reflections on lighthouse weekend.

this past weekend was amazing. our whole service was dedicated to teaching about how important it is to love those who are poor and in need. kenton shared some really cool insights from his study. one of the most impactful ones for me was that Jesus comes to us every day cleverly disguised as the poor and needy. we choose how to respond to jesus by how we respond to those in need. another powerful insight was gained in kentons office… not in the service. we create distance with the poor because that is safer for us. we do not want to acknowledge that we could be them, and franly we do not want to be faced with the need. when we do what jesus commands we collapse that distance and come face to face with poverty and we have no choice but to be compassionate.

Laurie also spoke about how we can respond. she was confident and poised. she shared from her heart and she motivated our church to action. In her message she shared this cool blessing.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort…
at easy answers, half –truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with Anger…
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with Tears…
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness…
To believe that you can make a difference in their world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

the weekend wrapped up at sunday night service. what an amazing experience that was! zimmerman had prepared this community for two weeks that the challenge was going to be 100% participation, and that if you were not going to be all in… to stay home. and they did not. the came in droves. in fact attendance was up over previous weeks. and when the call went out people responded. they took food boxes, promised to bring blankets, signed up for events and gave generously. being able to see the response was really cool.

this was my last lighthouse weekend to be involved with. by the time the next weekend rolls around I will be in a new role at mariners, and I will participate as a staff member, but not as a part of the core team. this dedicated staff works hard to move the congregation to be more like jesus, and it was a priviledge to be part of that.

the times are changing.

i’ve got a new role in ministry here at mariners church… and I could not be more pumped!! here is the email that was sent out to the staff here…

Staff,
For the past several months, Blair Farley has been working with Jack and several others to assess our implementation of Fellowship One and how we as a church we could be using it better. Throughout the course of this evaluation, it has become clear that Blair has many gifts and talents that are not being used in his current position as the Outreach Communications Director. With his unique knowledge of and experience with both Fellowship One and ministry, we’ve realized that he is a perfect fit for our IT Director position. While Outreach is very sad to lose him, we recognize what a valuable contribution he will make for our church in his new role. Blair will begin transitioning November 1 on a part-time basis, with a complete transition by December 1.

Please join us in congratulating Blair!

Robin Riley
Outreach Pastor

Jack Swan
Executive Pastor of Operations

so i am going to be on a new ministry adventure here at mariners… more to come on what kinds of things later. for now I am finishing strong in outreach and helping to transition my role… busy couple of months ahead!

recent discovery.

Powered By SmugWPthis week I had the opportunity to visit several mixed use development sites in the la area as preparation for planning commission. i grabbed my camera on this particular trip and thought I would capture some imagery for further consideration. I did find a few neat features of the structures, that I did photograph (link to album), but you want to know the coolest thing I saw the whole day? that’s right… angela lansbury’s star on the walk of fame. guess what i did to celebrate. right again. i watched “murder she wrote” had some peaches and went to bed early.