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Pentecost Sunday

Dear Pali Pres,

This coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, one of my favorite days on the church calendar. I very much look forward to leading worship with Rev. Elizabeth Gibbs Zehnder, who will be our guest preacher (you can read more about Elizabeth below). No stranger to Pali Pres, Elizabeth will be sharing with us a message on God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. Be sure to wear red (the liturgical color for Pentecost) and join us for what is sure to be a festive Sunday.

The story of Pentecost can be found in Acts 2, when the disciples were visited by the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension to heaven. The Spirit appeared to them in the form of “tongues of fire,” which enabled each disciple to speak in a different language, as the Spirit enabled them. This event has long been recognized as the birthday of the church. It was from this point—after receiving the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit that the disciples went out among the people and began spreading Jesus’ message, even to those who spoke other languages.

This Pentecost I encourage us all to take a moment to reflect on God’s gift of the Holy Spirit and to give thanks to God for the gift of his church. Empowered by the Spirit, may we continue the work of the first disciples and help spread Jesus’ message to all.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Matt

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Let Your Light Shine Before Others

Dear Pali Pres,

This coming Monday marks the anniversary of the debut of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” the longest running children’s program on television. Premiering on WQED in Pittsburg in 1967, Fred Rogers’ show introduced generations of young children (including me!) to ideas of kindness, peace, diversity, and even death and grief. As Fred Rogers once said, “The world is not always a kind place. That’s something all children learn for themselves, whether we want them to or not, but it’s something they really need our help to understand.”

Led by this conviction, and a heart for ministering to children, Mister Rogers created and hosted his TV program which helped children feel valued, safe, and special.

An ordained Presbyterian minister, Fred Rogers continues to serve as an example on how important it is to spread God’s love, especially to our children and youth. In this world that is so full of ugliness and pain, it is vital that we as God people use whatever gifts we have to bring forth peace, understanding, and hope. We may not all be good with children, and we may not all be ordained ministers, but we have each been given gifts and talents to make this world a better, more friendly place. As Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

So, members and friends of Pali Pres, remember—you are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Matt

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Rest, Recovery & Learning

Dear Beloveds,

It is with great joy that I share with you that I will be leaving for sabbatical on the evening of May 14th! I was ordained in 1996, and this is my very first sabbatical I will be taking since I began my ordained ministry! I am so grateful to Pastor Matt, our Personnel Committee, and our Session for helping me to make this come to fruition. This will be the first time in our 30-year marriage that Charlie and I will be apart for this long of a time, so I ask for prayers not just for myself, but also for Charlie, that he will not be too lonely or hungry while I am gone!

Sabbaticals are given to pastors as a time of rest, recovery, and learning. I am grateful for the gift of this time away, having gone through many challenges at our church over the past 17 years. I look forward to this time of true rejuvenation, discovery, and learning.

The theme for my sabbatical is all about “Rest with Renewal.” With this theme in mind, I have chosen to work on a farm on the grounds of a medieval monastery in a remote part of France. While I am a bit nervous for this adventure (I know nothing about farming and agriculture, nor do I know the French language!), I know that God will teach me so much during my time away. I will be working in the fields of the farm every day, staying in very spartan communal living quarters, joining the friars in daily worship, doing my laundry by hand (as there are no modern luxuries), and will be happily sequestered from the world, working side by side with the monks and other sojourners from around the world.

I will be gone a total of three weeks, the last week devoted to true physical rest, more reading, processing, and writing my reflections during this time. I look forward to sharing with you all that I learn when I return back to our church campus on June 5th!

Sabbaticals at our church are 6 weeks in length, but Pastor Matt and our Personnel Committee have graciously allowed to me to split this time in half so I will not be away from my beloved for such a long period of time; I will be taking my second half of this sabbatical this fall.

I will continue to be in touch with Pastor Matt while I am gone, but the internet service where I will be is unknown at this point. I have started an Instagram account so that you can walk with me! Please follow me on @maypeacebethejourney_revgrace on Instagram; I will be uploading photos and videos from my sabbatical and beyond.

Please do join me on my journey of discovery - and I greatly appreciate your prayers for both Charlie and me.

