February 10, 2023
|
Dear Lake B friends and family,
If you weren’t in service last Sunday (February 2) or haven’t had a chance to view it online, I encourage you to do so. It was a great service with so much good packed in! Pastors Crystal Hairston, Tali Hairston and Paul Kim had the opportunity to share about their recent trip with others from the Seattle Presbytery to Colombia. In addition to being part of the partnership between the Seattle Presbytery and the North Coast Presbytery in Colombia, this trip also was another opportunity to further consider what a partnership between Lake B and a local congregation in Barranquillia might look like. Pastor Crystal gave vivid pictures of ways that Lake B and Iglesia Cuarta Presbiteriana de Barranquilla (4th Presbyterian Church of Barranquilla) already share much in common; our commitment to justice, our desire to see young people positioned for leadership, our shared vision for intergenerational ministry. I was also struck by the story she told of the elder who shared he believed that they are a congregation that is NOT limited – not limited by resources (or apparent lack there-of) or imagination. Crystal shared a comment worth noting: We (Lake B) have so much – and we can do so much more. Both the elder’s comment and Crystal’s observation struck a chord with me and echoed what Pastor Paul shared at the communion table – how can we have a world view that is aligned with the generosity and abundance of God? I am grateful that these are the kinds of questions that continue to shape and form us - Pastor Tali reminded us that we are a local congregation and also that we are part of a global church community. The Gospel is both “in” us and “external” to us. Crossing boundaries is a necessary part of our discipleship – and doing so actually keeps us from becoming one-dimensional, informed and shaped by a single narrative, at risk of “hoarding” and “owning” the Good News in ways that are dangerous and violent. This has proven to be true time and again. Tali said something that I think is worthy of serious reflection: “if any follower/community of body of believers has borders or boundaries, it is not light. If it has borders or boundaries, it is not salt.” We have in Jesus, a model of what it looks like to embody a world view that is expansive and that crosses borders. May God give us grace and wisdom to follow, Pastor Lina |