Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday, we gather in the beautiful rhythm of remembrance and renewal. It’s All Saints and Día de los Muertos—a sacred time to honor those who have shaped our lives and reflect on how their love still lives in us. We remember family, mentors, friends, and even beloved creatures who reflected God’s love and helped us see blessing in unexpected places.

As Jesus teaches in this week’s Gospel (Luke 6:20–31), true blessing comes not from comfort or success but from mercy, justice, and love that endures. The saints we honor this week remind us that remembrance is never passive—it’s a call to carry forward the work of compassion and justice they began.

It’s especially fitting, then, that this Sunday also marks the launch of our first joint pledge campaign for University Gathering and Green Lake UMC: Roots and Branches—Rooted in our histories, growing together in shared mission.

This is a collaborative campaign with two congregations’ separate operating budgets, united in vision and ministry. Throughout November, we’ll reflect on our Methodist roots—the connection that binds us in grace and sends us outward in service. John Wesley called this connectionalism—a network of grace linking disciples, congregations, and ministries in shared mission. Just as the saints remind us that we belong to one another across time, our Methodist heritage calls us to live out that connection today in love and action.

If the ministry of these congregations has blessed your life, I invite you to prayerfully consider your pledge for the coming year—an act of gratitude for what has been and hope for what’s yet to come.

May this All Saints and Día de los Muertos Sunday ground us in remembrance, root us in love, and send us to grow new branches of mercy, justice, and joy.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul Ortiz