A Message from Pastor Kaji
Dear Church:
Before I step away for a few weeks – first to represent our community at the United Church of Christ’s General Synod, and then for some much-needed rest – I think our text invites us to spend this Sunday sitting with one of the most pressing, persistent challenges many of us face: anxiety.
We carry so much. And even when Jesus says “Do not worry about your life…” I’ll admit: it’s not always easy to know how.
This Sunday’s sermon is called “Somebody’s Watching Me, It’s My Anxiety.” (Yes, I took inspiration from Doechii.) But the truth is real: sometimes our worry feels like a 24/7 surveillance system we can’t turn off. It tracks our every move. It whispers worst-case scenarios. It makes us question our worth, our safety, our future.
But Jesus doesn’t shame us for this.
Jesus doesn’t say “Get over it.”
Instead, Jesus says: “Look at the birds. Look at the lilies.”
Even they are fed and clothed—how much more, then, are we cared for?
This week, as we prepare for the summer ahead, I invite you to join me for a message that isn’t about suppressing anxiety—but about hearing another voice. The voice of Christ who sees your fear and says, You are already held.
And as I head to General Synod next week, know that I carry you with me. I’ll be advocating for justice, celebrating our UCC witness, and making sure that The Park’s voice is present in the future-shaping conversations of our wider church.
Come this Sunday for a Word of comfort and challenge. Stay for Communion. And bring the question you’ve been holding onto—Jesus has something to say to you, too.
Pax Christi,
Pastor Kaji
Luke 12:22-28 (Year C, p. 234):22 Jesus said to his disciples [before the multitude of women, children, and men], “Here now I tell you all, worry not about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens that neither sow nor reap; they have neither vault nor barn and yet, God feeds them. Of how much more value are all of you than the birds! 25 And can any of you by worrying add length [or height] to your life? 26 If then you are not able to do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you all, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 Now if the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow into the furnace is thrown, God clothes, how much more will God clothe you, O you of little faith!