I will miss you dearly while I am gone, and please know that you will be, as you are always, in my fervent prayers.

With great love for you,

Pastor Grace

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Mental Health Awareness Month

Dear Pali Pres,

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an important time to celebrate the progress made to raise awareness around mental health and to encourage folks to seek help. It is also a time to acknowledge that people living with mental illness continue to face stigma and, often, discrimination.

As people of faith, we are called to follow in the ways of Jesus, whose life and ministry were rooted in compassion and the healing of people—physical healing, but also emotional, spiritual, and mental healing. May we hold in our prayers all those struggling with mental illness as they/we seek support and treatment. The following is a portion of a beautiful prayer written by Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder, founder of Mental Health Ministries. May we join together in prayer as we recognize Jesus’ ongoing healing work among us.

Divine One, you love each one of us just as we are and you walk with us on our individual journeys through life.

Give us courage to face our challenges and open us today to the many ways you are already working in our midst. Inspire us as we seek to overcome fear, acquire knowledge, and advocate for compassionate and enlightened treatment and services. Enable us to find ways to be inclusive of persons living with mental illness in our everyday lives. Be with doctors, therapists, researchers, social workers, and all those in the helping professions as they seek to overcome ignorance and injustice with care and compassion.

Sometimes, Divine Spirit, we feel discouraged and hopeless in the face of so many challenges. Help us to see ourselves as you see us…persons of value and worth… persons of creativity and potential. May we come to understand the interconnectedness of mind, body and spirit in bringing about health and wholeness. And may we go forward into our communities with a renewed sense of vision, hope and possibility for the future. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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The Everlasting Joy of Easter

Dear Pali Pres Family,

Believe it or not, my boys are still finding Easter eggs around the house. Yes, still. Now, some of that has to do with the Easter Bunny hiding the eggs really well this year. But the other reason Joshua and Luke are still finding eggs is because they keep asking me and Mary to hide them! Nearly every night they go through the same routine of sorting their Easter goodies, filling dozens of eggs on their own, and then pleading with their parents to hide the eggs so they can do one more Easter egg hunt. “Just one more time, we promise!” It’s very cute.

Mary and I oblige (most of the time) because of how happy it makes our children. And, honestly, we want our boys to savor the joy of Easter for as long as they can. Why not?!

To me these endless Easter egg hunts serve as a perfect metaphor for us as Christians. As I said in my sermon this past Sunday, Easter was not a one-day event. Yes, Easter Sunday was nearly three weeks ago but the good news of Easter is something to embrace every day! We gather to worship on Sundays because that is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. And each Sunday we hear the assurance that we are loved, forgiven, and provided for by the God who raised Jesus from the dead. As it says in 1 Peter 1:3, we have a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

So, as we move further away from Easter Sunday with each passing day, I encourage you to hold tight to the Good News. Do not forget the living hope you have been given through the resurrection. While I suspect you have little interest in doing your own Easter egg hunt, I do hope you find some way to keep the joy of Easter in your heart…some way to remind yourself, each day, of the assurances you have through Christ.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Matt

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Deacon Sunday

Dear Beloveds,

This coming Sunday is one of my favorites at our church. It was started many years ago by one of our members (I believe it was Bruce Brough) as a day when we could acknowledge our amazing deacons, honor them, and thank them for their heart-filled service to all of us.

Each year, our deacons answer the call to serve with love, compassion, and energy, and they truly are the hearts of our church. If you have served as a deacon in the past, you will know how much support is needed behind the scenes.

Our deacons play such an essential role in the church for so many reasons: they are ordained to serve the church and its members and friends and they work to serve in tasks such as caring for the sick, assisting when there has been a crisis, and providing practical help and support to the congregation. Our deacons also provide important leadership within the church; they work closely with the pastors to ensure church members’ needs are being met. Without our deacons, we could not function the way we do in so many aspects of our church!

You have the opportunity to participate in the ministry of our deacons! This Sunday, there will be special envelopes set out to give to the Deacons’ Fund. Every bit of this fund goes toward ministry that our deacons perform for our church. We hope that you will consider helping our deacons in their service this way. You can also give to the Deacons’ Fund through our website as well!

Please join us this Sunday as we thank all our deacons for their deep love and commitment to our church family. After worship, our deacons, in the spirit of their service, will be bringing and serving our snacks on the patio. Please be sure to take the time to meet and greet your deacon, and thank them for the care they give daily to all of us. They are truly blessings to all of us!

With great love for you,

Pastor Grace

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Learning About Resiliency

Dear Beloveds,

We are very excited to bring a very special day to our church family on the morning of Saturday, April 29th!

Pali Pres will be hosting a wonderful learning opportunity for our entire community. As a proud Fuller Seminary alumni (I graduated in 1993), I have stayed connected and current with my alma mater, and I am excited that we can work together for this unique learning event.

Please join us for a light breakfast at 9am on our beautiful patio, after which we will move into the sanctuary to explore the topic of RESILIENCY together.

Our guest lecturer will be Dr. Cynthia Eriksson, Program Chair and Professor of Psychology in the Clinical Psychology Department, another Fuller Seminary alumni. Dr. Eriksson will be walking with us through important points of what makes us resilient, how we stay resilient in the face of challenges, and how this is interwoven with who we are as seekers and believers.

I do hope that you will be able to join us. Coming soon will be more information and a link where you can RSVP. Please do RSVP if you plan on joining; this will help us to plan for the food.

I hope that you will be able to bring some friends and neighbors with you to learn together. This is an important topic from which everyone can learn and discover to lead better and more fulfilled lives.

I look forward to seeing you there that we might feed our tummies, our minds and our souls together!

With great love for you,

Pastor Grace

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If The Cross Tells Us Anything...

Dear Pali Pres Family,

We come into this day with the seriousness of Good Friday weighing upon us. Indeed, this is the darkest of days for us as Christians—the day our Lord was crucified. And yet, we dare to call this day “good” because of what the death of Jesus means for us and all the world.

To help us reflect on the meaning of this sad yet good day, I share with you the following prayer from Jon van de Laar. May it speak to our souls as we mourn the death of our Lord and ask for God’s mercy upon us and our world.

If the cross tells us anything, O Lord, it is that you know and share our suffering. You are with us, and all victims of violence and abuse. You are with all victims of ignorance, foolishness, and sin.

Help us and restore us, O Lord, we pray.

You are with us, Christ of the Cross, and all those who inflict pain on others, through our selfishness or greed, our hate and anger, through our rigidity or need to be right.

Help us and restore us, O Lord, we pray.

You are with us, Christ of the Cross, and all those who are fearful of threats, threats to this world we call home, to our safety and survival, threats to our sense of community and togetherness as people.

Help us and restore us, O Lord, we pray.

Christ of the Cross, see our need for your grace, and hear our prayer for your mercy. Come to us again, to help us and restore us, because we cannot heal ourselves. Amen.

I do hope you will join us this evening for a special Good Friday service at 7pm. We will be joined by the pastors and members of Brentwood Presbyterian Church as we reflect together on the meaning of this holy day. The service will be livestreamed (see button towards the end of the newsletter) and childcare will be provided.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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Palm Sunday Memories

Dear Beloveds,

One of my favorite memories as a little kid was Palm Sunday at my home church.

Our church was Immanuel Presbyterian Church in downtown Los Angeles, at the intersection of Wilshire and Vermont, which is now the heart of Korea town. If you have been there, you will know that it is a grand old sanctuary, that can seat hundreds and hundreds of people, complete with a rich history. It houses 3 organs on its campus, and beautiful stained glass windows all around. I was baptized, confirmed, and married in that sanctuary! We celebrated Christmas Eve with Handel’s Messiah, my sister and I falling asleep in the velvet red chairs, and every year on Palm Sunday, all the kids in the Sunday School dressed in white robes and waved palm branches as we processed in with the pastor.

What is so special about Palm Sunday? Not only does it mark the beginning of Holy Week, but it importantly marks the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, one week before His death. As Jesus rode in on a donkey (not a horse), people came to greet Him and cheer Him on by waving palm branches, shouting “Hosanna” (which, translated, means ‘Save us’)!

This event was the fulfilling of the prophecy in the Old Testament that spoke of the coming of a Messiah, a savior. The palm branches hold importance because they were symbolic of a great celebration, much like confetti and balloons are used today.

But this was not just any ordinary parade. The day was ripe with tension, both religious and political. Jesus knew what the week held for Him, and by this time, He had angered enough of the religious leaders and had plagued the government as well with His presence and His teachings.

We oftentimes forget that is the atmosphere in which Jesus arrived: He knew what was headed into, He knew what He faced, He knew what He had to do. And yet, He continued on in His mission, and entered the city as a humble servant leader, ready to give it all for humanity.

This is the God who loved us so; and this is what we remember as we begin Holy Week.

Lenten blessings to you,

Pastor Grace

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The Remarkable Life of Fanny Crosby

Dear Pali Pres,

On this day in 1820 a remarkable woman was born in New York. Fanny Crosby was a mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. She is perhaps best known as a hymnist, a prolific hymnist. Crosby wrote more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs in her lifetime, with two of her best known hymns being “Blessed Assurance” and “To God Be the Glory” (which we will sing this Sunday in honor of Fanny’s birthday).

What makes Fanny Crosby’s life even more remarkable is the fact that when she was an infant, she lost her sight as a result of a doctor’s malpractice. Even so, she never let her disability distract her from the work God called her to do. A person of deep faith, Crosby worked tirelessly to answer God’s call, first as a teacher and later as a rescue mission worker in New York City. All throughout her adult life she continued to compose hymns, often commenting that her blindness was a gift which enabled her to focus on her music and writing. Incredibly, the story goes that Cosby would sometimes compose seven hymns a day, memorizing up to a dozen before dictating them to her secretary!

While she was alive, and long after she passed, Fanny Crosby served as an inspiration and example of faith to many. Her legacy lives on to this day in the hymns we sing, which enable us to focus our hearts on God’s goodness, provision, and love.

Happy Birthday, Fanny!

Pastor Matt

“One of the easiest resolves that I formed in my young and joyous heart was to leave all care to yesterday and to believe that the morning would bring forth its own peculiar joy.”

-Fanny Crosby

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Interfaith Fellowship on the Softball Field

Dear Pali Pres,

As you’ve already heard, numerous times, our church has an official softball team called the Pali Pres Prodigals. In the cold, dark, wee hours of Monday night (9pm to be exact), we played our first game of the 2023 season. I won’t mention the outcome or final score, but I will say that our team (consisting of church members, staff, preschool parents, and even one of the priests at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church) had a great time!

A number of years ago when I was an Associate Pastor at a local westside church, I partnered with one of our church elders to establish the West LA Interfaith Softball League. Our vision was to bring together people of different faiths in a spirit of fun, fellowship, and friendly competition. This year, the league is up to seven teams representing diverse houses of worship from the westside of LA. The other six teams are:

Adat Shalom Synagogue

Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church & Brentwood Presbyterian Church (a joint squad)

IKAR Jewish Community

University Presbyterian Church (located near the campus of UCLA)

Westwood Presbyterian Church

Westwood United Methodist Church

While the league is always trying to grow and include new houses of worship, I find it pretty amazing that we are able to come together with these worshipping communities once a week to laugh, cheer, and recognize our unity in God. Some of our religious traditions are more charismatic than others, while others are more traditional. Some more liberal in their theology and approach to social issues, while others are more conservative. But in the end we are all sisters and brothers of the same Creator, in whose image and likeness we were formed. In fact, to start each game all players from both teams gather at the center of the diamond to join in prayer. It is not a Christian prayer or a Jewish prayer, but a prayer of thanksgiving to the God who gives us this day and one another.

I wanted to share this blog with you, members and friends of Pali Pres, as an encouragement to us all. Not necessary an encouragement about winning softball championships, but about the value and reality of interfaith relationships. It may sound a bit silly, but this softball league really gives me hope. It shows that with a little effort on our part, God can and does provide his Spirit of unity and peace to his people. As Paul says, “So far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

May we all find ways to live at peace with one another, including with those who have different beliefs and traditions that we have.

