Kindred in Christ,

I love Advent. I love the practice of lighting just one candle a week, a slow journey from darkness to light. I used to think that getting to full light was the goal, and the quicker the better! But Advent has taught me to slow down, to take my time, for the formative journey of “shadow and velvety deepness” is the true gift of this season. Advent invites us to linger in the mystery of darkness, allowing ourselves to dwell in that expansive space of the unknown in our lives, and encounter and trust God in a bigger way than when we relied solely on our own sight and understanding. May we encounter the blessing of darkness and light together this season.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

As winter approaches, some of us may lament the shorter days and longer nights. But it is in the darkness that we find some of God’s greatest, most nurturing gifts. Too often has the Christian tradition exclusively associated light and whiteness with ‘good’, and darkness and blackness with ‘bad.’ The problem with this strict binary way of thinking is not only that it supports the denigration of people of color and perpetuates white supremacy, this view of darkness is also woefully incomplete. There are other images of darkness in scripture which we often fail to lift up in our worship and conversations about God.

Join us this Advent and Christmas as we look at the old stories we know well and find in them the places where sacred darkness holds us, loves us, and empowers us. From holy dark wombs to mangers at midnight to the wise ones following a star at night, this is the season to prepare our souls to seek delight in the winter nights to come.

To help us go deep into this Advent theme, we will be reading God’s Hoy Darkness in worship during the first two Sundays:

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

During this season of thanksgiving, I give thanks for each of you and the ways you share your authentic selves with our community at University Gathering UMC. And I give thanks for the ways you contribute your time, talent, and finances for the sake of creating an inclusive church, a larger table, and greater justice in our city. This coming Sunday, we conclude our series, Running into the Future. We will reflect together on what it means to be part of something bigger than ourselves and how the act of giving can expand our vision and spiritual lives.

And in the meantime, I share with you a quote from Henri Nouwen:

“The more I think about human suffering in our world and my desire to offer a healing response, the more I realize how crucial it is not to allow myself to become paralyzed by feelings of impotence and guilt. More important than ever is to be very faithful to my vocation to do well the few things I am called to do and hold on to the joy and peace they bring me. I must resist the temptation to let the forces of darkness pull me into despair and make me one more of their many victims. I have to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and on those who followed him and trust that I will know how to live out my mission to be a sign of hope in this world.”

– Henri Nouwen     From “Here and Now: Living in the Spirit”

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

One of my favorite theologians and artists is He Qi. From Mainland China, he is a professor at the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. His art is known to be a mix of Chinese folk art with modern art styles depicting Biblical stories in a new light. Above, his piece, Elijah and the Ravens, is a portrait of Elijah being sustained with food from God through the ravens he encountered in the wilderness (1 Kings 17).

When asked why Elijah had a face of two tones, and two eyes looking in seemingly different directions, Qi responded, “The Hebrew prophets often had “double vision.” One eye to see and call out the injustice of the present, and another eye toward the future God was calling the people toward.”

As we continue in our series, Running into the Future, we will explore what it means to rely on God to continue to sustain us, as well as give us “double vision” for the journey ahead. This Sunday, we will also welcome two new members to our congregation, Clara Too and Clara Mariño, which makes 11 new members this year! May we continue to gather and share vision with new people as we move forward together.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday we continue our series, Running into the Future! This coincides with our pledge campaign season. If the ministry of U Gathering has made a difference in your life and you feel called to partner with us, we invite you to prayerfully consider what financial pledges you are being called to commit to for the coming year. Your pledges enable us to create a sustainable budget for 2024, as well as continue to run together into God’s future of greater inclusion, creativity, and justice in the U District of Seattle.

During this series we are considering the ingredients needed to continue to honor our past while moving forward into the future. Last week we talked about cultivating a nimble faith, which is being flexible and open to God’s unexpected leading in our lives. This week we are talking about having an attitude of gratitude. The giving of our time, talents, and finances to the church and our communities should overflow as a response to the grace of God experienced in our real lives.

Yet the pain and oppression we witness in the world can seem to eclipse the goodness of God that is still all around us. While on the other hand, the privilege that many of us benefit from, due to our social locations, deceives us to think we never have enough and always deserve more of any given thing.

In the midst of all this, the practice of gratitude invites us to stop, search for God’s gifts, and respond to that goodness. Gratitude reminds us of that while injustice and suffering are real, they are not all of reality. And our gratitude moves us toward a type of resistance, which overflows into thanksgiving, works of mercy, and justice. Moreover, gratitude enables us to remain humble and manage our own privilege and entitlement.

Throughout the New Testament, the Apostle Paul usually did not thank people directly in his letters. He rather would give thanks to God for people in his life. “I thank God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3-5).

As I continue in my pastoral and community-building work, I move from a deep gratitude for each of you who are connected through the ministry of U Gathering. I give thanks to God for the unique ways you bring your authentic selves and partner with us in this gospel work.

Lastly, I want to lift up a quote from one of our members, Julianne, which expresses her gratitude for the kind of community we are and which we are called to continue to become:

I love that I can be at U Gathering on any given Sunday, no matter where I am emotionally or spiritually, and know I’ll enjoy seeing old friends and celebrating new connections; know that I’ll hear a message of inclusivity, welcome and invitation; know that my teens (even if not attending that day) are seen and valued by the relevant and gender-affirming language and message; and finally, know (or re-learn) that I am part of the “everyone” continuously invited to God’s loving table. – Julianne Hake

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz