 Rainbow over the Prince of Peace worship Sanctuary Photo by Anne Hess As a people of compassion, Prince of Peace hosts a lecture on the history and complexity of Middle East relations and US involvement.
Saratoga, California - January 17, 2024 - For Immediate Release Prince of Peace in Saratoga is excited to announce that Dr. Farid Senzai, professor of political science and international relations at Santa Clara University, will be lecturing at the church on the topic of the conflict in the Middle East, its history and complexity, and how the US has been involved over the years. Join us in our main church building located at 12770 Saratoga Ave on February 4th beginning at 4:00pm. Please RSVP in advance at propeace.org/quicklinks. About Dr. Farid Senzai Dr. Farid Senzai is a professor of political science and international relations at Santa Clara University, where he teaches courses on U.S. foreign policy and Middle East politics. Dr. Senzai is also the founder and president of Afghan Relief, a humanitarian organization dedicated to helping the most vulnerable in Afghanistan. Prior to starting Afghan Relief, Dr. Senzai was the founder and president of the Center for Global Policy (CGP), a think tank in Washington, DC, that focuses on U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Dr. Senzai was previously a co-founder and the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), where he conducted extensive research projects on Muslims in America. Prior to that, he was a research associate at the Brookings Institution and a research analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is on the board of advisers at The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and a former board member at the Central Asia Institute. Dr. Senzai received his Master of Arts in international affairs from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in politics and international relations from Oxford University. About Prince of Peace Lutheran Church: Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, located in Saratoga, California, is a vibrant community committed to fostering peace, love, and understanding by creating connections to God, each other and our neighbors. Prince of Peace is proud to be a Reconciling in Christ congregation, publicly affirming our commitment to be a welcoming community of faith for LGBTQ+ people and their families. Through Christian worship services, community service, and a dedication to inclusivity, the congregation strives to create a welcoming space for all to experience the immeasurable gift of God’s unconditional grace for all of us.
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 In the face of such incredibly sad news of yet another shooting inspired by racist screeds and politicalized hate in our country, I offer a few words and stories about the heart of who Jesus was. Remember the story of the Canannite woman (not named because the Bible’s historical context is such that women were not as valued or important) who asked Jesus to heal her daughter? It is the story of a desperate Mom who would go to any lengths to save her daughter, easily found in Matthew 15:21-28. She is hollering after the disciples, relentless and determined to get to speak to Jesus. Finally, the disciples acquiesce, and when she is allowed to approach Jesus, a Jewish man, he dismisses her with a “why should I take the bread from the children and give it to the dogs?” And she replies, “even the dogs deserve the crumbs from the table.”
Jesus is rude and dismissive, telling an outsider and foreigner that she is not worthy. But notice, that through the woman’s persistence, cleverness, and wit Jesus changes his mind. Yes, Jesus, fully divine and fully human changes his mind. It is the unnamed woman that is the spokesperson for Creator God in this story. It is not that she is better than Jesus, but in this story, God uses his beloved daughter to open Jesus’ eyes and heart to the scope of who Jesus was called to serve. Not just his own kin, but the whole world. After this story, Jesus is deliberately more open and inclusive. After the persistence of this mama-bear, Jesus never again uses “Othering Language” in the gospel of Matthew. (As we know, of course, Jesus teachings are very often misused in a divisive manner). I find this story inspiring and incredibly meaningful. That my savior, God’s son, over the course of his ministry on earth was able to be taught and changed by the folks around him. I need a Savior who is both incredibly wise and incredibly understanding. I need a Savior who was a product of his cultural context and also incredibly open-minded. I need a Savior a little less-than-perfect so that I give myself more grace. And I need a Savior like Jesus in times like these so that I can have hope for this country I live in. As we wrestle with the sheer amount of hatred, racism, and othering that is happening in our country, it can be so easy to lose hope. When we read of the brainwashing and influence that social media has on so many of the white supremacy, replacement theory, anti-trans, anti-gay conversations that are happening, it makes me angry. But in order for the shootings to stop, for the hatred and racism to decrease, loving and kind people like us need two things; one--an ability to articulate the opposite, and two--a belief that people’s hate-soaked minds can be changed. Jesus gives me this hope, in a curious way, perhaps. And, honestly, you all give me this hope. I think we are called to use our goodness, our voice and our platforms (no matter how small they are) to speak the alternative. To instead speak of a God who calls us to be “repairers of the breech (Isaiah 58), and a Jesus who through his teaching and living showed us that there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—or any of the other silly boxes we like to put on one another in (Galatians 3:28). We are all one, and we need one another. And here another really special nuance—we are one and we are united—but that doesn’t mean that we have to be the same. In the same way that God reveled in the diversity of Creation and called it all good in the book of Genesis…I believe that our cultural uniqueness, the ways we celebrate holidays, the food, dress, faiths, etc, are what make life vibrant and fun. So we yearn for unity--and we celebrate the diversity around us too. I hope that throughout this Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Heritage month that you have taken the time to learn with and engage with a culture and identity different than your own that is among this vast part of our world. Read a book by an AAPI author, follow an AAPI Instagram account, or perhaps just pause and greet an AAPI neighbor and spend time getting to know them instead of rushing off to work or lawn duty. Jesus said to the Cannanite woman, “Great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” The faith Jesus is referencing is her wild and unrelenting determination that she was worthy of help and love. It was a reminder for Jesus. It is a reminder for each of us too. YOU are worthy of God’s love…THEY are worthy of God’s love. WE are worthy of God’s love. Let us please, for the sake of a world that needs it, persevere in sharing that message. -Rev. Sara P.  With all of the nasty rhetoric going around in our country regarding our LGBTQIA siblings (don't say gay, anti trans legislation,Twitter wars etc), I have been pondering to myself, what does a Christian look or sound like? What does a gay or transgendered person look like? As a cis-het woman, raised in a time and part of the country where transgender was not a common conversation, I have found deep meaning and profound wisdom in learning from friends and colleagues who identify as transgender and gay. My first conversation with an openly gay person was in 2003 when I was working in Alaska on a small cruise ship, I’ll call him Sam. We worked closely together, long hours in a very public-facing role. As a result of our friendship, and thanks to the graciousness of his heart, I was able to learn his story. He shared about the difficulty it was to be a gay man in a time where it was certainly not accepted. He spoke about the struggle that it was to come out to his family. And because of that relationship and his open-ness I began to see those around me differently. I had grown up in a family and high school culture that freely threw the word gay around derogatorily. I was raised in a culture where weakness was not celebrated and tears were ridiculed; in short I was raised in such a way that gender was binary and male was clearly superior. This meant, too that anybody who dared toe the line of presenting as anything other than what you were supposed to be was made fun of. Ostracized. And being a gay boy meant you were…well I don’t need to finish writing that ugly stereotype. In reflecting on the culture of how I was raised, I am simultaneously embarrassed and understanding. I am not sure most of the people around me knew better, and neither did I.
But thanks so much to my friend in Alaska, and for his willingness to share who he was and the wounds he had experienced for merely being who he was---a gay man. In so many ways, my friend was like Jesus in the story we will be reading on Sunday—the story of Thomas who needed to see Jesus’ wounds. I know, I know, that’s not the shortest way to describe the story—but I don’t want to use the ‘d” word. Because, to me, Thomas is a hero of the gospel of John. He is a hero because he understood, perhaps more clearly than any of the other disciples about who Jesus was and who he would always be. Jesus was a vulnerable man, and a vulnerable God. He was crucified for being a pacifist, anti-power, anti-“the way things have always been” kind of leader. And when challenged and pushed he refused to fight back. Jesus chose the path of vulnerability and relatbibilty to us humans. And he did that by bearing his wounds and carrying those as proof of his selfless love for all of us. So when I hear terrible slander coming out about our marginalized friends and siblings, I want to scream in anger, I want to weep with sadness over all of the people who will be told they are unlovable, unworthy and/or unacceptable because of how they are born. And I also remember my friend Sam and the young woman I was, ignorant and naïve. Sam was so gracious to me, and because of his willingness to share openly with me, my heart could be changed. Like Jesus, we are called to love all of God’s Beloved children and to tend to the wounds of those around us and learn from them. We are encouraged by the very character of Jesus to walk the path of open-hearted vulnerability. This can look like a lot of things---many of which this church is already doing—feeding the vulnerably hungry, caring for the unhoused, proudly proclaiming the goodness and personhood of our trans siblings, pasting rainbow flags everywhere as a show of welcome and openness, believing people when they tell their stories, and (for some of us) daring to wade into the fray and engage in heart-changing conversations with someone who is ignorant and stuck in the close-minded ways they were raised. And it can also look like being vulnerable enough to speak out against hate. Even when it seems easier to just roll your eyes and move on. It is clear to me that hateful voices in our world have no shame. The question our faith begs of us is, what are we going to do about it? What are we called to be about as proclaimers of the Good News of the Resurrected and wounded Lord? To answer my initial question at the beginning of this article—what does a Christian look like---simply, someone who compassionately interacts with the world, standing up against hate and marginalization without violence but certainly with all forcefulness of love. We all have wounds, but at the very least we are called to not perpetuate those wounds onto others. May Jesus, the one who showed us the way to new life, keep us compassionate and strong, gentle and bold. Amen. Ptr. Sara Storytelling is an almost ubiquitous reality in human culture. No matter the medium-- whether on screens, books, or human conversation--people love a gripping story. And with the vast availability of stories to engage with, how often do you return to familiar yarns? Do you have a beloved book or movie you read/watch regularly? Perhaps every time your wider family gets together, a certain story gets shared...and embellished a bit.
This Sunday during worship, our youngest church goers will share with us the story of Jesus' birth. It's one most of us have heard numerous times. No matter how many times we hear or watch the story of Jesus' birth, we can mine new lessons about who God is and where God is with us in our lives. During the sermon time post-Christmas play, we are going to spend time ruminating on the story. We're going to ponder anew what the carols, words, and actions of the characters mean for us in 2021. I hope the joy and hard work of our kids will inspire a new understanding of Jesus in your heart. Because, spoiler alert, God is always making things new, even old old stories Happy New [church] Year, dear PoP community!
As we head into the season of Advent, the time before Christmas, we enter into a time of hopeful waiting. What does hopeful waiting look like? In our reading for the first Sunday of Advent (Luke 21:25-36), Jesus tells us that there will be signs in the heavens of Jesus’ return. As Pastor Nate eluded to in his sermon on November 21st, Christ’s return is a day of joy and excitement NOT fear or worry. While we (as Christians throughout time) have been waiting for Christ’s return, we also recognize as people of faith that Jesus is coming and is always coming…Jesus Christ enters into the world every Christmas but is also entering into our lives every time we participate in the bringing about of God’s kin-dom. What that can look like is working for peace and justice in the world, helping others have access to the resources they need, being people of love and forgiveness, and being peacemakers. In short…a lot of what we do helps usher in God’s kin-dom! And during this season of Advent 2021 we are going to focus our attention on Generosity. How will this work? Each Sunday of the Advent Season (beginning November 28th and ending on December 19th) we will be featuring a different organization and charity to support. The schedule is as follows:
When you come to church on the 28th, there will be a large display in the lobby of the sanctuary. Each of the 4 weeks of worship will include information on how to give and support these causes. In addition to this, there will be opportunities to spend your time in service to others. It is our hope as your church leadership that this season can be filled with a new vision for our world---one in which we generously care for those in need while also waiting with hope for the Christ who is to come. Certainly, as the season unfolds we trust that our God who can always do more than we imagine will work great things through us. See you Sunday as we “Hang the Greens” and spend time in worship reminding our eyes what to look for in the Christmas decorations and symbols of the year. |
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