I am quite the procrastinator. You may have noticed that at times I am able to reference very current events in this column, because usually I write the column early Monday morning. Sometimes I don’t make the deadline I set for myself, let alone deadlines that others set for me. For instance, I noticed that several cars have registration tags that say 2022, which confused me. Did they get some kind of special tag that is good for two years? Aren’t we still in 2021?

I figured I should look for my tag, which I paid on time but never got around to sticking on my license plate. I did think to put my registration in my car, but I didn’t take the next step of putting the sticker on my license plate. When I did, I noticed that my tag does say 2021, because the month of my car’s registration was December. Oh well, four months late isn’t too bad—I’ve done worse.

In fact, I remember driving down to the Synod Assembly in 2015, which was held in San Diego.

I enjoyed the drive down and was happy to find parking right across from the church. I was disappointed, however, that there was a ticket waiting for me after I left the meeting, because I had not put my new tag on my car, several months after they were due. I don’t get many traffic tickets, thank God, so I considered it a donation to the City of San Diego and paid the $40.50.

To be honest, the reason all of this came back to me was the recent news of conflicts between police and Black men. I don’t know if you noticed, but the initiating act for some of these conflicts are pretty minor. You may have heard that George Floyd was arrested by the police and killed on May 25, 2020, for passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

US Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario was pulled over in Virginia as he drove his new Chevrolet Tahoe on December 5, 2020. The vehicle was new enough that Nazario did not have permanent license plates, so the police did not see the temporary plate he taped to the inside of the rear window. He was pursued, ordered to get out of the car without being told why, and eventually he was pepper sprayed, forced face down on the ground and handcuffed.

And recently, just before 2 pm on April 11, the police of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, pulled over Daunte Wright; officers said that they did so due to the car’s expired registration tag. They later noticed the presence of an object hanging from the car’s rearview mirror—an air freshener. Officers ran Wright’s name and found he had an open arrest warrant which led to the attempt to arrest him.

He first complied, then eluded them and jumped back into his car. During the scuffle that followed, the police officer mistook her gun for a taser and shot him, and he died soon after.

The Stanford Open Policing Project collects and analyzes an average of 50,000 daily traffic stops throughout the country; so far they have analyzed 200 million stops. They report that: “The data show that officers generally stop black drivers at higher rates than white drivers…………….. In nearly every

jurisdiction we find stopped black and Hispanic drivers are searched more often than white drivers.” A common tactic is to stop drivers for simple traffic infractions, such as expired registration tags, and then search the driver and car, a form of “stop and frisk” that has at times escalated to tragic consequences. What was a $40 traffic ticket for me, cost others their life.

These days, there has been a lot of attention given to police actions, but we know that people are facing all kinds of conflicted situations, sometimes for no other reason than the color of their skin, their age, or their gender. At our recent Presbytery meeting, we had the pleasure of breaking into small groups several times. One time we were asked to share the first time when we challenged, or thought about challenging, racism. From what I have heard, the pattern was that some people of color had stories to share, but dominant culture folks were a little stumped by the question.

I have come to understand this, from when I lived in Hawai‘i. There, I was part of the dominant culture, and for the first time I had a sense that having solidarity with the marginalized was an ethical choice, and one for which I may lose some of my privilege. Though I have more practice confronting racism, it helped me understand how this question may be a difficult one to answer.

But we can’t afford not to challenge racism, and people of all races are starting to understand that we can’t just watch out for ourselves; we must watch out for each other. The question, then, is how?

There are many ways to challenge racism, but the scariest is how or whether to act if you witness an act of harassment or other form of hatred. Stop AAPI Hate offers the following advice in multiple languages for persons witnessing hate, at https://stopaapihate.org/safety-tips/:

• Take Approach the targeted person, introduce yourself and offer help.
• Actively listen. Ask before taking any action and respect the targeted person’s wishes. Monitor the situation if needed.
• Ignore Using your discretion, attempt to calm the situation by using your voice, body language or distractions.
• If the situation escalates, invite the targeted person to join you in leaving.
• Offer emotional Help the targeted person by asking how they are feeling. Assist them to figure out what they want to do next.

There are many other models for bystander intervention, such as the Five D’s of Hollaback! But you get the idea. And it reminds me of times when I have been helped by strangers who intervened when I felt unsafe, and I am grateful that God sent them into my life for that moment.

I am very aware (as I mentioned last week) that we are in yet another era of uncertain times. If we are truly blessed, we are passing out of the pandemic phase into a time of post-pandemic stress, and we can’t tell all the ways this stress will be manifested. So I do ask that we all be gentle with ourselves and with each other—but also, look out for each other, and for all of God’s children who are oppressed.

If we believe in Easter, then we are Resurrection People, followers of the risen Christ. Christ’s resurrection proves to us that sin and death are not the final answer, if we have the courage to follow Christ’s call to love one another, and to love beyond word or speech—let us love in truth and action.

I think it was Methodist Bishop Warren Chandler who said that he 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.” Because we belong to the God whose power is greater than any sin or hatred, let us love in gentleness, in faith, in community, and in action.

In Christ’s peace,

Alleluia! Christ is risen!!

What an interesting coincidence that today, a little over a year but just one day after the Day of Resurrection, Los Angeles County is set to enter the “Orange Tier,” the third of four tiers towards full opening of buildings and activities.  On a personal level, I am getting my first vaccination today, so I feel like I am truly entering into new life—spiritually, physically, and socially.  I can already feel my thinking shifting to things I’ve put out of my mind for 13 months now—travel, in-person meetings, eating Korean food with friends . . . I still don’t know when hugs and singing will be appropriate, but we’re definitely making progress.

It’s important that new life does not mean freedom from responsibility.  The virus is still present in the world, and even as we enjoy lower case and death counts, the possibility of new outbreaks continues, as demonstrated right now in France and Michigan.  So as we Presbyterians understand, we have not been saved for our own pleasure, but we are saved and called into partnership in God’s service.  We continue to be discerning and responsive to the needs of our churches and our communities as we consider the most faithful route towards in-person worship.

Because the progress to the Orange Tier has moved so fast, the Presbytery Executive Commission has not approve any official guidelines, but I thought I would summarize what aspects of the local health orders will continue, what has changed, and some thoughts for your sessions to consider as you plan worship in the coming months.  And please mark your calendars for Thursday, April 22, 7 pm.  We will hold a Zoom-based panel on guidelines and strategies for opening your church buildings.

Most elements of the Health Order have not changed:

1. Mask up—all the time you are in presence of others, indoors or outdoors.
2. 6-foot distancing between households is still in place, indoors or outdoors. There had been mention of 3-foot distancing for children, but this does not apply to churches.
3. Online worship is still safest, so churches are encouraged to continue online worship even after indoor worship is implemented. Outdoor worship and activities are better than indoors.
4. Singing is strongly discouraged; if done, all singers (including leaders) should stay masked and people from different households should be at least 8-10 feet apart with masks. If a leader is not masked, each singer must be 12 feet apart.
5. Instrumentalists must also keep an extended distance (or separated by Plexiglas shields); wind instruments are strongly discouraged.
6. No food or drink should be consumed in a group setting. (Even when it was pointed out that large crowds at a baseball game are being allowed to consume food and drink, the County Health Officer confirmed that churches should not serve food or drink except to go.)
7. Communion elements should be served in a “no-contact” manner.
8. Likewise, offering should be received in a “no-contact” manner.
9. Ventilation is important; keep doors and windows open, and maintain one-way traffic patterns.
10. Building owners should set protocols for activities on their premises and communicate to all who use the facility, with advance notice and on-site signage. All groups using the facility should follow the protocol (conversely, if a church rents space, they must follow the protocol of the building owner).
11. Employer protocols are still in place, including:

a. encouraging working from home or staggering hours in the office
b.egular cleaning (hourly for high-touch surfaces)
c. 6-foot social distancing
d. send any employee or volunteer with symptoms home for self-quarantine
e. reporting: if 3 or more cases of COVID-19 occur among employees within a span of 14 days, the employer must report the outbreak to the Department of Public Health at (888) 397-3993 or (213) 240-7821, or online at redcap.link/covidreport.

12. In PC(USA), the Session approves the protocols for safe environments.

What is changing with the Orange Tier:

1. 12-step groups (Alcoholics Anonymous) and therapy groups can now have up to 12 participants (limit was 10).
2. Indoor worship must still maintain 6 feet between household groups (greater if singing), with a maximum capacity of 50% building occupancy. That means that if a worship space can only hold 30% of building occupancy in order to maintain 6-foot distancing (for instance, if there are many individuals from different households), then only 30% is allowed.
3. Office work is more allowed, but still with 6-foot social distancing, cleaning, etc.

