of intercultural Christianity for me. I remember going to Praise (then known as First Thai Presbyterian Church in the USA, a reflection of their standing as the first Thai Christian church in the United States) as far back as 2008, or six years before I came onto San Gabriel Presbytery’s staff. They were my first and best model for a seamless bilingual worship service. Now, Praise has several mainland Chinese members, a White praise band, a Latina choir director, and they welcome all of them with that wonderful grace that is such a gift of the Thai culture. They still do simultaneous translation (though now it’s almost all going from English to Thai), but they now translate the sermon and print it for Chinese speakers. And on their

screens in worship, the Scripture was shown in four languages—Thai, Chinese, English, and Spanish! What continues to impress me, though, is the way that Thai culture is still honored and used in ministry, and in their generosity they now share that cultural respect with the cultures of other members. People from all backgrounds are welcomed, and those who choose to can learn some lovely Thai traditions. I mentioned this to Love’s pastor, Tracey Shenell, as an example of an Asian church that has opened their church to others, but has not lost their cultural roots. Grace upon grace.

Speaking of grace, this transition from First Thai to Praise came with the pastoral leadership of Peter Tan-Gatue, who is Filipino (and who knows Love, back when they were Filipino Community United). Peter has shown grace in so many situations in this year that he has been Associate Executive Presbyter; we are most thankful for his work and expertise and pastoral presence.

As I hope you can see, the Word does indeed live among us. I have always been amazed at the unique history and giftedness of every congregation, not only in San Gabriel Presbytery but all around the world. But in our little corner of Christ’s church, we have some wonderful stories to tell. I pray that you find a way to share your stories, and to connect with other churches, that you may learn of their experiences as well. We are indeed blessed, that we may be a blessing to the nations.

May we continue to learn from each other, support each other’s ministries, and love each other, that together we may continue to be a channel of Christian love to our varied communities, in all their rich diversity.

Grace upon grace indeed! With Advent hope,

Wendy

I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers . . .

Ephesians 1:16

For a long time, I’ve thought about a Thanksgiving column, and how would I be able to share the gratitude I have for the blessings of the Presbytery of San Gabriel?

Should I have a “Top 10” list of favorite memories, or accomplishments of the Presbytery? Should I thank the people whom I have always relied on, for advice or support? Should I mention the many and varied ways churches showed their gifts—gifts like faithfulness, perseverance, generosity, creativity, or something else? Should I list the people and circumstances that give me hope for the future of the Presbytery?

Any of these approaches are problematic. Some are too specific and subjective—and might even be embarrassing for someone (not only me!). And others would be way too long for any one or a hundred columns. Actually, many of my past columns (and I haven’t figured out how many I’ve written, but I’m guessing about, what, 550?) pointed to events, churches, or individuals who have given me a glimpse of God’s realm brought to earth.

In fact, for just about every church in the Presbytery, several totally random memories come up in my head and in my heart. This occurred to me this last Saturday, because I went to a concert that happened to be at Knox Presbyterian in Pasadena. It wasn’t a Knox concert; it featured the son of a friend of mine—but it held some wonderful surprises, in the form of the musical group Mostly Kosher, a fabulously hip Klezmer band, and their related Urban Voices Project, that brings together professional musicians and folks from Skid Row and other disadvantaged communities.

As I walked into Knox’s sanctuary, I thought about some key leaders at the church, including a dear friend with whom I was a seminary intern 28 years ago and her wise and peacemaking husband; then I remembered one of those “only in church” moments involving the organ and a strange swishing noise; and how Knox is the first of several miracle stories I heard or witnessed in San Gabriel Presbytery; and some of the experiences I’ve had at Knox.

While Knox is a wonderful church, what hit me was the thought that whenever visiting any church in the Presbytery, I can think of several memories I will take with me as I go into retirement. Some happened before I started, but I was told about. Some I witnessed myself. Some will be impressive and inspiring. Some will be important lessons I learned. Some will make me smile. Some will make me shake my head. But the fact I can do this reflects the rich history of each of our churches, most recently when we worked together in pretty profound ways—not always happily or easily, and we did not always end up with a clear resolution, but I trust we were always faithful. And that is a privilege and a responsibility that I never took lightly.

