Friends,

Too often, Jesus’ teachings are distorted into questions about who is in and who is out. And honestly, in these polarizing times, I think Jesus offers us something more than us versus them thinking.

Take this week’s Gospel reading, the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9). A farmer scatters seeds everywhere. Some fall on the path and are eaten by birds. Some land on rocky ground or among thorns and struggle to grow. Others fall on fertile soil and flourish.

Growing up, I was taught that this was a story about “good people” and “bad people,” those who receive God and those who reject God.

But Maybe Jesus is inviting us to see something deeper. Because all of us have rocky places in our story. All of us have fertile ground in our lives. All of us have seasons when faith comes easily and seasons when life feels dry.

The good news is that God continues to sow seeds of grace in all seasons of our lives, often through imperfect people, communities, and even difficult experiences that shape us in ways we don’t recognize until much later.

As we continue our Journey into Becoming series, I invite us to reflect on two simple questions: What seeds of grace have shaped you? And how might God be calling us to become seeds of God’s grace for others?

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we worship, reflect, and discover the new life God is blooming among us.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul

Friends,

One of the first things people ask when a baby is born is, “What’s their name?”

It’s a curious question, because at that point you know almost nothing about them. You don’t know what they’ll love, what gifts they’ll discover, or what their story will become. And yet, we give them a name. We speak hope, identity, and possibility over a life that is still unfolding.

As many of you know, Kim and I recently welcomed our daughter, Zoe. Her name means “life,” and becoming a parent has reminded me that some of the most important things in life are received before they are fully understood.

That insight feels especially meaningful as I return from paternity leave and as our congregations continue discerning a shared future together.

This summer, we’ll begin a new worship series, The Journey of Becoming, exploring what it means to walk with God through seasons of growth, change, and discovery. Scripture reminds us that faith is rarely about having everything figured out. More often, it is about trusting God in the midst of becoming, learning who we are, who our neighbors are, and who God is calling us to be together.

Our first sermon, based on Romans 7:15–25 and Matthew 11:16–30, is titled “When We Don’t Know What to Call Ourselves.” Together, we’ll reflect on how faith invites us to embrace uncertainty, receive grace, and recognize the new life God is bringing forth among us.

As individuals and as a church, we may not have all the answers. But we do not walk alone. God journeys with us, and we journey with one another.

I hope you’ll join us as we take the next steps together.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul

“Marsha P. Johnson” Icon by Kelly Latimore

Friends,

I’m grateful to be back with you this Sunday after paternity leave. These past weeks have been full in every way, and I’m especially excited for many of you to meet baby Zoe.

This Sunday we celebrate Pride Sunday, and we do so by lifting up the life and witness of Marsha P. Johnson.

Marsha was a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and co-founder of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries alongside Sylvia Rivera. She cared for queer and trans youth, sex workers, and unhoused neighbors with radical compassion.

Marsha was unapologetically a person of faith. She prayed daily, loved the church, and said, “My spirit is filled with God’s love, and that’s what keeps me going.” Her life reminds us that holiness is not found in social status or respectability, but in love that shows up on the margins.

We’ll also celebrate our tradition of rainbow Communion bread, a sign of God’s wide table and the beauty of our many colors held in one body of Christ.

I’m looking forward to worship, celebration, and being together again with you all.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul

The Good Shepherd icon by Kelly Latimore

Kindred in Christ,

There are so many voices around us right now, and it is not always easy to tell which ones to trust.

This Sunday, we turn to John 10:1–10, where Jesus offers us a different image. He names himself as the shepherd, the one whose voice calls out to the sheep:
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

Jesus names himself as the shepherd, a voice we have heard before, the One who leads beside still waters and restores our soul. A voice we learn to recognize not in the noise, but in the quiet places of trust.

It is a gentle image, but it carries a deep invitation:

Whose voice are we listening to?

Not every voice leads to life. Some stir up fear or pull us away from one another. But the voice of Christ calls us toward love, toward justice, toward a deeper belonging with God and each other. It is often subtle, more like a steady presence than a shout, which means following Jesus asks us to slow down, to listen closely, to pay attention to what is life-giving.

This is also an invitation to loosen our grip on planning alone, and to live in a deeper attentiveness, where listening becomes the way we discern and respond to the voice of God.

I am grateful that Nancy Goddard will be preaching this Sunday. She brings a thoughtful, grounded presence, and I am thankful for her willingness to share the word with us.

Kim and I are also deeply grateful for your prayers as we draw near to welcoming our baby. We feel held by this community. I am hoping to be in worship this Sunday, unless our little one decides it is time to arrive first.

As you move through the week, I invite you to listen beneath the noise. Notice what voices are shaping your heart, and where you hear the quiet, steady call that leads to life.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Supper at Emmaus by the Chinese artist He Qi

Kindred in Christ,

“When have you said, we had hoped…?”

This Sunday, we continue our Eastertide series, Signs of New Life, as we step onto the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35), a road marked by grief, confusion, and dashed hopes. And yet it is precisely there that the risen Christ draws near. At first unrecognized, he walks alongside, opens their eyes, and reveals new life in the breaking of bread.

There is a striking detail in the story. When Cleopas, one of the disciples, speaks to Jesus, Luke’s Gospel uses the Greek word παροικεῖς (paroikeis), a word that carries the sense of being a foreigner, an outsider, one who does not fully belong. Jesus is addressed as the stranger in their midst. And yet it is precisely as the one treated as outside that Christ is revealed, reminding us how often resurrection appears among those who are pushed to the margins or made to feel as though they do not belong.

This opens a deeper invitation for us. If Christ meets us in the outsider, then we are also called to recognize Christ in those whom our world treats as outsiders today, including migrants, refugees, and those who live with the vulnerability of being undocumented. Resurrection is not only something we witness, but something we participate in through how we welcome, protect, and stand in solidarity with those whom society too often overlooks.

Alongside Peter’s bold words in Acts 2, we will reflect on what it means to turn away from systems of harm. We will consider not only where hope has faded, but also where we are invited into transformation, justice, and participation in God’s unfolding new creation.

This is resurrection work. It is learning to see again, to trust again, and to notice the signs of new life already stirring among us.

I am also excited that Pastor Anna Shin will be with us in worship this Sunday. She will serve as our Interim Pastor while I am on paternity leave in May and June. This will be a wonderful opportunity to begin getting to know her. She will be staying after the service, and I encourage you to take a moment to say hello and offer a warm welcome.

I hope you will join us this Sunday as we continue the journey together on the road to something new.

Alongside you,
Pastor Paul