Author: admin

06 Nov

Posted at 08:26h in Pastoral Notes

Dear Westwood Community, It's Election Day as I write this, and I've been having a hard time focusing on the task in front of me. I'm aware of the BIG DECISIONS being made today through our democratic process. I know that they will have significant consequences,...

01 Nov

Posted at 07:09h in Pastoral Notes

Dear Westwood Community, When, as infants, we went to sleep the very first time without the sound of our mother’s heartbeat reverberating in our ears, we began to say goodbye. These goodbyes are “little deaths” that we will experience for the rest of our lives as...

25 Oct

Posted at 07:34h in Westwood Kids

Last Sunday, we talked about how to be leaders like Jesus: ones who put others first. After looking at pictures and discussing Thich Nhat Hanh, Florence Nightingale, Bayard Rustin, and Mr. Rogers, we designed and wrote notecards to leaders we admired. One was to our...

25 Oct

Posted at 07:27h in Pastoral Notes

Dear Westwood Community, I'm still a little teary this morning, remembering what a sweet gift it was to be with my parents, as a part of the sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Bowl last Sunday night for the Joni Jam. It was Joni Mitchell's return to the...

18 Oct

Posted at 07:31h in Westwood Kids

We had so much fun last week trying to see if we could do impossible things, like walking in one direction with eight arms linked backwards in a circle or making a plastic straw go through a potato or building a paper bridge that held...

16 Oct

Posted at 07:17h in Pastoral Notes

Dear Westwood Community, My friend Pat Luna taught me this clever trick: when you're with a group and aren't sure whether you've quite reached the status of "insider" yet, one of the easiest ways to solidify your belonging is to invite someone else in. As far as...