Dear Westwood Community, Last month, our Church Council started a process aimed at helping clarify and articulate the vision and mission of our church; this will be a significant part of the work of the Council this year. Already after our first conversation, some common themes...
Dear Westwood Community, In many activist circles, people refer to “radicalizing moments.” It’s essentially a “come-to-Jesus” moment in the context of social justice, often a moment of witnessing something that is so deeply wrong and unjust that you realize you have to be a part of...
Dear Westwood Community, Last week, President Trump gave what was, for all intents and purposes, a nearly one hundred-minute state of the union speech. The speech included his usual pomp, half truths, and outright lies. I didn't watch the speech because I love myself too much...
Dear Westwood Community, Whether or not we are ready, Lent arrives, inviting us into a journey of transformation. This season invites us to be intentional about our devotional lives, drawing from the deep well of meaningful practices in our spiritual tradition. This year, we encourage you to...
Dear Westwood Community, Last Sunday, we celebrated baptisms in the Sanctuary. Baptism Sundays are some of my favorite Sundays. I love that our tradition of infant baptism gives us a courageous claim on grace--it reminds us that our belonging does not depend on our knowledge or...
Dear Westwood Community, I confess that, among a variety of emotions, I've been resentful lately: I am tired at having to explain what I believe about God in reaction to some really bad ideas, offered by powerful voices. It's not new: I've long been frustrated at the...
Dear Westwood Community, It's been just over a month since devastating wildfires ignited here in LA County. So much has changed in that time. My prayers continue to be with those whose lives and families are forever reshaped by this disaster--especially those who have lost homes,...
Dear Westwood Community, Last week, I had the privilege of participating in a meeting of leaders in the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church in the US. At one point in the long meeting, when everyone’s energy was waning, we decided to sing. Someone on...
Dear Westwood Community, Last Sunday in Grapple, we watched the widely circulated video of Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde speaking directly to President Trump at the National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, held on the Tuesday after last week’s inauguration. For any of you who have not seen it,...
Dear Westwood Community, In the last book published before his murder, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asks a question that our country still wrestles with today, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” Today, January 20, 2025, will be remembered as a day...