Missio Dei Community

06/01/2024

Tomorrow morning our faith family (Missio Dei Community) is gonna pivot slightly and go join in on this service in Santa Cruz to be present in solidarity and to learn from others. I'll be there and I'd love to invite you to join me if you're interested. Lemme know and I'll look for you there. Thanks for sharing the event, Paula.

A little side note of learning, many but not all know the reason for Pride month being June goes back to the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. Maybe lesser known and also interesting to me, San Francisco had its own sort of Stonewall three and a half years prior at a NYE Drag Ball in 1965. I'll put a link to an article below to learn more.

An interesting note on the San Francisco event is it was organized by the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, or the CRH, “the first ecumenical organization to bring the problem of antigay discrimination to the attention of the liberal Protestant churches." For me personally as a minister who came from non-affirming traditions, I appreciate learning some of the history of people of faith who were on the forefront of advocating for inclusion and dignity early on.
Happy pride month to all my LGBTQ+ friends and allies, wherever you all find yourselves on your spiritual journey. Look forward to learning and reflecting more tomorrow and hope you'll join me.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/30/california-hall-ball-police-raid-lgbt-rights-activist-history-san-francisco

11/11/2023

Join us tomorrow, 1-3pm at Center for Spiritual living in Santa Cruz. Missio Dei Community will be joining our Tent of Abraham, Sarah, & Hagar siblings to listen to local Jewish and Palestinian Muslim faith leaders and to talk and hold space for the ways our community and each of us have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East. It will be a time for listening and learning. Leadership is taking great care in creating a welcoming and safe space. There will be security present which I recognize will be comforting to some and potentially triggering to others, so now you know.

I hope you’ll consider joining us in this challenging and important work. DM us if you have any questions or concerns.
Grace and peace, friends.

10/29/2023

Come on over to the Marchessault Pad anytime between 4-8pm if you wanna join us for some Pumpkin Carving goodness. Weather looks good so bring something warm and we'll be in the backyard carving, and eating pumpkin shaped pizza, sandwiches, and salad. If you wanna bring a pumpkin dessert or side or a drink to share, feel free, but no pressure at all. Look forward to seeing people soon.

06/18/2023

Please go vote for Bryon now!! Today is the last day to do so: bit.ly/3WTClU9

Bryon and Cheryl are part of our faith family and we’re stoked to see him being recognized for his good work in the community. We’re proud to see him make the top five for this recognition. Even if doesn’t win it…but, you know, let’s help him win it! 😉

NBA recognizes Santa Cruz kids basketball coach

03/13/2023

Yesterday Rachel made a trip to the fairgrounds with $650 worth of supplies from Missio Dei Community for those displaced by the flooding. Thanks for those who give financially making it possible to bless those in needs. Please know that your contributions are helping folks and we’re grateful knowing many of you are giving to other great organizations helping, directly to individuals, and volunteering time. And we got over there before they stopped taking donations because they were inundated by generous neighbors.

We continue to hold space in prayer for all those affected across our county and will continue to look for ways to tangibly help, as well. Stay safe everyone and look out for one another. Grace and peace.

12/28/2022

Luke 2:15-21 "In the midst of a difficult life, 'Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart' (Luke 2:19). One of these treasures was the hope that her womb had brought forth for the world to return to again and again—and to pass on, like a ripple, one person at a time."

— from the artist statement for "Ponder" by Hannah Garrity |

12/25/2022

John 1:1-14
"In this block carving, each of the days of Creation is referenced through simplified patterning in each of the colors of the rainbow. It is through Christ that all things came into being, and it is through him that we experience the abounding saturation of God, who chose to dwell among us."

— from the artist statement for "Through Him, All Things" by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman |

12/24/2022

Luke 2:1-20
"...as I return to Jesus’ birth story, my imagination leads me to wonder about how Mary experienced both grief and joy. Apart from Elizabeth, did she have support throughout her pregnancy? Was her own mother involved? Did she have generational trauma she needed to grieve? Did the stress of their travels to Bethlehem cause her labor to happen sooner than expected? As she labored, did a midwife come?
Was she afraid?"
"Each year, we tell this story because it is raw with joy, pain, and the complexities of being human. No matter how your story is unfolding, may you find that this sacred story holds space for you. For this is how God shows up—in a child who cries, in hands that hold, in human flesh, in life and in death."

— from the artist statement for "How God Shows Up" by Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity |

12/23/2022

Isaiah 35:1-10
"A kaleidoscope doesn’t expose your eye to anything that isn’t there. It takes what is in view, and with light and mirrors, creates a new, dynamic, luminous image."
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing” (Is. 35: 1-2)
"We need prophecies like this.Please don’t get me wrong; there are certainly seasons of disappointment,devastation,and grief in this life, but we need not make our homes there. We could choose to shy away from such optimism during particularly difficult times while getting endlessly lost and settled into apathy and despair. Or, we could choose a better way, and hold fast to the stories of the joy that is to come."

— from the artist statement for "Wilderness Blossom" by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman |

12/22/2022

Matthew 1:18-25
"What I find most interesting is that the angel doesn’t command Joseph; instead he simply says, 'Don’t be afraid.' He essentially says: 'Don’t be afraid of the social stigma. Don’t be afraid to become a parent through adoption. Don’t be afraid to experience a love greater than you have ever known. Don’t be afraid to make the courageous choice, the one that will not only change your life, but the lives of Mary and Jesus and so many generations who will come after you.'”

— from the artist statement for "The Courageous Choice" by Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity |