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Reflection on New Name, Mission and Vision, and Next Steps

As we continue our journey toward merger, I (Pastor Paul) want to offer a brief update on where we are in our discernment around our mission, vision, and new name.

First, there is some wonderful news to celebrate: our proposed mission statement was unanimously accepted by the community. We also received thoughtful suggestions for refining our vision statement, and we’ll continue working on those together. It is exciting to see our shared sense of purpose beginning to take shape.

Second, our recent new-name discernment also gave us some helpful information. We received 42 ballots. Open Hearts received the most votes with 11, while All Belong UMC as a write-in and Green Lake Gathering UMC tied with 8 votes each.

Reflecting on this outcome, it is apparent that no single name has yet emerged with a strong consensus. It may be that the name we are looking for is not yet on our list. It would be exciting to see a name emerge with majority support, giving us a clearer sense that it is resonating broadly across our community, and perhaps an invitation from God.

So, we are going to keep listening rather than rush the process. We have the flexibility to continue this discernment. Our merger proposal can move forward with the name still pending.

This Sunday, you are invited to begin this next phase of the conversation together in Alden Hall after worship, around tables with food. We’ll think not only about church names, but about what we want a new name to communicate about the community we are becoming.

My hope is that we can move beyond simply combining pieces of our old identities and instead imagine a name that helps us look toward the future God is opening before us.

This is about discovering who we are becoming together in God. And I am thankful that you are part of what is being made new!

Peace,

Pastor Paul

Encampment in the Desert by David Roberts

Friends,

This Sunday, we continue our Exodus: The Way of Liberation series with the story of manna (Exodus 16:2-15). In the wilderness, God provides what the people needed for the journey. Liberation is not only about leaving something behind. It is about learning to trust, share, and nourish one another along the way.

We’ll welcome Nica Sy, community organizer and co-founder of Defend Migrant Alliance, as our guest preacher. Nica will help us reflect on what it means to participate with the God who nourishes people crossing the wilderness, including refugees and migrants seeking safety and new life.

After worship, we’ll continue our own journey of becoming with our community discussion and Straw Poll as we consider our new church name and mission and vision. This is part of a series of discernment discussions in preparation for our congregations merging in the new year.

There is wilderness. There is manna. And there is a new thing emerging among us.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul

Crossing the Red Sea icon by Laura James

Friends,

This Sunday is a special one for our community! We’ll be celebrating the baptism of my daughter, Zoe, as we gather around the waters and welcome her into the family of God. I am so excited to share this moment with each of you!

Our Scripture takes us to the Red Sea, where the Hebrew people find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and a seemingly impossible barrier (Exodus 14:19-31). But God makes a way through the waters. Their story echoes the journeys of so many immigrants and refugees who cross rivers and seas, leaving behind danger and uncertainty in hope of a better life for themselves and their families.

Zoe’s own family story is a story of people who crossed waters in search of new life. And on Sunday, as we celebrate her baptism, we’ll remember that God meets us in the crossing.

God makes a way. God holds us through the waters. And we never cross alone.

I can’t wait to celebrate this joyful Sunday with you!

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul

Passover Seder (1949), oil-on-masonite painting by Shraga Weil

Friends,

This Sunday we continue our Exodus: The Way of Liberation series with the story of Passover (Exodus 12:1-14). After Moses’ long confrontation with Pharaoh, we see the pressure on empire begin to build. Pharaoh refuses to change, so the struggle escalates. The plagues disrupt the system that have made oppression possible, reminding us that liberation often requires more than asking those in power to do the right thing. It can require organizing, building collective power, and putting enough pressure on unjust systems that they have to change.

And then, in the middle of this struggle, God gives the Israelites a meal and a practice of remembrance—The Passover. They are called to gather around a table and remember where they came from, how God made a way, and that liberation is not simply freedom from oppression, but freedom for a new way of life together.

We’ll also hear Jesus’ teaching about conflict, reconciliation, and the power of gathering in his name (Matthew 18:15-20). Both Passages ask us what it means to live as people who have been gathered, liberated, and called into a new way of being.

I’m excited to explore these stories with you this Sunday. Come join us as we remember, give thanks, and continue walking the way of God’s liberation together.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Oil Painting by Melani Pyke

Friends,

What if God is already present, already moving, already calling us, and we simply need to stop long enough to notice?

This Sunday, we continue our series Exodus: The Way of Liberation with the story of Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). Moses encounters God in an unexpected yet ordinary place and hears the call to join God’s work of liberation. We’ll reflect on what it means to pay attention to holy moments all around us and to trust that God is with us as we step into what comes next.

And that theme couldn’t be more timely. After worship, we’ll gather as a whole community to continue our conversation about new name suggestions for our future merged church. This is more than choosing a name. It is an opportunity to listen together and discern who God is calling us to become.

Come listen. Come imagine what’s next. Your voice matters in this journey.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul