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Disconnection and Connection
After living for the last 20 years in Fresno, CA I thought it would be pretty rough to move to Pasadena and find people to connect with. But I was wrong.
I found myself enjoying the San Gabriel mountains immensely since I moved to Pasadena 6 weeks ago. On one hike I passed by a gal with her dog and we had a brief exchange. At the end of the hike we crossed paths again and lingered over a longer conversation… by the end *Oliviet and I had exchanged numbers- she was delighted I was new to the city and invited me to explore other hikes and coffee shops with her and her dog! If I was worried about meeting new friends, I shouldn’t have been because Pasadena has been filled with welcome from conversations with warm strangers!
As I met Jason at the airport and Brad at a backyard barbeque and tell them I’m the new Young Adults pastor at Lake Avenue Church, I totally expected to get brushed off! But there was an absolute interest in who I am and more importantly what spirituality looks and feels like!! Now is the perfect time to extend a meaningful personal connection to strangers and people who have been routinely in your life but are unaware of your faith! This means your friends, co-workers and most importantly your families. Connect with purpose, connect with God’s love and may we be bold to invite strangers to experience the best thing of all- Jesus!
Now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to facilitate meaningful connections with people whom we might not have interacted with previously. You probably aren’t in my situation of being brand new to the city, but right now there is an underlying shared experience of Covid-difficulties and desire for connection and resilience. As Christ-followers, we have the opportunity to connect with purpose- to show God’s love in action. To offer a kind word, a compliment, connected eye gaze to a woman who is homeless or a longer conversation with an elder at the grocery store. It could be an invitation to a youth-ministry event, camp, outreach activity or you could go on a hike and see what God does as you pay attention to His leading.
Beth Paz
Director of Young Adult Ministry
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