Some recommendations and things to consider:

1. Again, online worship is safest, and outdoor worship is safer than indoors. You don’t have to rush to worship indoors!  Sessions need to consider what’s best for their members, given the design of their physical space.  Many churches have a committee to focus on opening plans.
2. Require pre-registration for indoor worship, and have all attendees sign in on-site for contact tracing and staying within capacity limits.
3. Ask attendees if they have symptoms, fever, recent exposure to COVID, or have traveled recently when they pre-register; post clear signage on-site asking people not to enter if they say yes to any screening questions (as well as wearing masks, etc.).
4. Communion elements can be offered as self-contained kits or placed in multiple places for small groups.
5. Continue to encourage online offering, or ask people to drop offering in baskets (do not pass offering plates from person to person).
6. Have ushers to ensure sufficient distance between household groups and consider asking people to leave row by row to lessen traffic.
7. Teach church members a no-contact way of greeting and showing care for each other.
8. Phase into opening (start small and grow month by month), and set and communicate a backup plan (eg, if an outbreak occurs).
9. Shorten worship services or the length of time people meet indoors. For instance, one church is planning to have congregants go outside for communion.
10. For child care, consider meeting outdoors but ensure there is enough supervision so children maintain proper distancing and stay safe.
11. Look for ways to encourage vaccination for members and neighbors in your community.

As we move into the new possibilities that come with Easter, with the sunshine of spring, with vaccinations, with the easing of COVID-related restrictions, there is much to be grateful for.  May you know the joy of the risen Christ in your midst, today and every day.

Alleluia! Amen

Wendy

This is Holy Week, and in the span of a week we move from being stuck in a state of despair to the release of salvation, the freedom of new life.

We are in a time when it seems that we are stuck in many kinds of despair. Even as we hear the first glimmers of hope in the COVID-19 pandemic, we also hear of rising caseloads again, and continuing concerns from other countries. We see as a nation the persistent burden of racism plaguing us, manifested in the rise of anti-Asian hatred as well as in the seemingly endless number of incidents of African-Americans dying by the actions of police. And we as individuals are stuck in patterns of addiction and dysfunction, our fulfillment hampered by adherence to so many myths and habits and dependencies that distract us from God.

What does it take to free us of this despair? Sometimes we hope for human effort, such as the herculean efforts of health care workers to care for the sick and scientists to develop vaccine, as well as the simple actions of wearing masks and refraining from “trading air.” Sometimes we fear that we are permanently stuck in our death-dealing ways; this week also marks the beginning of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the man whose knee stayed on George Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive. My own level of despair is that I cannot hope for a sense of restoration from the trial; I only hope things will not get even worse. And during Lent we are often asked to examine our own weaknesses and broken places; I committed to a simple practice of letter-writing that I failed to maintain even for the 40 days of Lent.

In the midst of these difficult days comes a rather spectacular metaphor for our “stuck” feelings: the Ever Given cargo ship, run aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the path of any other ship. With 18,300 containers full of goods, the 220,000-ton, 1300-foot ship was helpless to extricate itself of its predicament —and its failure blocked hundreds of other ships from their forward purpose.

The ship stayed stuck for almost a week, and for days no one knew how to free it. One photo of a digger attempting to loosen sand and mud from under the bow seemed to reflect the enormity of the problem, and how miniscule our ability to resolve it.

Indeed, the prognosis was so uncertain that some ships chose to take the long route around the Suez Canal, which meant going all the way around the continent of Africa, adding weeks to their journey at $26,000 a day in added fuel costs.

The Japanese owners of the ship attempted to acknowledge their regret at the mishap, bowing deeply in humility. But that did not move the ship. Eventually, 11 tugboats from many different countries arrived on the scene to attempt to pull the ship back fully into the water.

They managed to get it to budge about 100 feet, but no more.

In what seems like God’s providence, an unusually high tide was due today. The army of engineers, salvage operators, and tugboat crews involved in extricating the ship coordinated their work with the high tide, and thank God this massive container ship, almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, was freed! The relief, and the freedom which was granted the 300 blocked ships, was immediate.

As we look ahead to Easter, this strikes me as a great metaphor for our life of faith. We seem to be inextricably stuck in our own brokenness, and the enormity of our broken ambition may even impact others. Our own attempts to save ourselves are woefully insufficient, even when we work together. But if we admit our error and coordinate our collective efforts with the awesome power of God to save us, we can experience the freedom of new life.

May we open our hearts and minds to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and in humility may we align ourselves to God’s saving will, that we may be freed to move and live and serve with purpose and gratitude.

And may we live to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever. Let us not rush past the events of this Holy Week, but thank God that our spiritual ancestors told us the good news of Easter. Let us give thanks that sin and death do not have the final answer. God’s power is indeed awesome, and awesome to save!

Looking ahead to resurrection hope,

We had a very meaningful Presbytery meeting on Saturday. We took several actions, several of which affirmed emerging and veteran leadership in the Presbytery:

• Charlene Jin Lee was advanced to candidacy in the preparation for ministry process
• Harlan Redmond’s proposal for Interwoven New Worshiping Community was approved
• Jeff O’Grady and Jan Cook were granted Honorably Retired status as they leave their pastorates with San Marino Community Church later this spring
• Ally Lee was elected Stated Clerk for Administration, Steve Salyards elected as Stated Clerk for Judicial Process, and my call as Executive Presbyter was renewed for another 3 years
• Deidra Goulding was made Moderator of Session for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in La Puente, and the contracts for Ally Lee with Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena and Larry Ballenger with Arcadia Community Church were renewed
• The Presbytery offering was dedicated to the Immigrant Accompaniment Ministry
• The June 19 Presbytery meeting was announced as a Zoom-based day of education
• Presbytery members were invited to an April 22^nd discussion on reopening church sanctuaries, and a virtual border trip to learn more about justice for immigrants in May and September.

There was much to be celebrated, and this meeting highlighted many gifted members in our presbytery family. Charlene’s evolving sense of her ministry was affirmed by her youth pastor (Rev. Mark Hong, who is now our Synod Executive and Stated Clerk) to students whom she taught as a seminary professor, such as Bong Bringas. Charlene’s call includes her voice in the public square; her appearance with us coincided with a powerful column in Presbyterian Outlook in response to the March 16 shootings in the Atlanta area, “Aching Hope: Mourning Violence Against Asian-American Women.”

The vision expressed in Harlan Redmond’s proposal for the new worshiping community, Interwoven, was an inspiration to everyone, especially Pasadena residents who know the need for a holistic ministry of empowerment and racial reconciliation that Interwoven anticipates.

It was a testament to the ministry of Jan Cook and Jeff O’Grady—and as Jan later wrote, God’s “holy synchronicity”—that the meeting affirming their retirement also affirmed Charlene and Harlan, who are both members of San Marino Community Church. As Jeff and Jan retire in May and June, they can see how they contributed to the next generation of leaders as pastors and CPM chair.

But importantly, this meeting also marked the Presbytery’s commitment to focus on dismantling structural racism throughout this year. Dismantling structural racism is one of three priorities set by the national church as we follow the vision of being a Matthew 25 Church. The other two priorities are eradicating systemic poverty and supporting congregational vitality.

Because of the diversity in our presbytery membership, we can learn a lot just from getting to know each other better. So we had three breakout room conversations in the meeting, to check in on the

state of our world, to share our personal experiences of racism, and to share how we have—or have not—taken action to confront racism in our individual lives.

In just these short interchanges, I heard of a COVID-induced conversation group that started among one person’s diverse neighbors, and how people stood up for people with disabilities whom they love. It confirmed for me the importance of relationships, because it’s easier for people to confront racism if they have beloved people in their lives who would be hurt by that racism, just as they felt for their loved ones who were hurt when they were ridiculed for their disabilities. And getting to know and appreciate your neighbors is a great way to love more people with whom you can stand in solidarity.

Finally, a survey was made available, so presbytery members can share their interest in various discussion groups, participation in the Intercultural Development Inventory, the virtual border trips, and/or participating in leadership in the Presbytery. If you have not yet taken the survey, please do so by clicking here.

Last week, I happened to see a Facebook post from Pasadena Presbyterian Church from a year ago, after our own Rev. Dr. Casper Glenn gave a talk on his friendship with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The post ended with this:

When someone in the group mentioned that it was an honor to hear these stories from a person who had so much to do with the civil rights movement, Rev. Glenn put his arms around everyone and said, “it is great for all of us to be together.”

This is my hope, that we fight against racism not as brave individuals, but because it is great for all of us to be together, and to more fully enjoy God’s marvelous creativity in crafting each one of us. It may be uncomfortable to reflect on the ways we are infected by racism, but just like confession, just like Lent, it’s important for us to reject what is not of God, so that we may rejoice in the new life that Jesus suffered to create for us. So I pray that this presbytery meeting was not just a breakout for how we use Zoom, but it marked the beginning of us being an even stronger and more vibrant reflection of God’s kin-dom.

Thank you for being partners on this journey.

In Christ’s peace,

Saturday was a great day in God’s world. At Westwood Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery of the Pacific ordained to the ministry of Word and sacrament Elder Mark S. Jones, Sr.

I hope that some of you might know Mark Jones, and not just because he spent 26 years in the CPM process before his ordination. Like many people under care of CPM, Mark has been too busy doing ministry to prepare for it. Among other things, Mark has been a long-time ruling elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, he has been on staff of Westwood Presbyterian Church in a variety of ministries, and heqw1aza was CRE pastor of Community United Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Throughout, Mark has been a faithful leader in the National Black Presbyterian Caucus, he has served the national church through the Racial Equity Advisory Committee (formerly ACREC), and has been a tireless, always loving, servant of the Lord.

As Mark gave his first benediction as the Reverend Mark S. Jones, Sr., I was flooded with memories of great stories about him—just as every other person had their favorite stories. One that struck me was a tragic one, though. We were at a national meeting, sitting together in the back of the room of the closing service. The plenary speaker was a woman missionary who was talking about how “we Presbyterians” needed to reach out to “them,” meaning people of color and immigrants. This is a common irritation for me, because many dominant-culture Presbyterians have a habit of speaking to each other as if all Presbyterians are of the same background. Even though they do account for over 90% of the denomination, there are a few of us who don’t fit that category, yet long to be recognized as part of the “we Presbyterians.”

This mild irritation took on tragic proportions that day, however, because while we were finishing up the meeting, Mark was getting texts from his sister, whose teenaged son Bijan had been shot while in his car, and who was about to die in the hospital. Whereas most Presbyterians think about victims of drive-by shootings as a very distant “them,” here was a constantly faithful leader whose beloved nephew was most definitely one of us.

This and other joyous stories came to my mind during Mark’s ordination service. Because of COVID, there were very few people physically present in the Westwood sanctuary, so only one person was allowed to lay his hand on Mark for his ordination. That person was Rev. Dr. Charles Marks, another great leader in the Church, who has served as pastor, seminary professor, and staff of Synod of Southern California and Hawai‘i as well as the national church. As Charles stood with his hand on Mark’s head, I was reminded of the story of Elijah and Elisha, and all the ways the inheritance of service to God is passed from generation to generation.

The tradition of Black Presbyterians is an exceptional one, marked by current leaders such as Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, President of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk; Rev. Dr. Charles Marks and Rev. Dr. Casper Glenn, both of whom are retired in our

community (and both should have books written about their amazing lives); mathematician Elder Katherine Johnson, who DID have a book written about her (“Hidden Figures”) and Condoleezza Rice, daughter and granddaughter of Presbyterian pastors, who has had several; and Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, who wrote the book on Womanist ethics (including “Black Womanist Ethics” and “Katie’s Canon:  Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community”).

Of course, there are countless saints of all backgrounds who reflect the giftedness of the Presbyterian Church. One of my great mentors in this Presbytery is Rev. Bryce Little, who in turn shared the news about Elder George Cassat, long-time Treasurer, Trustee, and generous supporter of the Presbytery and Synod. Elder Cassat, a financial advisor who volunteered his expertise to others and was a lifelong Rotarian, was a member of our churches in Arcadia and San Marino, and passed on to the Lord at the age of 97 on December 3, 2020.

This Saturday is our Presbytery meeting. Among other things, the meeting will be the opportunity to celebrate two exceptionally gifted leaders in our church who will be retiring, Revs. Jan Cook and Jeff O’Grady. We will also have the opportunity to celebrate two exceptionally gifted leaders who are coming into greater leadership in our church: Dr. Charlene Jin Lee, whose PhD advisor was Katie Cannon and who will be seeking advancement as Candidate under care of our CPM, and Harlan Redmond, well-respected community organizer and soon-to-be Princeton MDiv who is also under care of CPM, and who has a compelling proposal for a new worshiping community in our Presbytery.

This is an exciting time for the Presbyterian Church, and for San Gabriel Presbytery. We give thanks for the great leaders who helped bring us to where we are now, and we can look ahead to outstanding leaders who will continue to fulfill God’s mission in this area, with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love (W-4.0404h). We have a wonderful opportunity to expand greatly who is included when we say “we Presbyterians,” and the Presbytery leaders are hoping to provide more ways for us to explore what it means to connect with more children of God than ever before. May our hearts and faith be big enough to embrace all whom God puts into our branch of the family tree.

I encourage you to register for the Presbytery meeting—even if you are not a commissioner, you are welcome!—and I hope to see you on Saturday.

In Christ’s peace,