This past Sunday was such a sacred time together, beloved. It was filled with beauty and goodness and worship and joy! The call to worship from Mother Glendar, the holy pauses of Sarahi’s reading, the earthen rootedness of Salena’s poem, the beauty of Alicia’s voice rising up (alongside Jason and Noah), the expansive table of Inés’ preaching, and the tenacious grace of Nicola’s blessing. All these mighty women leading took me back to Luke 24 and caused my pen to render a resurrection rewrite of a familiar story – a narrative where this time the women are not only believed, but honored:

“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to all the others. It was Inés’ preaching, Sarahi’s reading, Glendar the mother of our church, Alicia’s singing, and the prophetic poets, Salena and Nicola, who told this to the disciples. And they did believe the women, because their words seemed to them like beauty and truth, resurrection and life.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭9‬-‭11‬, TCWHF version

May we continue to rewrite resurrection stories again and anew together, familia. And may the Spirit awaken us, with eyes afresh, to see the movement of God among us in real-time. Just like this past Easter Sunday. And dare I say…the days to follow…

A Resurrection Update on Nick Butcher

Sunday was also a day where tragedy stared us in the face. During the service, our dear sister, Kate Butcher, let us know her husband, Nick, had just had an accident diving off a pier while on vacation with his family in Hawaii. Nick was paralyzed at the time and was being airlifted to Honolulu.

On Monday morning, it was confirmed Nick had multiple fractures and would need the C4 cervical vertebrae repaired in surgery. By Monday evening, surgery was complete and miraculously successful! Nick has since been able to sit up by himself (what a resurrection moment!) and also stand with assistance! The doctors say Nick will need about 2 years of rehab, but there is “extreme hope” that Nick will fully recover.

The next step will be 6-8 weeks at an acute rehab facility in Atlanta, Chicago, or Colorado. Please be praying for the Butcher family. Their boys will stay with family in California while Nick and Kate are away for rehabilitation.

As a church, we will keep everyone updated on all the ways we can come alongside these dear friends. Already a GoFundMe has been established to provide financial assistance to the family. The Butchers are one of the core families that helped start this church, and we did so around shared tables (just the kind Inés preached about on Sunday). We will love them in every possible way through this. And we have wholeheartedly assured them as much.

First Sunday Food & Fellowship

Following the theme of shared tables, this is a Sunday where we gather together after service to eat together! We’ll be headed to Sapori Di 786 Degrees in Pasadena, just a few minutes from the church building. It’s a women-owned restaurant and we’re excited to support a local business as we feast on good pizza together!

Small Group Book Study coming up!

Next week, Meleca Consultado is facilitating an 8-week book study starting on April 10 at 6:30 PM that meets on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at Sarah O and Sarah D’s home in Sunland. The group is open to anyone!

Please join them as they discuss Efrem Smith and Dan Kreiss’s book Church for Everyone: Building Multi-Inclusive Community for Emerging Generations. You may find more info and sign up for this community group via our Church Center app here.

We’re Hiring!

We’re officially pursuing a Director of Children and Youth Ministries! It’s a part-time role and you can read all about it here as well as apply for the job. We’re asking our familia to pass this along to anyone you might see fit to jump in the journey with us! We’re keeping this application open first to our own network within our own familia until April 15th. After that point, we’ll be considering opening up the application process to more public-facing spaces.

We are so thankful for you, familia. And hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Bobby