While scrolling on Facebook earlier this week a Woman Touched by Grace (WTBG) friend was reaching out to folks in another city to see if they could assist with coordinating some grocery shopping, meal prep, light housecleaning. It would have been easy to scroll past the post and think, surely someone else will respond. Yet, I was moved to text this friend and say, “I know WTBG women in this city, let me know if you would like me to make a connection.” The response was, “yes, please.” With nearly 100 WTBG women throughout the world (some live in Canada and one is in Korea), we are in many cities. Even though I was part of the second group, I have connections with women from all five groups because I pray for one woman each day in a rotating schedule.​

I sent an email to all four women (the requester and the three in the city of need). From this simple email, I was able to connect one woman with a group of women who have connections and know resources to help her family member. It would have been easy to see this post and swipe on by, thinking, “Someone else will surely help… I do not have time to get involved…. This is no concern to me… I do not live in that city…” I chose to engage and make the connection, allowing these women to coordinate in their own way.

Sometimes it is the simple things we do without much extra effort that makes the biggest difference. Yet, we may be hesitant to act. We may think our effort is not needed. We may think someone else will show up or volunteer. Maybe we have convinced ourselves that we are unqualified. Siblings in Christ, we are the ones we have been waiting for.

On Sunday, we have our annual meeting. Please show up! This is everyone’s opportunity to hear about how we are engaging in the world around us, both near and far. There are still openings for folks to join the Church Council. I have heard it said how council meetings have been contentious in the past. This has not been my experience. In the coming years, we, as a faith community, will need to make tough decisions. As the elected leaders of the congregation, the Church Council will facilitate these discussions.

Our current giving does not sustain our current ministry. What will we do about this? How is God inviting us to respond? These questions will not be answered on Sunday. However, as we build the budget for 2026-27, this will need to be part of the conversation. We are not in a crisis and let us not wait until then to begin imagining how God is inviting us into the future.

As followers of Jesus, we are to do what we can, when we can, where we can, trusting in the ripple effect of our care spreading beyond our individual reach. The welcome totes were certainly an example of reaching out to help folks we do not know. The way folks actively donated items, asked other vendors to contribute and helped fill the totes is an example of spreading care. The first three totes were picked up this week, and the new residents will shortly be receiving the keys to their new home. In each tote is the welcome home cards we decorated last Sunday. Simple things make a difference as we share the love of Jesus with others. Thank you for your partnership.

Simple things can set our day on edge. Wednesday night and Thursday morning, I had several emails from folks wondering about a suspicious email that I had sent. Thank you for your care and concern. Never will I email you asking for special favors or gift cards. Yet, these types of emails are on the rise as people or bots or something else try to lure us into believing the request is authentic. Most often the email has misspellings, language that is not in alignment with the person writing and an overall suspicious tenor.

​After this interruption was resolved, it took a moment for me to recenter myself. Recalling my phone conversation with Sr. Mary Luke earlier in the morning, helped. The sisters at Our Lady of Grace Monastery are moving into the new building this week. Amid the overwhelm of packing, moving, and unpacking, there are simple tasks. The need to have food delivered while the kitchen is dismantled, moved, and set up, not to mention getting one more load of laundry washed before the machines are relocated. What supports the sisters is how they always stop for the Divine Office. Three times a day, morning, noon and evening the sisters gather in the chapel for prayer. They pray the Psalms, meditate on scripture, sing and offer prayers of intercession.
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Prayer is always accessible to us. When life gets unruly, and our days blend into a mushy mess, prayer is our resting place. It is the one thing we can return to repeatedly. These next two weeks we will hear portions of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse, the final conversation with his followers. He is clear on his departure and reminds them (us) that he is with them as their constant companion. He promises to provide rest and assurance when life gets difficult. The image that has floated in my mind this week is swinging in a hammock with Jesus by my side. The comfort of a companion who journeys with us, the peace of slowly rocking back and forth and the beauty of nature surrounding us. When events in your day set you on edge, may you find comfort in the Constant Companion who journeys with us. May you turn toward prayer, knowing that whatever we ask will be heard. The prayer may not be answered as or when we want, yet in the asking, we trust that our prayer is known by the one who loves us no matter what.

Thank you to the over twenty people who helped fill the welcome totes last Saturday. The first nine are in the Fireside Room waiting for the homeowners to move in. The others are in the Little Library waiting to find out who will be moving into the other houses. Where did I say they were? The Little Library? Yes, this is the room across from the main office and restrooms next to the utility closet. Over the years, this room has had several purposes, and it is becoming the Little Library.

You may be familiar with this room as the place to have your blood pressure checked on the first Sunday of the month. Folks on the Care Team also use this space for sending cards to people on our prayer list. Climbing the stairs at church is prohibitive for some to reach the library. In time, we will be moving books from the upstairs library down to the Little Library. For now, it is the storage space for the other fourteen welcome totes. It is a work in progress.

Wednesday, I had lunch with nearly 1,000 people in the Oregon Convention Center for Habitat for Humanity Hope Builders luncheon. The theme was Let’s Open the Door. We heard stories from a young adult who had the stability of growing up in a Habitat Home and an elderly woman from Denmark who loves the home she moved into 56 years ago and benefited from Habitat’s Home Repair program. The luncheon affirmed what we have heard about our new neighbors at South Lake Grove. “At Habitat for Humanity, we believe that everyone deserves a stable and affordable place to call home – especially those historically excluded from homeownership.” Seventy-two percent of the people served in the Portland region identify as people of color; thirty-four percent are single parents and thirty percent have a family member with a disability or long-term illness. These are more than statistics when they are barriers to home ownership.

Habitat’s theme of Let’s Open the Door resonates with our Gospel this week. The fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday and each year we hear verses from the tenth chapter of John. This year, Jesus will say, “I am the gate.” Gates can let things in and keep things out. During my recent visit with a friend in California, we commented on the gated community being built near her home. The company paid extra money to circumvent the city code mandating a portion of the homes being built would be designated as affordable housing. This is an example of how one corporation went out of their way to prevent “certain people” from being their neighbor. Restricting access is one way the systems and structures of our society limit and constrict. The way of Jesus swings wide the gate allowing those who yearn for justice, mercy, and abundant life to come in and find shelter.
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On Saturday, the Fireside Room will be filled with women enjoying a meal together and learning more about the Marshallese congregation. This annual event is a gift offered by a dedicated cadre of women who express their love for one another through beautiful decorations, delicious food, and enjoyable conversation. Inviting the Marshallese women to join us is one example of how we are opening our doors to others. Thank you in advance to the women who are hosting this event and to the male volunteers who are helping wash the dishes and clean up. Together we are a stronger community.

What joy it was to have Pastor Aimond and Deaconess Carolyn join us for the Fellowship Forum last Sunday. Four other members of the Marshallese JRD congregation gathered with us as well. Thank you to all who attended and for your curious questions about the Marshall Islands as well as the daily lives of the congregation meeting in our space. Their youth group meets on Friday evening and will help carry the amazing donations from the upstairs library down to the Fireside Room. This action is in preparation for our assembly of the Welcome Totes for the West Lake Grove Habitat Homes. Join us on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. as we fill the totes. The coffee will be on and I heard there might be fresh pastries.​

This Sunday we begin our four-week book study on See Me Believe Me. Folks asked me last Sunday where the book study will occur. This is an exceptionally good question. When we began our ministry together, there was a book study that met in the Conference Room. I noticed a separation between the folks in the Fireside Room and the Conference Room. While the book study was on hiatus, I noticed a lot more chatter in the Fireside room as folks talked with one another. I do not want to lose these moments. Community connection is important.

We are also creatures of habit. I can imagine book study folk going directly to Conference Room and missing the conversations in the Fireside Room. So, I wonder what your openness is to have the Book Study in the Fireside Room? Pulling a few tables together on the far end away from the kitchen. We could experiment. There is a challenge to this experiment. How do we help those who still want to visit not feel run out by the book study participants? Perhaps we begin the book study at 11:35ish. I want to be flexible, and I am open to your ideas. Where is book study meeting on Sunday, hopefully we can experiment in the Fireside Room. This is where communication is important, I want to hear from you.

See Me Believe Me invites us to consider our welcome and engagement toward people of color. The Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers invites us into a space of honesty, humility, and courage. She shares experiences black rostered leaders have had while serving in the ELCA. She encourages us to be mindful of our own privileges and prejudice. One resource she encourages us to explore is Peggy McIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” article. I will also have copies of this article on Sunday.

A stranger approaches two walking companions in our Gospel and asks: “What are you talking about?” They stop in their tracks and look at the stranger recounting the devastating events of Jesus’ arrest, death, and resurrection. The walking companions tell the stranger how they had hoped things would have turned out differently. The stranger engages with them in dialogue, and they are reminded of the gift of grace God offers in the breaking of the bread. See Me Believe Me explores the hope rostered leaders of color have for sharing their gifts with the church and the ways these hopes have been harmed. I invite you to join in the conversation as we read this book.

I give thanks to everyone who helped plan, implement and attend the Holy Week services. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil for Peace and Easter Sunday were all well attended! Each service offered an opportunity to reflect on our faith and life. We recalled Jesus’ love, suffering, death and resurrection. As we live into this Easter season, we are invited to continue looking for signs of Jesus love enacted in our daily lives.

One resource preaching resource suggested that we make this week festive and find ways to celebrate resurrection: plan a favorite meal, buy flowers, wear colorful clothing, schedule a massage or whatever else creates a sense of new life and delight. For me, this week includes time away. Time with a dear friend to refresh my spirit and rest my body.
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On Sunday, we will encounter Christ crucified and risen from the dead walking through locked doors. Thomas is absent on the first visit yet present the second time. I leave you with this poem by Pastor Steve Garness-Holmes entitled "For Thomas". Referencing “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20.25) he writes:​