Yesterday I enjoyed many things in the life of God’s people, beginning with an exercise that helped us realize that while we perceive things differently, we are all in the same ark together—and it ended with an interfaith Thanksgiving service in Altadena that reflected the strength of the community that has been revealed in the challenges of 2025. In that service, Mona Morales Recalde shared that there is no word for “thank you” in the Tongva language; the closest corollary is translated as “my heart is full.” I cannot count the days when I felt that my heart was not only full, but overflowing—with joy, with awareness of God’s love, with awe, and yes, with gratitude. It has been a supreme blessing to walk this leg of your journey with you.

I pray that you have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving. And I pray that you may also remember some of the many ways God has blessed you, even in this unusually complicated year. Thanks be to God, for blessings known and unknown.

With thanks, to you and to God,

Wendy

“Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of Peace.”

Luke 1:78-79

This weekend has been a big one, for me at least.

On Saturday we had our year-end Presbytery meeting, with some annual business and more:

• We elected leaders for 2026, including Helen Darsie moving to Moderator of the Executive Commission, Deidra Goulding to Moderator of the Presbytery, and RE Yvonne Harmon of Northminster as Vice Moderator of the Presbytery. Yvonne has just completed her term as Moderator of the Synod and then the Synod Commission of Assembly, and I have always been impressed with her faithfulness and dedication. We also elected Millason Dailey of Calvary South Pasadena as Teaching Elder Commissioner, and Leslie Gonzalez of Puente de Esperanza as Young Adult Advisory Delegate for General Assembly 2026, in Milwaukee. We did not have a nominee for Ruling Elder Commissioner, so we will still take nominations until November 30^th.
• We approved the budget for 2026, continuing the apportionment at $70/member. The budget reflects a new funding source, through the use of the former Village Presbyterian Church
• Justice, Peacemaking, and Mission reported on several ministries, including grants from the El Monte Initiative to Community El Monte’s food pantry ($15,000) and Puente de Esperanza’s CaliCenter ($30,500); the food delivery program for immigrants and other at-risk families, run by Santa Anita Family YMCA, the recipient of this month’s Presbytery offering (you can still give through https://sangabpres.org/donate/—go to “Give to Presbytery Offering”); and the upcoming request from PDA to establish disaster case managers in highly trusted churches to work with underserved communities needing assistance to recover from the Eaton Fire.
• Education, Equipping, and Empowerment shared plans for leadership training in the new year, with an all-Presbytery meeting probably in September.
• We approved the request from Filipino Community United Presbyterian Church in Azusa to change their name to Love Community Church SGV. This name change signifies their commitment to broadening their ministry to all races and sexual/gender identities.
• We approved continued funding of Live Oak Community Church and Interwoven New Worshiping Community, and heard inspiring stories of their ministries from pastors Andrew Ritiau and Harlan Redmond.
• We elected the Dr. Lisa Hansen to be our next Executive Presbyter!

Thanks to La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church for hosting. This was a special time, because we enjoyed their new fellowship hall, which is now called “The Gathering Place.” Like Siban’gna, this new site has been a catalyst for new ministry, and it’s wonderful to see their beautiful new facility. And oh yeah, we had a great lunch and I am overwhelmed with the love that was shared—with me, but I also saw how much we enjoyed being together.

As it happens, yesterday was a big day for the church where I will probably be worshiping regularly in 2026, Altadena Community Church, because they called their new pastor. So it became very apparent that this weekend was all about new beginnings—celebrating the growing new ministries at Live Oak and Interwoven, welcoming new leadership for the Presbytery including a new Executive Presbyter, seeing the fruits of new sites for ministry, and noting new leadership for a partnering denomination’s church that is currently nested at one of our churches, Westminster Presbyterian, while they recover from losing their campus in the Eaton Fire.