Go Prodigals!

Pastor Matt

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Purim Party

Dear Pali Pres,

This past Tuesday my family and I did something a bit out of the ordinary (at least for us) - we celebrated Purim! If you are not familiar with Purim, you can read all about it here. To summarize, Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrating the saving of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them by the Persian Empire official, Haman. The story is narrated in the Book of Esther.

The story of Esther and her heroic efforts to save the Jewish people is full of surprises and intrigue, and contains important lessons about courage, loyalty, and faithfulness. However, one thing the book of Esther does NOT contain, at all, is mention of God. Fun biblical fact: Esther is the only book in our entire Bible that doesn’t mention or even reference God - not once! How then can Esther be included as a book in the Bible, you ask?

Well, that’s a topic for a different blog (or maybe even an upcoming sermon). Anyway, Jews (and some of us Christians) all over the world celebrate Purim as a way to remember God’s faithfulness to his people. Purim celebrations are marked by festive feasting, gift giving, wearing of costumes, and the public recitation of the Esther story.

Mary, Joshua, Luke and I went to the Chabad Jewish Community Center, just down Sunset Boulevard, to join their Purim festivities. Their theme this year was “Purim in New York City” which meant the festivities included New York City inspired deli food, bouncy houses, New York City “street artists”, and some really good cookies!

All in all, it was a fun way for us as a family to learn more about the important story of Esther and share in fellowship with our Jewish sisters and brothers.

Shalom,

Pastor Matt

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Interfaith Clergy Fellowship - Seeing God In All Places

Dear Beloveds,

I remember the day clearly - March 12, 2020. I had just completed defending my doctoral dissertation for my DMin and was celebrating with my family, even as Covid loomed in the foreground of life. It was the culmination of three years of hard work, wonderful discovery, and deep reflection, all for which I will forever be grateful.

My dissertation focused on clergy loneliness and the hope of interfaith dialogue to bring clergy together for companionship, support, and learning. Indeed, the years before at our church held some very difficult times for me as a pastor; there were days that felt so lonely, exhausting, and were so trying.

One of the great blessings that resulted from this wilderness of sorts was the relationships that I subsequently created and nurtured with the neighboring clergy in the Palisades. I am proud to say that I pressed, insisted, created, and facilitated fellowship with these colleagues, and now we meet regularly together for a brief, but meaningful, time of support and encouragement. I was so excited to introduce Pastor Matt to all these amazing people when he began at our church!

This special time occurs once a month, as each house of worship takes turns to host a simple luncheon on their campus. Almost every house of worship in the Palisades participates in our time together, and we come with no agenda, no plan, no notes. Just an open heart, thankful for one another, and the chance to share our lives for a moment in time.

This week, as I broke bread with my different clergy friends, I learned about how LDS churches send their kids out to two-year mission trips, how the Jewish lunar calendar works, what is celebrated at Purim, and Womanist Theology—all in less than an hour’s time! I truly do treasure this time together that brings so many of us with such different faith traditions together at one table to learn, to respect, and to see the world in different ways - together.

Our world can be a broken and sad place, ripe with misunderstandings and miscommunication. I am so proud of our Palisades clergy who are not only loving and respectful, but also collaborative and truly engaged with one another. I feel blessed to call these folks my friends and colleagues, as they have taught me so much, offered kindness and generosity in new ways, opened my eyes to different theologies, but most of all, helped me to see God in all places in this world. Thanks be to God for this great fellowship!

With great love for you,

Pastor Grace

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The Lenten Season

Dear Pali Pres,

Often, we refer to the Lenten season as a journey—a journey towards the cross and, ultimately, resurrection. This journey officially began two days ago, on Ash Wednesday. That day marked the beginning of this holy 40-day period (not counting Sundays) in which we engage in humble reflection and prayer in preparation for Easter.

Much will be said in church about this spiritual journey in the coming weeks. Even so, sometimes it is best to hear from the artists and poets among us, and allow their beautiful and powerful words to lead us into deeper truth and understanding. It is with that hope that I share with us Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese” as we begin our own Lenten season of growth and transformation.

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food...

