This past Ash Wednesday, a group from our church offered ashes and blessings to morning commuters outside of the U District Light Rail Station. Holding a sign that proclaimed, “Ashes for All,” we waved and wished folks passing by “good morning” and asked, “Would you like to receive a blessing and ashes for Ash Wednesday?” Some people ignored us, some told us they were not Catholic, and some stopped to receive.

One by one, we placed ashes on their foreheads and blessed them saying, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return—in the frailty of life, God loves you!” The first person to receive was so moved that she offered to give a hug and thanked us. And while we assumed that most people that stopped by had some former involvement with or knowledge of Christianity and Lent, there was one person that did not. He asked us many questions, and in the end decided to receive the imposition of ashes for the first time. We handed each person a flyer, inviting them to stay connected to our church.

Offering ashes on the street with teams of lay people is one of my all-time favorite pastoral “tasks” I get to share in each year. I know that there are some fellow clergy – good, super-smart, faithful people, including my former United Methodist Worship professor – who feel that practicing Ash Wednesday in such a fashion is liturgically and/or theologically incomplete, and that’s a fair critique. But in an age when many churches (and, perhaps, particularly “progressive” churches) suffer from an epidemic reluctance to public/verbal discipleship and evangelism, I think it’s worth risking “liturgical incorrectness” for the chance to meet people right where they are to remind them/us that we are all at once bearers of the image of God and frail humans in need of grace. At the U District Light Rail Station, on the sidewalk, across from the Ugly Mug café: that hopeful truth is no less true in that space than it is in a sanctuary. Perhaps it is even more true amid public invitation and bold communal witness.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

“The Path” by Erin Hanson

Kindred in Christ,

Our faith community has been on a long and fruitful journey of discerning who we are being called to be in the next chapter of ministry in the U District of Seattle. And after many small group discussions, an all church gathering, and a Name Point Team comprised of both long-time members and new folks, we have decided upon a new church name, which will be revealed this Sunday, 2/27 during worship!

But more than a new name, I am excited about our vision of being a relevant church in the U District, of continuing our work for God’s loving justice and inclusion in our city. And I look forward to the ways this name will empower us to minister in new ways to our existing congregants, as well as welcome and bless new people and young families.

I hope you will join us this Sunday as we conclude our series, Kin-dom Vision, and continue to live into the path that God has set before us.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

As you may be aware, last week we began a new series titled Kin-dom Vision, which serves as a type of pledge campaign 2.0. While we are very grateful to all of you that gave this past pledge season of November 2021, after all the pledges were counted, we are still short of funding our missional goals for 2022. We invite you to prayerfully consider pledging at utemple.org/give.

Yet more than a request for financial commitment, our series is really about our vision for our church and the U District. It is about our dreams for ministering to our current members, as well as the new folks we are connecting with. And this week we will reflect on how the vision God stirs up in our hearts in the present is linked to the visions our ancestors and saints received in the past, and the emerging ministry that will bless those in the future. To have kin-dom vision is to have eyes to see our kinship with the past, present, and future, all weaved together in God. I hope you will join us online for worship and in the other ways we show up in the world.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

I hope you will join us for the next three Sundays, February 13-27, for our new sermon series, Kin-dom Vision. Jesus often told provocative short stories to help his listeners and followers imagine a new kind of social reality centered on God’s love, justice, and mercy, which he referred to as the Basileia tou Theou. This phrase has been translated into the “kingdom of God,” “economy of God,” “beloved community,” and, according to mujerista and womanist theologians, the “kin-dom of God,” emphasizing Jesus’ vision of kinship. We will reflect on what this kin-dom vision means for our personal lives and for our church. And to help us do that, we have a special video that will be premiered during this Sunday’s worship about the work we do and how you can join in.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

Have you ever wondered what it means to say “amen”? Many people in church say this word unthinkingly at the end of prayers. It often becomes like a bumper you skip at the end of your favorite podcast or the credits you walk out on when you attend the movies. Yet what if our “amens” were not just an empty ending, but the radical beginning to our commitment to the vision God has placed in our very prayers—visions of God’s justice, peace, and creativity?

Join us this Sunday, as we reflect on the “amens” from the cosmic and diverse worship gathering in Revelation (7:9-12) and conclude our series, Let Us Pray!

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz