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WELCOME FEBRUARY 2010 Dear Friends,
Lent is just ahead, beginning this Wednesday, February 17, 2010, with a joint Ash Wednesday Service at our sister church,
Mt. Hollywood, UCC. While Mt.Hollywood and HIC have a long history together we have over the years found ourselves serving a different “niche
market” if you will. Mt. Hollywood has been known for the social justice work they have been a part of through the years.
HIC has found its identity in being an ethnic church. Each church has had a positive impact on the other. I hope you will
find the opportunity to participate in our joint services this year as we reach out to continue our long standing relationship. Our past has caused me to reflect upon our
future possibilities lately as I sit at home healing from my surgery (nothing serious, just fixing a dislocated toe). I have
had the opportunity to do a lot of reading and web surfing. Between these two activities I have re-connected with my love
and interest in progressive theology. Most recently I have been having a conversation with Rev. Paul Nagano, a Baptist minister,
whom I suspect at least some of you know as he has been very influential in the Japanese Christian
community over the years. His spiritual journey from a more, as he calls it, “authoritative Christianity”, to
a more universal and inclusive theology is a story that while different in content, rings similar in spirit to many other
stories I have heard.
Each of us as adults finds ourselves from time to time being challenged to grow. Whether it is beginning to eat differently
for health reasons or finding ourselves expected to relate to “those people” because now they are suddenly a part
of our family, or even changing how we relate to God and how Jesus fits into the picture. Such challenges cause us to re-evaluate
what is most critical in our lives. Along the way we sometimes feel angry at others who seem to abandon us because they themselves
are also changing but at a different rate or around different issues.
The beauty of belonging to a vibrant Christian community, like HIC, is
that we can dare to be open and trusting enough with one another to share our journeys. This means that even when we are having
challenges we are able to share these experiences with our church family. Not be alone during such times is a blessing.
During Lent I will be delving into this area in my preaching. We will look at some of the different cultural mores that challenge
us. I am thinking now of the culture we find in the bible, and the cultures we find in different denomina-tions, as well as
those ethnic cultures we represent at HIC. Each of these cultures has at their roots different ways of relating to God and
others. Growing up in them causes one to think a particular way is “the way” until one is confronted with a perspective
of one of the many other cultures in thee world. One has a choice at that point to dig in and stay “true” to ones
past, or possibly expand one’s thinking in such a way that includes this new understanding of what is “true”.
Each year Lent allows us a
special opportunity to reflect on the Spirit of God at work in our lives. May you find time this Lenten season to consider
your own spiritual journey, and may reflecting on your past give you cause to be more aware of the present and future possibilities
of your walk with God.
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