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Mother God, Holy Spirit by Cara Quinn*

Kindred in Christ,

Have you ever imagined God as a mother leading her children through a world broken by violence and injustice? This week’s readings invite us to do just that. In John 3:1-17, Jesus calls Nicodemus to be born again from the Spirit. God’s mothering presence is powerful and guiding, shaping us to live boldly, to stand for justice, and to seek peace in a world too often marked by war. Psalm 121 reminds us that the One who watches over us never rests, always lifts us up, and guides our steps toward life and wholeness.

As I continue my recovery this week, I am grateful for Steve Shamblin, who will share a word with us and help us live more faithfully into the Spirit’s call to courage, renewal, and compassionate action.

We continue our Lenten series, The Work of Imagination, reflecting on how God invites us to see new possibilities, to imagine life beyond oppression, and to participate in the work of justice and peace. May this week be a time of bold renewal and faithful courage under God’s strong and mothering care.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul Ortiz

*A note from the artist: “Multiple bird-like motifs include an abstract face that takes on the shape of a bird in flight, a dove resting on the crown of the head and feathers which frame the face. The background pattern represents the fresh wind of the Spirit which continuously searches the earth. Intentionally a non-human face, this representation of the Holy Spirit is meant to inspire and evoke a feeling of mystery while feeling distinctly feminine. The color palette and circular shapes represent the light coming out of the darkness, as the Spirit hovered over the dark waters at the dawn of creation (Genesis 1:2).”

Saint Photini Modern Coptic Icon

Kindred in Christ,

We all know something about thirst.
The kind that shows up in our bodies, yes, and also the kind that settles into our spirits. A longing for clarity, for connection, for something that will finally satisfy.

This Sunday, as we continue our Lenten series The Work of Imagination, our scriptures lead us to places of deep longing. A wilderness with no water (Exodus 17:1–7). A well where a surprising conversation unfolds between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, known in some Christian traditions as Saint Photini, crossing borders guarded by patriarchy, ethnic division, and social status (John 4:1–30).

Together, we will reflect on Human Thirst and the Disruptive Waters of Grace, stories where God meets people not by leaving things unchanged, but by lovingly interrupting what society says is proper or simply the way things must be.

Lent invites us to tell the truth about our thirst and to trust that God’s grace still flows in unexpected places. It invites us to imagine that crossing borders can be holy work, opening us to deeper freedom, deeper connection, and deeper love.

I invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue this journey together. We will listen for God, tend to our longing, and allow our imaginations to be shaped by grace.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul

Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday we step into the season of Lent together and begin our new series, The Work of Imagination. Lent invites us into holy movement, into a slower and deeper way of seeing, and into the courage to imagine life shaped not by fear or scarcity, but by God’s love.

Our scriptures this Sunday will carry us from the garden of Eden in Genesis into the wilderness with Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. We will listen for the wisdom of stories that speak of abundance and limits, of care for the earth and one another, and of the choices that shape our shared life. We will walk with Jesus into the wilderness, where he refuses the easy answers and the false promises of control, choosing instead the way of trust, humility, and love.

This journey is shaped by our Ash Wednesday prayer, “from dust we have come, and to dust we shall return,” offered this past week in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Lent asks us to remember our fragility not as defeat, but as invitation. An invitation to turn away from what deadens us and toward what helps us live fully now.

You will see this spirit reflected in the image guiding our season. A dove breaking a crown reminds us that Lent is a turning away from domination, empire, and the ways of death, and a turning toward the Spirit’s work of power sharing, community, and the way of Jesus. This is the work of imagination.

This Sunday will also be a moment of joy as we welcome new members into the life of the church. After worship, the Merger Exploration Team will share where we are in this season of discernment and listening and help us imagine a joint future.

We hope you will be with us this Sunday. Come as you are. Come to imagine, to listen, and to journey together through this Lenten season, trusting that God meets us on the path.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday.

Yet most of us know the disfiguration of empire better than the transfiguration of Christ.

Empire disfigures bodies.
Borders.
Budgets.
Truth.

We see it in policies that decide who is protected and who is afraid. We see it when immigration enforcement tears families apart. We see it when public systems prize control over compassion, and when truth itself feels warped by those in power.

The world is not neutral. It shapes us. Forms us. And often distorts what humanity is meant to be.

That is the world into which this Sunday’s Gospel speaks.

In Matthew 17:1–9, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain. There his appearance changes. His face shines. His clothes blaze with light. Moses and Elijah appear, the Law and the Prophets standing beside him.

Then a cloud descends.A voice speaks: “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”
And when the cloud lifts, they see only Jesus.

This is not spectacle. It is revelation.

In a world shaped by empire, the disciples glimpse another way. Not domination. Not fear. But radiant, embodied love. When they see only Jesus, it is not a rejection of their tradition, but its fulfillment. Law, prophecy, and hope find their center in him.

Transfiguration presses us with hard questions.

If our faith does not lead us toward mercy, what are we seeing?
If our theology does not bend toward compassion, what is it forming us into?

The light on the mountain does not erase the valley. It prepares us to return with clearer vision and steadier courage.

Standing on the threshold of Lent, we are invited to listen again. To look again. To let Christ’s light clarify what has been distorted.

I hope you will join us as we follow Jesus down the mountain and into the work of love and justice.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

I recently came across an image from a public witness that has stayed with me. A sign reads, “You are the salt of the earth,” and beneath it is an image of a figure scattering salt with the words “Salt out ICE.” It is striking, provocative, and deeply rooted in Jesus’ own words from this coming Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 5:13–20.

Jesus’ declaration, “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world,” is not sentimental encouragement. In Jesus’ time, salt preserved life and light kept people from stumbling in the dark. These metaphors point to a faith that is public, tangible, and costly. Salt changes what it touches. Light exposes what has been hidden and helps people find their way.

In a moment when immigrants and so many vulnerable neighbors live under the weight of fear, these words press on us with urgency. To be salt and light today is to resist systems that dehumanize and to stand with those whose lives are treated as expendable. It is to insist, through our presence and our practices, that every person bears God’s image and deserves dignity, safety, and belonging. Jesus does not call us to withdraw from the world, but to live our faith so fully that it cannot help but be seen.

This Sunday is also a special moment for our congregation as we welcome our own Keith Eisenbrey to the pulpit to preach his first sermon. As he helps us reflect more deeply on what it means to be salt and light, we look forward to how the Spirit will speak through his voice and invite us into deeper faithfulness.

I hope you will join us this Sunday for worship. Come to listen, to pray, to sing, and to be reminded that following Jesus is not about hiding our light, but about letting it shine for the sake of a hurting world.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul Ortiz