Dear Westwood Family,

To start: some mundane logistical information for getting to church this weekend. CalTrans is starting a big project of “pavement rehabilitation” this weekend, which means that not only is the 405 reduced to 3 lanes over the Sepulveda Pass, but several on and off ramps are closed–including at the streets closest to the church. Please read all the details here!

Unlike on Marathon Day, there won’t be surface street closures, so I’m hopeful folks can easily find a way to church around these closed routes.

There are going to be additional closures along the Sepulveda Pass, the announcement says, about every other weekend for half a year. They’ve already announced the specific plans for the weekend of September 7th.

I’m sure there are lessons and metaphors we can learn from here: about how sometimes you experience what seem to be set-backs before you get to move ahead more smoothly. About the gifts that can come from unexpected new paths. About the value of investment in infrastructure for the common good. (This is a value I confess I also call to mind regularly when I need help shifting my sour attitude as I wait to merge into the one open lane on Wilshire Blvd in Westwood Village, while construction cranes lift giant loads to build the purple line metro.)

In the Sanctuary, we just started a four-week worship theme called Quest, an invitation to an inner spiritual journey. It’s an occasion to open ourselves more fully to the curiosity and wonder, reflection and transformation that travelers–not merely tourists–experience when they choose to immerse themselves, with humility, in soul-widening adventures.

Perhaps the closed lanes, closed off-ramps, and blocked roads can become occasions to let the outer journeys of navigating our community streets become unlikely invitations that prompt us to see things and ourselves in new ways? I think it’s worth a try–I hope you’ll join me.

grace and peace,
Pastor Molly