The lectionary gospel passage for this coming Sunday, Reign of Christ Sunday, references the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel, signaled by the birth of a child. We remember that the birth of this particular child would grow up to be John the Baptist, a great prophet who yet announced that the salvation of Israel would come through another, Jesus of Nazareth. I think of this because the dawn of God’s grace has broken many times in addition to the one great dawn, the dawn on Christmas Day. Even after the darkness of 2025, there is a new dawn breaking before us, and there is much to look forward to in 2026. Thanks be to God!

With thanks, to you and to God,

Wendy

I am about to create new heavens
   and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
    or come to mind.                               

Isaiah 65:17

This very familiar passage from Isaiah is in the lectionary for this coming Sunday, and it’s a good one for San Gabriel Presbytery as we look to the future.

It has always been presented as a very positive, hopeful prophecy. But I remember an Old Testament professor who confessed that she kind of liked things the way they were, or at least didn’t hate them so much she wanted all the former things to be banished even from our memory! And I have often thought about how disorienting this new life in Christ can be, especially if you attempt to abandon all that was familiar for you in the past—and for some folks that isn’t just bad habits or addictions, it may be toxic family members or friends who find your recovery to be threatening.

But almost by definition, the new life is unknown. You are the same person, but you’re not. You’re in the same place, but you see things differently, and your actions may be totally changed. My cousin once did a documentary that included, as I recall, an interview with a young woman who left her life as a drug dealer and had chosen to go straight. This is morally great news, but it meant that she lost the material wealth the drug dealing supplied, and ended up sleeping under a freeway overpass because she could not get a job that would enable her to pay her bills. Jesus warns us that following him does not protect us from difficulties or danger—in fact, we are warned that it can bring danger. And yet, we believe that following Jesus is the better way.

This coming Saturday is our year-end Presbytery meeting—have you registered yet? And the funny thing is, I am more unclear about what will happen in this meeting than nearly any other. We will have the standard year-end actions like electing new leaders and approving a budget for next year. But beyond that, I do not know what else will be announced. And no matter what, new leadership always presents change.

Of course, for many that change can be positive—refreshing at least, freeing for some, and maybe a needed correction! Adjusting to new leadership can be challenging, but it’s always needed. We are not in the business of creating dynasties, and only God is unchanging—but God is so much greater than we can ever comprehend, we can change a million times and still be well within the wideness of God’s creative genius.

The mistake would be to shrink back and try to hold on to what was familiar, or magnify the danger of an uncertain future. I am writing this column from Louisville. I got in at about 10:30 pm Louisville time (which is only 7:30 pm Pacific time), but that was 5 hours and several new routes later than I had planned. Peter Tan-Gatue is also here, because this is the annual meeting of midcouncil leaders. Peter was set to arrive when I was supposed to (it’s too late for me to call and confirm), because he flew in from Ontario. Now I had a very bad experience with the Ontario Airport, so I have held on to my vow to never use them again—and see where that got me! But at least I was willing to try to fly here. This past week there was a flurry of emails from folks who decided to cancel their trip out of fear of the reduction in flights due to the government shutdown. I chose to come anyway because I have to present a couple of times, and the ongoing multiple levels of uncertainty we’ve seen recently have left me a little fatalistic—after all, I can’t imagine how crazy I’d be if I tried to control or predict every twist and turn in life! As it turns out, the reason for my flight delay was not the shutdown anyway, just a plain old regular mechanical glitch. And Southwest has confirmed that my flight home should go as scheduled (as well as airlines can predict, anyhow). I’m supposed to come home Wednesday night—let’s hope I’m back by Saturday!

No matter our circumstance—whether dizzy from unplanned change or trapped in persistent mediocrity or suffering—there is only one thing of which we can be certain: the goodness of God, whose compassion and wisdom are far beyond our own. Let us give thanks for God’s constant care through our lives, and look ahead with confidence.

See you Saturday,

Wendy