Hello UGatherers- Jemina here,

As we slowly wind down from our peak summer days I can’t help but get excited for cozy sweater season and moments to reconnect and hear about everyone’s summer adventures. Although this season isn’t exactly as I imagined, it has also been a blessing in disguise. I have found moments to connect with my family through deep grief and high hopes. Most recently at UGathering we hosted our first tie-dye party and it was a fantastic experience! I’ve always loved getting my hands dirty, and tie-dye is the perfect fun mess for that. It was truly wonderful to spend time with our children and youth during these busy summer days. The joy of seeing everyone create their own funky shirts and wacky socks, and the vibrant, speckled hands, made the day special.

A big thank you goes to our dedicated volunteers from our congregation, Green Lake and Wallingford UMC! ~ especially to Pastor Willie and his yard—couldn’t have done it without ya’ll. I hope to keep uplifting the joy of our youth, and moments like these remind me of why it’s so important. The art, the pizza, the music, and the games all came together to create lasting memories.

Kindred in Christ,

When my child was three years old, they were really into saying catch phrases. They would say them to me, and to others on the street. But they often said them wrong! For Example, when someone would do something nice for them, like give them candy, they would lean in and say, “your welcome!”. And I would tell them, “First you say, ‘thank you,’ and the other person is supposed to says, ‘you’re welcome’! But they would get a mischievous look on their face, laugh, and continue to say it their way anyhow.  They’ve always liked to break the rules.

They apparently had also heard of the expressions, “How do you like them apples?” and “Try this on for size.” But instead of saying either of those, they would tell people, “Try them apples on for size!”.

Again, I would tell them, “That doesn’t make any sense. It is either one or the other. It can’t be both at the same time.” And again, they would laugh and continue to say it their way anyhow.

I imagine that the crowds felt a similar frustration when hearing Jesus proclaim that he was both the Good Shepherd and the Gateway (John 10:1-11). How can Jesus be both our guide, and the threshold we passthrough into something new at the same time? It doesn’t make sense. It must be one or the other, the crowds must have thought to themselves.

Yet, I imagine Jesus chuckling at the crowd’s initial confusion, and continuing to invite them, and us today, to experience God as both-and, and see how that might transform our spiritual lives. Jesus invites us to “try them apples on for size” and see what happens.

We are beginning a series this week titled Thresholds: Moving Though Life’s Transitions. We will explore how God is not only with us though life’s many changes, but how God’s healing and activity in our lives often shows up as some kind of movement from one stage to the next.

I look forward to exploring this further with you in-person, and online, as we continue to move through our own thresholds as a community, and encounter God and one another in fresh new ways.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

This past week, the Merger Exploration Team met for the first time (see above). As you may know, this is a team composed of a committee from Green Lake UMC and a committee from U Gathering UMC, which will explore a possible shared missional future for both communities, and will lead us in that discernment and all-community discussions (see below for more info). While we recognize that we are unsure if an official merger will work out, we are excited to open ourselves up to where the Spirit may lead. Pictured above from GLUMC: Sue Wolf, Pastor Willie Deuel, Dave Goddard, and Ross Wolf, and from UGUMC: Jemina Marasigan, Graham Whitehouse, Sharon Fisher, Larry Erickson, and Pastor Paul Ortiz. Not pictured, but also in attendance was Erica Mattingly (UGUMC), Clara Pang (GLUMC), and Heather Teegarden (GLUMC). 
Oftentimes as individuals and as a church we are tempted to wait and not act until we have every possible outcome figured out in our heads. This might grant us a sense of security. And while it is good to make informed decisions, there is also the danger of becoming stagnant because we are waiting for the perfect moment to act, which may never come. Indeed, this is the story of many declining congregations that refuse to change or try something new. I am proud that we are a community that continues to step out in faith, and discern together where God may be leading next. At our meeting we shared the dreams of the past and how that might fit into our evolving future as we build further relationships and seek to continue our mission to our surrounding neighborhoods. And that stepping out into the unknown, and being open to seeking God’s guidance in community, is what faith feels like in our lives.

Our Wesleyan/Methodist tradition has always insisted that faith and works go hand in hand. But often we think of those as two separate partners in tandem. But, as we will explore this Sunday, faith is the letting go of our need for certainty in our lives, our need to have it all figured out, which then frees us to step out and work for the common good in fresh ways that we might not have otherwise. I look forward to exploring this way of being with you in person or online as we conclude our series, Means of Grace.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz

Kindred in Christ,

I was at a dinner party a few years ago. And I found myself sitting next to a guy who is a scholar in Buddhism. I got excited by that. I know a little bit about Buddhism and he has a PhD in it, so we launched into a conversation. He begins to share some interesting facts—as one does if you are a PhD in anything. And at one point of the conversation, we get into a particular aspect of enlightenment. And I ask him, “What does that feel like?” What does it feel like to subjectively undergo this particular part of the process of enlightenment? He responded, “Well, people usually describe it this way…” After hearing him explain to me a theory, I asked, “Is that what it felt like for you?” To which he clarified, “Oh, I actually don’t practice Buddhism, I only study it.”

And in my mind, that is totally cool. You can be an excellent and savvy scholar in something without being a practitioner. For example, you can be a legal expert in the constitution, and not be a practicing lawyer. I appreciate that.

But for those of us who are practitioners, for those of us at U Gathering that are trying to be consciously committed disciples of Jesus, and transformed by God’s grace—I wonder how many of us fall into a similar sentiment?

Many of us know a lot of facts about God that we have picked up from attending church or singing hymns. But when we are asked to talk about our own experience of blessed assurance or amazing grace, we may sometimes draw a little bit of a blank.

John Wesley (the founder of the 18^th century Methodist revival movement) talked a lot about the means of grace. This was a way of mapping out the experiences of our spiritual lives, which hold together works of piety for God and works of mercy for our neighbors. During the month of July, we will explore what this way of life might mean for us as a church in our present season, as individuals and as a collective.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz