Instead of measuring a church by its attendance and budget, here’s another idea:
Let’s assess it by the quality of community life that disciples people to love well: a culture that equips individuals to have a 1st hand life with God and commitment to release people in their gifts.
Rich Villodas
 
Ruth Haley Barton notes that community is the most ‘overpromised and underdelivered’ aspect of the church today. There is something about human beings trying to get together and function together over the long haul that is difficult. What about you? How many have joined a church in hopes of experiencing care, connection and belonging, only to be disappointed? Or have been deeply involved with the church but were not being transformed at the deepest levels of your being?

The promise that we can become like Christ is one of the great promises of the gospel (Galatians 4:19). Spiritual transformation is central to the message of the gospel and therefore central to the mission of the church. 
 
At PasCov we are committed to create opportunities for community in which spiritual transformation takes place. Our transformation takes place ‘in and through the Trinity, as God transforms us into the image of Christ through the real presence of the Holy Spirit’ (Barton, Life Together in Christ). Some of our transformation takes place in solitude with God and also by choosing to walk together where certain kinds of growth, attention and support can be cultivated for the purpose of deep change into the image of Jesus. 
 
Lord Jesus, may we be known as a community that disciples people to love well, that invites everyone to a transformed shared life!
 
Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

I

“I am going to speak to you simply as a pastor, as one who, together with his people, has been learning the beautiful but harsh truth that the Christian faith does not cut us off from the world but immerses us in it; the church is not a fortress set apart from the city. 
The church follows Jesus, who lived, worked, struggled and died in the midst of a city, in the polis.”
—Archbishop Oscar Romero, shortly before his assassination in 1980
 
We build community and connection within the church so that we can reach out beyond the church and share the love of Christ to the world around us. We embed our presence in the places we find our lives and rely on the Spirit to lead us to seek and share God. And as a whole church body, we partner with those who have a reach into our community and meet needs and build bridges, do justice and seek the shalom of the city. 

That peace
will rise like bread
we can always hope.

That justice 
will flow like wine
we can always hope

That the Table 
will make strangers kin
we can always hope.

That our hope
will rise like bread
we can always pray.

-Jan Richardson

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

This weekend we will again celebrate and witness several baptisms in our worship service! What does this mean?

Baptism tells us that we are beloved. It invites us to hear the affirming voice of God as he whispers his ongoing love for us. To be baptized is to enter a particular, life-giving, life-altering script or story, the biblical story. N T Wright writes that baptism encapsulates the entire Bible, starting in Genesis with creation and ending with Revelation's closing image of the river of life flowing through the city of God. In between is a life-shaping thread of baptism stories: Noah and the ark (Gen. 6), Moses and the Israelites escape through the Red Sea (Ex. 14), Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh.3), Jonah swallowed by the huge fish (Jon. 1-2), and the prophet Ezekiel sprinkling people as they receive new hearts (Ezek. 36), to name a few. 

To be baptized is to renounce every other alternative script of our culture and to enter fully into the story of grace. What if baptism is designed not to be an event but the deepest part of our identity, the central, guiding reality that defines our lives? What does your baptism mean to you? What if you had not been baptized? What difference would that make? Can we see baptism as a lifelong invitation to "switch stories" and to winsomely follow Jesus, "further up and further in"? How can we encourage one another to live our baptisms as a reality that shapes our identity and all our decision-making? Our baptism summons us to put aside the self-centered clothes of our own making and to "put on" Christ and his virtue; Jesus has stripped death from us and clothed us with his life. 

Let us learn together how to live baptized lives.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD;
I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE NATIONS,
I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH.
-PSALM 46:10

 
Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

-Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

"Spiritual transformation into Christlikeness is a process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it takes on the character of the inner being of Jesus himself, The result is that the outer life of the individual increasingly becomes a natural expression of the inner reality of Jesus and his teachings. Doing what he said and did increasingly becomes a part of who we are."

Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart.

Being a Christ-follower means that we are on a life-long journey in the process of growing more and more like Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian church, "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you..." Galatians 4:19

To the Ephesians he stated the goal this way, "to become mature, attaining to the whole measure the fullness of Christ" and "we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:13 & 15 

To the Romans he wrote, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likenessof his Son..." Romans 8:29

To the Corinthians he said, "We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

Williard explains that "The human spirit is an inescapable, fundamental aspect of every human being; and it takes on whichever character it has from the experiences and the choices that we have lived through or made in the past. That is what it means to be 'formed'." He goes on to say, "That spiritual place within us [the heart] from which outlook, choices, and actions come from has been formed by a world away from God. Now it must be transformed...as our spiritual dimension has been formed, so it also must be transformed."

As we grow in the knowledge of who Christ is, how He lived, who He calls us to be, how He calls us to imitate His life, then we become increasingly formed into His likeness. But it is a lifelong process making those who are in Christ lifelong learners. It requires of us a dedication to reading and studying the Word of God. But, thankfully, it is not solely dependent on us alone. This is the great mystery of God; "Christ in you." (Colossian 1:27). God gave us His Spirit. "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:13) The Spirit of God works in us and in conjunction with our will. It's a holy partnership!

 Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

This month we move into looking at leadership across the hundred years of Pasadena Covenant Church. Our Growth Groups have just finished looking at Nehemiah, an exceptional Old Testament leader.  One reason he is accessible as a leader is because there are no overt miracles; no parting of the Red Sea, no visit by an angel Nehemiah never walks on water. Instead, Nehemiah was a man who had a passion, who worked hard, prayed faithfully and listened to God, encountered criticism and made difficult leadership decisions.

Nehemiah, a rather ordinary person in a servant position, became a transformational leader by praying to God for discernment of His holy will. He then followed God’s calling to rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a regular guy who caught a divine glimpse of what could and should be done. He provided a vision to those he led, attended to their needs, encouraged them to honor God in their efforts. Then, he went after it with all his heart. He was able to witness the completion of his vision, and the walls were restored in a mere fifty-two days.  His story is not that much different than ours.

Read Nehemiah again this month as we consider the next hundred years of seeking to do what God asks of us at 539 N. Lake Avenue!

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

Coronavirus has been a challenging season for all of us. To preserve my sanity during this extended pandemic, I adopted a daily habit. I started keeping a list—an actual, physical, pen-and-paper list—of the things that were actively giving me life in this least lively season.

The idea comes from author Barbara Brown Taylor. In her memoir, Leaving Church , Taylor tells about a time she was invited to speak, and her host assigned her this topic: “Tell us what is saving your life right now.” Most of us know what’s killing us, and can articulate it, if asked. Some of us are overwhelmed with hurry and worry; some of us face crushing struggles; some feel utterly paralyzed.

But few of us stop to note what’s giving us life. Taylor says it’s too good a question to not revisit every once in a while: what are the things—big or small—that are saving us?
 
Saving my life right now: Making new connections and nurturing old ones to deeper intimacy–in person rather than or at least not *just* online.
 
I can’t wait to hear what’s on your list.
 
 
What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world.

Barbara Brown Taylor An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith


Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

How to pray?! A dear friend let me know his mother has been found unresponsive and would not survive the day. Another young friend who is only 40 confirmed that she has breast cancer and is headed for double mastectomy surgery soon. Covid has taken the life of two adults in an extended family doing missions work in south Asia. Gratefully, when we no longer know how to pray, the Spirit, in groans too deep for words, prays through us.

Saint Paul wrote those words in Romans and they contain both a stunning revelation and a wonderful consolation, namely, there is deep prayer happening inside us beyond our conscious awareness and independent of our deliberate efforts. The Spirit is our partner in prayer, groaning to God about all things that feel too challenging for our mere words.

When we don't know what prayer to offer or what to pray for, these inexpressible groanings are a tremendous and compassionate solace.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

“Go and find Jesus when your patience and strength give out and you feel alone and helpless. He is waiting for you. 
Say to him, ‘Jesus, you know exactly what is going on. You are all I have, and you know all. Come to my help.’ 
And then go and don’t worry about how you are going to manage. That you have told God about it is enough. He has a good memory.”
—Jeanne Jugan, “Sister Mary of the Cross,” (1792-1879)
 
Stories from the lives of saints and other ordinary people of faith always challenge me in my faith. Do you know Sister Mary of the Cross? She was known for her service to the elderly poorest of the poor in France. She grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father, a fisherman, was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for the young Jeanne and her siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day. 
 
Jugan worked as a shepherdess while still very young and learned to knit and spin wool She could barely read and write. She took a job as a kitchen maid to a devout Viscountess, which led to her accompanying her to care for the sick and the poor. This began a life of service and ultimately her founding a religious order of women, the Little Sisters of the Poor. She continued this mission for four decades, particularly establishing homes for abandoned elderly women. 
 
Recently, Steve asked in his sermon, “Who are you yoked to?” and “What is your call?” Sister Mary of the Cross lived a life yoked to her God who continued to reveal how she could use her gifts to serve him and serve others. What a life! What a simple and exemplary prayer of deep faith and trust in a God who is listening. Be encouraged—this is the God we all love and serve.
 
Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

"Broken things are worthless in the world, but broken things God cannot resist." – George MacDonald 

Hold this concept up to the light and, like a kaleidoscope, turn it round and 
round. The colors and shapes of the fragments will fascinate you. 

Broken, the word, can be used from a place of grief, as in 'my heart is broken.' Or it can be used to express gospel humility, as in 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.' (Psalm 51:16-18) 

It can describe failure in our lives: 'my marriage is broken,' or freedom from prison or slavery:  'This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.' ( Isaiah 58:6) 

Broken can also describe the physical damage of an object -- your son's favorite toy or the handle on your junk drawer. Turn the lens again and we see broken used in one of the Bible's most compelling narratives of surrender and worship, 'While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.' ( Mark 14:2-4) 

But amidst our great brokenness there is hope. Great hope. 

Turn the lens again, adjust the light, and you see, 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.'
( Psalm 51:17) 

And, in this light, all the fragments and all the colors of the kaleidoscope draw our eyes to our Savior — the God-man who was broken for us. 'The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me.' After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: 'This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me.'
( 1 Corinthians 11:23) 

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation