Dear Friends,

As you all read this email, I will be in San Diego with a group of friends, supporting Izzy, the stepdaughter of our late friend, Cary. Izzy is graduating from college and would love nothing more than to have Cary there, but instead she gets this band of women (and men) who have been working hard to mother her and her siblings since Cary died last May. It’s a bittersweet trip but there’s no place I’d rather be: in community with those who have worked so hard to hold each other up over this past year.  

I am grateful for this time away and amazed at how each time there’s a need to fill, this church is the direct reflection of God’s kin-dom, supporting and helping one another as only loving building blocks can do. While I am gone this weekend, Rev. Dr. Sarah Henseler is filling in for me, leading prayers of the people. When our A/V Tech Ethan is away a few times this summer, I’ll fill in for him in the sound room, and Rev. Dr. Sarah Allen, Rev. Dr. Jenny Veninga, and Carol Barrett will step in for me to lead the prayers again. Two weeks ago when Emily and I were out sick, Carol Barrett, Melissa Vasquez, and Andrea Larson all stepped in to fill our roles.  

In March, when the Merryman family experienced the sudden death of Brant, our church community stepped in to send food and gift cards. A week ago when Andrea Simoneau had surgery, meals were provided for her family. On Monday, Kelley posted a Care Calendar for the Allison-Johnson family and within 4 hours, all but one of the slots was filled.  

This church never ceases to amaze me with its love and generosity, as well as its ability to pivot on a dime. You support the children, the youth, each other, and the staff. Over the last few months, leadership has come to the staff repeatedly to let us know the congregation wants to help and wants us to know that we have their support and prayers. I assure you, we have felt incredibly supported and cared for, so thank you!

But what I want to know now is…how can we care for you? The love and generosity flowing towards the staff is amazing, but it's important that it flow both directions. How can we care for you, how can we care for our lay leadership, and how can you care for leadership, each other, and yourself?  

As the lyrics in our communion music said this past Sunday, “I thank God every time I remember you. Constantly praying for you.” I thank God for this church, this community, and this love and care flowing throughout our congregation.  


Peace,
Meghan

This past Tuesday, our Church Administrator Kelley shared the following poem with us in staff meeting. I immediately asked if I could share it as part of our ministry minute this week. As we prepare for our annual Graduate Sunday this week, this poem really hit home for me.  


The Facts of Life

That you were born
and you will die.

That you will sometimes love enough
and sometimes not.
 
That you will lie
if only to yourself.

That you will get tired.
 
That you will learn most from the situations
you did not choose.
 
That there will be some things that move you
more than you can say.
 
That you will live
that you must be loved.
 
That you will avoid questions most urgently in need of
your attention.
 
That you began as the fusion of a sperm and an egg
of two people who once were strangers
and may well still be.
 
That life isn’t fair.
That life is sometimes good
and sometimes better than good.
 
That life is often not so good.
 
That life is real
and if you can survive it, well,
survive it well
with love
and art
and meaning given
where meaning’s scarce.
 
That you will learn to live with regret.
That you will learn to live with respect.
 
That the structures that constrict you
may not be permanently constraining.
 
That you will probably be okay.
 
That you must accept change
before you die
but you will die anyway.
 
So you might as well live
and you might as well love.
You might as well love.
You might as well love.

- Pádraig Ó Tuama


This Sunday is always bittersweet for me, and I’m sure many others in our congregation. Serving the youth of our church has brought me much joy (and tears), but also much wisdom. I have learned so much from them, mostly just watching how they unabashedly care for those around them, being certain to create a space of inclusion and belonging. In a world, and especially a state, where so much is telling them to hate or dislike certain things, thoughts, or even people, they simply choose to love. Our youth have taught me to live and to love, even when it seems really difficult to do, and for that, I am grateful. 


I hope you can join us, in person or online, this Sunday for Graduate Sunday. You’ll get to hear from all of our graduates, and witness first-hand the ways in which they choose to live and love. Congratulations to all of our graduates! This church loves you!


Peace,
Pastor Meghan

For the next nine weeks, during our season of Easter, we will be focusing our worship around building the kin-dom of God. Now, you may wonder what “kin-dom” is all about…like, could they just be misspelling Kingdom? I’ll admit, when I first heard the term years ago, I thought that someone was pronouncing kingdom wrong or possibly using an interesting accent.

Well, here’s what we’re learning about the difference: A kingdom in itself is about power. Kingdoms are about dominance, control, and the singular influence of one person who has authority to rule. God’s Kingdom, however, is truly a KIN-dom. The word “kin” means family, so it makes sense that kin-dom is about our family of faith – our community. The kin-dom of God is inclusive, non-hierarchical, relational, full of compassion, and justice-oriented. A true kin-dom is, therefore, a community of equals.

Throughout this series, including our AMAZING week of Vacation Bible School (June 5-9), we will wonder together about what it means to build the kin-dom of God. We’ll remember the story of Abram and Sarai and how they built altars on their journey. We’ll remember the story of the Tower of Babel and how ego got in the way of going out and doing God’s work in the world. We’ll remember the story of Solomon as he supervised the building of the Temple over 7 long years. We’ll remember the parables of the House on the Rock and the Mustard Seed. Finally, we’ll remember how Jesus called the disciples and asked them to be “fishers of men.”

We’ll wonder together what God’s calling is for us as individuals and as a community of faith. How can we build the kin-dom of God? What are WE, as the church, called to do?

With love, always,
Emily Jamison Guerrero
Director of Children's Ministries

Dear friends, 
My name is Meghan Hatcher. My spouse, Corey, and I first attended UCC on Easter Sunday 2022 and joined the church officially in December. It’s been our distinct joy to be part of this beautiful, caring, and affirming community of faith. Thank you for welcoming us so fully. 

If you’re reading this message on Good Friday, we are midway through the Triduum – the three days spanning the evening of Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday. As we enter this period in the Church’s calendar, the movements of our faith’s story and our liturgies pick up speed. It’s a veritable sprint from Jesus sacrificially washing his friends’ feet; to his brutal arrest and crucifixion at the hands of the Roman state; and finally, to his totally improbable resurrection. So much unfolds in these three days and, if you’re like me, you’re prone to rush past the emotions of it all. 

As people of faith in 2023 we have the tremendous benefit of history. We know how this story ends. We know that what John 19:30 tells us was not, in fact, Jesus’ final act: “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” But what if for today you place yourself in the role of Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus, the two men who received Jesus’ beaten and lifeless body, prepared it for burial, and laid it in the empty tomb (John 19:38-42)? What might it have felt like to truly believe your teacher, friend, and the person who just might be the Messiah, was dead? Gone. No more. 

My encouragement to us all is that we sit with the grief, discomfort, and unknowing of Good Friday. Because in reality, Good Friday is a lot like our lives sometimes, isn’t it? We don’t always know that Love wins, hope is coming, and grief will be defeated. Let us not rush past this reality, but instead, pause long enough to feel the weight of Good Friday. That way the incredible hope of Easter Sunday will be that much more precious this year. 

In faith, 
Meghan 

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