Posts by Paul Ortiz
Holy Week: Preparing our Hearts for Easter
Kindred in Christ,
As we enter Holy Week, a sacred journey of reflection and renewal, I want to personally invite you to join us for the services and events that will guide us through this transformative time. From the triumphant shouts of Palm Sunday to the quiet, sacred moments of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and finally to the joyful resurrection on Easter, this week is an invitation to journey deeper into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
Palm Sunday – April 13th, 11:00 AM
Our journey begins with the celebration of Palm Sunday, where we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. On this day, the crowds shouted, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” Yet, as we wave our palms and sing “Hosanna,” we also remember that this moment marks the beginning of the final week of Christ’s life—the path of humility, resistance, and unwavering love.
This year, in my sermon titled “When Stones Find Their Voice” we will explore the powerful message of protest in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Drawing from Psalm 118 and the history of struggle for liberation, we’ll reflect on how Christ’s entry challenges us to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and excluded, even in the face of crucifying forces. We’ll also explore the unexpected ways God’s power shows up—in the humble figure of Jesus, riding on a donkey, not a warhorse.
Maundy Thursday – April 17th, 7:00 PM
On Maundy Thursday, we will gather at Green Lake UMC for a Supper Church liturgy and Potluck—a service of intimate reflection, community, and the ritual of handwashing. We will share in the meal that Jesus shared with his disciples, remembering his command to “love one another as I have loved you.” We will also consider the radical humility of Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples, including the one who would betray him. This is a night of community, love, and service.
Good Friday – April 18th, 7:00 PM
On Good Friday, we will gather at Woodland Park UMC to remember Jesus’ final hours and enter the mystery of the cross and God’s solidarity with the hurting. It is a night of somber contemplation, and reflecting on a love that will never let us go, even in the darkest moments.
Easter Sunday – April 20th, 10:00 AM (joint service)
We will celebrate Easter Sunday, at a special time at Green Lake UMC, in joy and hope remembering that Christ’s resurrection brings new life to all who seek to follow in his way. We’ll celebrate together with music, Communion, and the promise of new beginnings and an egg hunt for all ages.
As we walk this Holy Week together, I encourage you to reflect on the themes of grief, love, and resurrection. Christ’s life shows us that the way to new life is often through solidarity and humility. It is a week that challenges us to reflect deeply on our own journey, our commitment to justice, and how we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us.
I look forward to journeying this Holy Week with you all and seeing you at each of these sacred gatherings. Together, let us prepare our hearts for the great mystery of Easter.
Alongside you,
Rev. Paul Ortiz
Pouring Out: From Scarcity to Abundance
“Anointed” by Laura Pittman
Kindred in Christ,
I anticipate this Sunday to be a special and spirit-filled gathering, and I warmly invite you to be part of it!
Green Lake UMC will join our regular time of worship at 11AM for a beautiful expression of unity, shared faith, and discernment for the future. Our worship will center on the theme “Pouring Out: From Scarcity to Abundance,” drawn from our Lenten series Cultivating and Letting Go and grounded in the rich texts of Isaiah 43:16-21 and John 12:1-8.
We’ll reflect on Mary’s bold act of love as she anoints Jesus’ feet with her hair, Judas’s scandalized response, and Jesus’ unsettling yet freeing words: “The poor you will always have with you.” While Jesus’ phrase has been misused to justify inaction, we’ll explore it how it is meant to be an invitation to always remain near to the poor and marginalized—never turning away, nor never forgetting them.
Together, we’ll ask: In a world that too often trades compassion for control, and generosity for judgment, what does it mean to pour ourselves out in trust? How do we know when to give, what to release, and what God is inviting us to cultivate anew?
We’ll also be naming that discernment isn’t always easy—whether in our personal lives, our giving, or in our life as a church. But God promises: “I am about to do a new thing… do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19).
After worship, our DS. Rev. Derek Nakano will lead both congregations in a Charge Conference to vote on several important matters in the life of our shared ministry, including:
- My potential appointment as a shared pastor between our two churches
- Considering two SPRC recommendations for ministry candidates: Jemina Marasigan and Joey Chin
- Considering Rev. Jeff Shamblin-Mullinix as he retires, joins our church as member, and transfers to our Charge Conference
I hope you’ll come ready to worship, to pray, and to continue shaping the next chapter of ministry together. Your presence matters—and I believe the Spirit is moving among us in powerful ways.
Alongside you,
Rev. Paul Ortiz
From Questioning Why to Cultivating Justice
Kindred in Christ,
If you’ve ever spent time with a child, you know their favorite question: Why?
Why is the sky blue?
Why do I have to eat vegetables?
Why do bad things happen?
At first, these questions are about curiosity—a child’s way of making sense of the world. And that curiosity is a gift. Asking hard questions is how we grow. Scripture itself is filled with people questioning God, from the psalmists crying out in lament to Job demanding answers for his suffering. Our faith is not afraid of questions.
Yet as we grow older, we realize that not all why questions have neat answers. And sometimes, our need to explain suffering isn’t really about understanding—it’s about control. We want a reason, a cause, something to make pain and injustice feel less random. The problem is that some answers only serve to justify suffering rather than challenge it.
Jesus speaks directly to this in our Gospel reading this week. When people come to him asking why tragedy struck certain people, he refuses to offer easy answers (Luke 13:1-9). Instead, he shifts the conversation: Repent. Bear fruit. Turn toward life while there is still time. In other words, the question is not why this happened, but what now?
This Sunday, we will explore what it means to let go of the temptation to explain away suffering and instead take up the work of repentance—the kind of repentance that isn’t about guilt, but about turning toward life. We will see how this struggle played out in the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As a theologian, he wrestled with hard questions about injustice, but he also knew that faith without action was hollow. When he came to America to study at Union Seminary, he was disillusioned by the purely academic approach to faith. It was in the Black churches of Harlem—where he encountered a Christ who suffers with the oppressed—that he found the courage to return to Nazi Germany and resist.
In a world filled with suffering—the war in Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza, the violence experienced in our own country under the Trump administration—Bonhoeffer’s witness challenges us. Like him, we are living in a time of political and moral crisis. And like him, we must ask: Will we simply analyze suffering from a distance, or will we enter the struggle for justice?
I hope you will join us this Sunday as we continue our Lenten journey. May this season stretch us, challenge us, and ultimately draw us deeper into God’s love, mercy, and peace.
Alongside you,
Rev. Paul Ortiz
Between the Hen and the Fox: A Lenten Journey of Justice and Love
As we continue our Lenten series, Cultivating and Letting Go, this Sunday’s scripture confronts us with a striking contrast: the cunning fox and the sheltering hen. In Luke 13, Jesus calls Herod a “fox”—a symbol of deceitful power, a ruler who mimics a lion but lacks true authority and justice. In contrast, Jesus describes himself as a mother hen, longing to gather her vulnerable chicks under her wings. It’s an image of protection, fierce love, and a radically different kind of power.
What does it mean to follow a God who chooses the way of the hen rather than the might of the fox? It means standing in solidarity with those the foxes of this world try to scatter—those pushed to the margins, denied dignity, or forced to live in fear. It means embracing a power rooted in love rather than dominance.
We see this struggle in our world today, as policies and ideologies seek to erase and exclude those who do not fit into narrow definitions of belonging. Trans youth, immigrants, and many others are being told they do not have a place, that they are unworthy of protection and human rights. But Jesus calls us to resist the fox’s fear-driven rule and instead gather one another in love.
This Sunday, we will light the Candle for Peace, Justice, and Hope for Trans Youth, standing as a people committed to creating spaces of refuge, safety, and belonging.
Lent calls us to cultivate courage and let go of fear—to embrace the way of the hen, even in a world full of foxes. Join us this Sunday as we walk this path together.
Alongside you,
Rev. Paul Ortiz
Cultivating and Letting Go
Kindred in Christ,
Lent always begins in the wilderness.
Before Jesus began his ministry, he was led into the wilderness, where he fasted, prayed, and faced temptations—not of obvious evil, but of power, control, and certainty. He was asked to turn stones into bread, to take dominion over the world, to prove God’s faithfulness with spectacle. Each time, he refused. Each time, he let go. And in doing so, he emerged with a clearer sense of who he was and what truly sustained him.
This Lent, we, too, step into the wilderness—not as a place of punishment, but as a place of transformation. Our theme for this season is “Cultivating and Letting Go.” Lent is not just about giving things up; it’s about creating space. It’s about letting go of what holds us back—fear, control, distractions—and cultivating what brings life—trust, love, and justice.
Like the Israelites who brought their first fruits to God in gratitude (Deuteronomy 26), and like Jesus who trusted that we do not live by bread alone (Luke 4), we are invited to ask:
What do I need to release in order to grow?
What truly nourishes my soul?
Where is God calling me to trust more deeply?
Throughout Lent, we’ll reflect on these questions together in worship and community. I invite you to join us as we embrace this sacred season—not as a burden, but as an opportunity to grow in grace and community.
Let’s walk this journey together.
Alongside you,
Rev. Paul Ortiz