A Message from Pastor Kaji 12/12/24

Dear Church:First, I would love to acknowledge the incredible Ball that our church hosted with The Center for the second year in a row.

As we continue to host the ballroom community, our ties deepen. This year’s World of Red Ball: A Space Odyssey celebrated the ballroom community – arguably one of the most deeply impacted by the HIV/AIDS crisis in its earliest days – while also proactively caring for, and protecting the community today. As they shared in the invitation:

“The World of Red Ball is The Center’s signature World AIDS Day event that uses voguing to honor the perseverance and strength of LGBTQ+ people living with HIV & AIDS. It creates a safe space to reflect and celebrate those we have lost to HIV & AIDS as well as those continually fighting. As we enter our fourth year, our goal is to continue hosting a thoughtfully curated event focused on education, engagement, and support for one of the communities most impacted by HIV/AIDS—the ballroom community.”

I will talk more about this on Sunday, but for now, I want you to know that this night was sacred and holy. As we have continued to share our space for these moments, we have also been able to build trust between the church and people who have been so often cast away from church. As David Sookai and I were reflecting on our interactions with the community, we marveled at how much they helped us to see ourselves as part of the Ballroom family. Family cares for each other – and this is family being built, with the help of God. I’m grateful our church has love to spare (and then some!) for this incredible group of God’s beloved.  

As for worship, this week we move into the third Sunday of Advent. Our text this week comes from the Gospel of Luke. As you prepare for worship this Sunday, I encourage you to read the passage with an eye towards the concept of “fruit.” What fruit has or is God working through you to bear?

I can’t wait to see you in church.

Pax Christi,
Pastor Kaji

SCRIPTURE
Luke 1:39-45 (Year C, p. 11):

39 Mary set out in those days and went to the hill country with haste, to a Judean town. 40 There she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 Now when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 From where does this [visit] come to me? That the mother of my Sovereign comes to me? 44 Look! As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting in my ear, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Now blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of those things spoken to her by the Holy One.”