Dear Pali Pres Family,

This past Sunday a hard-working volunteer team from throughout the Palisades met at the Methodist Church to package meals in support of the non-profit organization Rise Against Hunger. A small group of us from Pali Pres (including my family, a preschool family, and our CFM Director, Lucy) took part in this great service project.

Decked out in hairnets, masks, and gloves, we helped assemble dry meal packets containing a mixture of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, and micronutrients. These packets were then boxed and made ready for shipment to one of the many nations around the world served by Rise Against Hunger. Upon receiving their packet, an individual or family simply mixes the ingredients with hot water to have a filling and nutritious meal. The facilitators did not know exactly where our meals were headed, but the previous shipment was destined for Nicaragua.

The entire experience was not only fun, but also very rewarding. It was a good feeling to know that we were helping, in at least a small way, to address the hunger and nutritional needs of people who are less fortunate. (According to Rise Against Hunger, one in three people in developing countries is adversely affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which can lead to blindness, poor immune function, and even death).

My boys loved taking part! They served as the “runners” who delivered completed food kits to the boxing station. It was a joy to see them serve alongside all the grownups. Would you believe that in a mere two hours (we finished just in time to get home and get ready for the Super Bowl!), the volunteers assembled and prepared for shipping 10,000 meal packets!

Unfortunately, the registration for this event filled up quickly and participation from our church had to be limited. However, we are going to work on future opportunities for service projects like this for our children, families, and all church members. Stay tuned!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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Reflections on Nelson Mandela

Dear Pali Pres,

February is Black History Month, a time set aside to celebrate black men and women who made significant contributions in American and world history. One man I truly admire is Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader. Though he died nearly 10 years ago, Mandela’s legacy lives on and continues to serve as an example to us all. As a life-long Christian (he was raised and educated within the Methodist Church), Mandela recognized the power of faith to influence the world for good and bring forth justice and hope.

Tomorrow, February 11, marks the 33rd Anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison just outside Cape Town, South Africa; he was incarcerated for 27 years for actively opposing the apartheid regime. Some of you may remember that day and the footage from the news—Mandela walked out of the prison gates hand-in-hand with his wife, Winnie, with his other hand raised in a clenched fist of victory (a photo is below). Four years later, apartheid came to an end in South Africa and Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president. To quote Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Speaking to a Christian audience that same year, Mandela gave an inspired speech about “the Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind!”

I hope you will join me in thanking God for servants and witnesses such as Nelson Mandela. May his vision and message of freedom, justice, and the power of faith continue to inspire and challenge us and our world.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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Helping Hands

Dear Beloveds,

We have been blessed with such a loving and caring community at Pali Pres! I have seen time and time again the love and compassion that has been shown to one another here in our church family. This is the way that God’s love shines through us, when we put love into action, and it is borne out into the world.

Proverbs 27:17 tells us “A friend is a friend at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

We become even closer to one another when we can come and help during a time of greater need or crisis.

In this same mind, many years ago, our church developed something called “The Helping Hands List”. People could sign up to be on this list in order to be called in a time when extra helping hands were needed for someone in our church or in our community.

If you were on the Helping Hands List, you could be called to come alongside our deacons and help in different ways in our church.

One of the ways that you could help would be to join a meal train when someone had been ill or had an operation, and knew they would not be able to prepare meals for themselves for days or weeks. Another way you could help was with memorial services, when extra cookies and treats were needed for a family.

There were many other ways that one could help by being a helping hand; the deacons would use this list to ask people if they were available to help take our folks to doctors offices for appointments, or in various little ways, like going to the grocery market for a shut in.

We would like to give everyone the opportunity to be on the Helping Hands List. This is a beautiful and wonderful way to help out in a pinch, and engage in a ministry that is most needed and appreciated.

If you would like to join the Helping Hands List for this year, please let me know by emailing me, and we will sign you up.

Thank you for being part of this ministry.

With great love for you,

Pastor Grace

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May God Bring Healing

Dear Pali Pres Family,

“If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”

(1 Corinthians 12:26).

Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, Jr., president of Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS) in Atlanta, GA, recently quoted this scripture in a letter he wrote to the students, alumni, and faculty of CTS (I graduated from Columbia in 2004). He was writing in response to the terrible tragedy out of Monterey Park, where eleven people were killed and nine others wounded last Saturday night. On an evening that should have been filled with fun festivities in celebration of the Lunar New Year, an act of incomprehensible cruelty turned it into a night of horror and suffering.

Like everyone in our nation right now, my heart goes out to all victims of senseless violence. In particular, I am holding in my heart the families and friends who lost someone during this terrible act of bloodshed and the attack in Half Moon Bay. My heart is also lifting up all those in the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander community who are especially pained by what took place in Monterey Park.

As we struggle to come to grips with yet two more mass shootings, I invite us to join in a time of collective lament and mourning. May we each hold in our heart the people impacted, as we also remind ourselves of how interconnected we are as human beings who are all created in the image of God. As scripture teaches us, if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.

May God bring healing to our suffering nation and the Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay communities. May God bring healing to all who are suffering in body or mind, and may God’s love lead us all into a place of comfort and hope.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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All Of Us, Together.

Dear Pali Pres Family,

I know I’m a bit biased, but I am still on a “high” from last Sunday’s worship service. The ordination and installation of officers…the touching and uplifting music… God’s timeless word to us from Micah 6… the recognition and celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday… I really felt the powerful Spirit of God on Sunday and hope all of you did too!

As we fully launch ourselves into this new year, I again encourage us to ask what God’s powerful Spirit is calling us to be a part of here at Pali Pres. Or to use language from Micah, what the Lord is “requiring of us” as his people. We have just ordained and installed new elders and deacons into the leadership of Pali Pres, and we are incredibly grateful for their willingness to serve and share their God-given talents with our church. However, we are mistaken if we think the work of the church is only done by our lay leaders or pastors. It takes all of us to do the Lord’s work. It takes all of us to maintain and grow the ministries of Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, it takes all of us, together, to be the Body of Christ! To quote from our Presbyterian Book of Order, “Ordered ministries are gifts to the church to order its life so that the ministry of the whole people of God may flourish. The existence of these ordered ministries in no way diminishes the importance of the commitment of all members to the total ministry of the church.”

Indeed, the commitment of all the members to the total ministry of the church is so important. That is why I am so very grateful for the many people who serve, in a variety of capacities, here at Pali Pres. Be it by serving on a committee, or by helping maintain our beautiful church grounds, or by praying for our church and our world, or by giving their time and money… all these contributions (and many others!) are vital to the building up of the Body of Christ.

May God’s powerful Spirit continue to bless us here at Pali Pres in 2023. And may we each continue to be led by the Spirit to serve our church and our world, dedicating all our energies and contributions to the glory of God.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

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Will Saunders Will Saunders

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Beloveds,

On the South Wall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC, one can read this quote:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." -Strength to Love, 1963.

Strength to Love is a collection of Rev. King’s sermons, and is a testament to his vision for human rights, social justice, and the hope of true equality for our world. Rev. King devoted his life to showing our nation that there can be a common vision and goal for humanity, that we have a great capacity to love and forgive, and that if we try, we can forge a new future with optimism and great expectations.

This was also the crux of the Gospel message through Jesus. What Rev. King spoke of in this quote was directly related to the message that Jesus brought to humanity—that Jesus was the light of the world, and that with this light, the darkness in all hearts could be driven out by God’s love and God’s light.

We are called to remember these words not just once a day each year, but every day; to remember that we are part of the great light of God’s love, and that when we accept Jesus into our lives, we are called to shine a light wherever we go.

As a person of color, I have had my own challenges and struggles that sometimes have made me lose faith in humanity at times. The struggle for racial equality and justice is a difficult one, and also a silent one for many of us. When I read and hear Rev. King’s words, I am deeply moved, and greatly encouraged to think that while we are still pursuing this, it is a dream that can indeed be achieved someday, hopefully in my lifetime. It is a dream worth fighting for.

Only light can drive out darkness. Only love can drive out hate. God’s love and forgiveness is this light. We can all carry on Rev. King’s legacy by remembering that we too, are light bearers in this world.

With great love for you,

Pastor Grace

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