Blog

Kindred in Christ,

Happy New Year! And Happy Epiphany! This Sunday we will celebrate Epiphany Sunday by reflecting on the Magi who follow the star into the unknown (Matthew 2:1-12). Their foreign mystical practices, their astrological star-reading led them to encounter the divine presence in the humble first century Palestinian baby, Jesus, which was going unnoticed by king Herod, and so many others.

I grew up being taught that Christianity was fundamentally against astrology, star reading, and all other “non-Christian” religious and spiritual practices. Yet we see the opposite in this story.

Far from seeing the Magi as in need of repentance or conversion, Matthew’s gospel emphasizes their wisdom. We can and should learn from these foreigners and their practices. The great wisdom of the Magi is that they left the comfort of their world and culture, and traveled into a foreign and hostile world, and knelt before a child.

They did not limit the possibilities of where the Divine could show up to their own nation, culture, or religion. With eyes of faith, they saw the divine Christ in the human baby Jesus. The Magi saw God in a child from another culture and believed that this baby was deserving of gifts fit for a king.

What if it is true that every child is deserving of such gifts? What if we treated children from every nation as if they were worthy of gold, frankincense, and myrrh? What if we saw a star hovering over every child in the ruins of Gaza today?

Khaled Nabhan, a Palestinian man who lost his precious 3-year-old granddaughter Reem, went viral in a widely shared video of him cradling Reem’s lifeless body, and kissing her eyes. Over and over again he called her “the soul of my soul.”

Every child is the soul of someone’s soul. Even an orphan is the soul of God’s own soul, for God is the “Father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). And as James Baldwin said, “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe.” Yet we are so quick to limit deservingness of our own kind.

The Magi challenges us. They challenge us to actually step out, they call us to see the star and follow it toward encountering the other.

Join us this Sunday, as we explore further what it means for us to see, trust, and follow the divine stars in our lives, and allow it to lead us into God’s future.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

As we move into this new year, I invite you to pause and take a deep breath. Allow your fears and hopes for the year ahead to come to mind, be mindful of your feelings, and offer them to God to hold with you. And remember that the turning of the calendar is a sacred moment—a threshold between what has been and what is yet to come. It’s a time to reflect on the journey we’ve walked together, to give thanks for God’s accompaniment, and to open our hearts to the possibilities of the year ahead.

The words of the prophet Isaiah come to mind, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). These words echo across the centuries, calling us to trust in a God who is always creating, always renewing, always inviting us to participate in the unfolding of God’s kingdom on earth, even in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty.

This year, I encourage each of us to ask: What new thing might God be doing in and through my life? What new thing might God be doing in and through our church?

As a community rooted in the justice seeking way of Jesus, we are uniquely called to embody love, healing, and inclusion. This might mean stepping into uncomfortable conversations, reaching out to those on the margins, or imagining new ways of gathering and service. It might mean being open to God showing up in unexpected people, places, and moments.

Friends, this world is aching for the kind of love that transforms, the kind of hope that sustains, and the kind of faith that calls us into action. I am grateful that together, we can continue being part of this healing work in new ways with our neighbors.

May this new year be a season of growth, grace, and abundant joy. May we lean deeper into God’s promise to do a new thing, and may we have the courage to say yes to all the promptings of God.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ

This week as we will enter the story of Christmas, and once again hear the angel’s proclamation: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward all people.”

“Peace on Earth.” These words echo through centuries, yet they feel so urgent and necessary today. The promise of Christmas is that peace is not a distant dream but a divine calling—a gift we are invited to receive and to share in ordinary and extraordinary ways.

This peace is not simply the absence of conflict but the presence of justice, love, and compassion. It is the kind of peace that reconciles, heals, and restores. It is the peace that Christ came to bring, born humbly in a manger, under the light of a star, for all people.

This week, we gather to proclaim and embody this hope in community. Whether you come carrying the weight of the world or the light of joy, know that you are welcome here. Together, we will sing our favorite carols, light candles against the darkness, and celebrate the birth of the One who leads us in the way of peace.

Let us come together to be reminded of our shared calling to be peacemakers—peace in our homes, peace in our community, and peace on earth. Join us this Sunday for our Paper Bag Christmas Pageant, and Tuesday for our Candlelight Christmas Eve Service, in collaboration with our friends from Green Lake UMC, as we lift our voices and hearts in celebration and hope.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Art by Scott Erickson

Kindred in Christ,

One practice I find formative to my spiritual journey is taking a little time to reflect at the end of each day. This often looks like a brief holy pause, where I review the day in prayer, pay attention to my emotions, open myself up to how God showed up, and journal before bed. I find that I am especially honest with myself at the end of the day. As everything settles down, and I am alone with my thoughts after having spent my energy, I find that I am more naturally disposed to greater levels of personal truth.

The same movement towards honesty can occur as we approach the end of the year. While December is often a period of frenetic consumerism and busyness, Advent invites us to pause and reflect amidst the hustle and bustle of external activates.

I invite you to mark this month as a time for personal honesty, reflection, and prayer, as you approach the new year.

Advent is about our human longing for the coming of Christ’s beauty and justice into our hurting world. In the spirit of Advent, I invite you to take up a new practice this season and create spaces for deeper reflection and longing.

Each week leading up to the end of the year, consider answering a simple question… “What am I longing for during this time?” Write down your response in a journal. As you go from week to week, challenge yourself to go a bit deeper each time. Get honest and search for what it is you are really longing for underneath the surface level of want. And ask yourself what it would look like for God to show up in the midst of your longing, and what is your longing asking of you?

I find that when I sit with this kind of question, while I may not necessarily get what I am longing for in the way I first imagined, it will lead me to greater clarity of how I want to focus my time and energy in the day and year to come. And it is in the longing of Advent, where Christ arrives in unexpected ways. May it be so for you!

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday marks the beginning of the season of Advent and the start of the new liturgical year! Yet, if you are like me, along with the joy of the holidays, and the wonder of the season, at times, you also feel spiritually, emotionally, or mentally left on empty. Many of us feel tired this season. Tired of the political vitriol. Tired of the us-versus-them mentalities. Tired of the racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia that permeate our country, our cities, and our families. Tired of the distrust and line drawing between people groups. Tired of waiting for prayers to be answered and for justice to be made a reality.

So, we come to this season of Advent weary for a world that will one day be made right. But that is not today. It is a world we can only glimpse—sometimes only through tears.

And so, we cry out with our spiritual ancestors, “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and with your captive children dwell… O come, and turn all hearts to peace, that greed and war at last shall cease” (updated lyrics by Rev. Mark Belletini).

It is during this anticipation and longing that the hope of Advent comes near to us. This hope is not a false certainty. Rather, the hope of Advent allows us to encounter a story bigger than our present moment. We find out that we are part of a story of redemption and healing that stretches all the way back to the coming Christ child, and into the future when all wars will cease. Encountering this hope, in the mist of our present human struggle, is how the weary world rejoices.

Join us this Sunday, as we kick off our new Advent series and begin the journey to Christmas and to all the ways Christ is present in our word. We look forward to seeing you in person and online!

Rev. Paul Ortiz