After much prayer, voting, and discernment, I'm pleased to say that I will be remaining your Senior Pastor here at Westwood, and that I was not elected to be a bishop in the UMC. I believe that I am where God is calling me to...
Dear Westwood Family, I wanted to let you know, as our Western Jurisdictional Conference for the UMC begins today in Spokane, Washington, that I have decided to let my name go forward as a nominee in our election of new Bishops. This is a very new...
Over the summer, I am inviting clergy members connected to our Westwood UMC congregation to serve as guest writers of our Pastoral Notes. We are so glad that Rev. Dr. James Edwards is a part of our Westwood UMC congregation. Before retiring to Los Angeles with...
Over the summer, I am inviting clergy members connected to our Westwood UMC congregation to serve as guest writers of our Pastoral Notes. This week, we are pleased to share words from Rev. Karen Clark Ristine. I am grateful that they are a part of...
Dear Westwood Family, I hope this pastoral note finds you all doing well! I am currently in New Orleans researching, writing, and visiting plantations to learn more about the indigenous West and Central African foodways that my ancestors brought to America. It is, perhaps, the Holy...
Dear Westwood Family, This past Sunday, I had the privilege of talking to Pastor Molly in The Loft about my identity and my understanding of God and myself. In our conversation, I referenced the “spiritual crumbs” my relationship with God subsisted on for years as I...
Dear Westwood Family, This weekend, we'll celebrate Promotion Sunday--honoring and recognizing how our young people are all becoming a grade older. We'll give Bibles to our new 4th graders, and celebrate our graduates. I know that our young people attend many different schools, and that the calendars...
Dear Westwood Family, Today, I joined a group of Westwood UMC folks on a tour of the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Craft, on the edge of Rancho Cucamonga. There, we were able to walk through the home that Sam Maloof built. With...
Dear Westwood Family, Yesterday, in Wildwood, New Jersey, the United Methodist Church reinstated Rev. Dr. Beth Stroud as a clergy member of the church. This was twenty years after the UMC tried her for breaking church law by being in a relationship with another woman. Twenty...
Dear Westwood Family, Last week, I attended LA Voice’s leadership assembly and found myself in a crowd of people committed to pursuing justice and equity for their communities, this city, and the world. Sitting in the plaza at Dolores Mission Catholic church, surrounded by people of...