2023 Christmas Card (text only)

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! As you may know, I made the decision to leave Servant Partners (“SP”) and join a ministry called Revoice (more on that later). I thought this card would be the perfect place to summarize my time in SP, but to be honest, it’s been difficult to write. One question has been haunting me: Was my work in SP significant? Did my work matter? 

This year, I found myself trying to evaluate the effectiveness of my work leading interns. It was difficult for me to know the impact of the internship on their relationship with God and sense of call to those on the margins. Recently, I spent a day reflecting on my approximately 13 years in and around SP. I ended up writing 8 pages of bullet points, highlighting God’s work, and remembering stories I’d forgotten about.  

I was reminded of two truths that we learn in the gospel of Mark, chapter 4: 

  1. My job is to “sow the seed,” to speak the word of God (and live it out)
  2. I can’t control the growth of the seed – I can’t control how people respond to God 

This is both aggravating (because I want total control) and freeing (because the responsibility is not wholly mine). In the midst of my questions, I can acknowledge the unmistakable ways that God moved. I’m grateful for: 

  • God’s voice. I led many prayer times with interns and people in my Bible study, and we grew in listening to God’s voice. We consistently heard God speak.  
  • God’s redemption. I led trips for interns to learn from our sites in Manila and Managua. Each visit was such a rich experience, though not without its challenges (for example, during one trip I was paralyzed by my fear of failure). In those challenges, I experienced God redeeming moments of pain. 
  • God’s faithfulness to my church. During my term on the Leadership Team, I served as Treasurer, and our team worked together to hire an interim pastor and a consultant. There were multiple points when I felt disappointed, sad, and hopeless, but God was faithful and made a way for our congregation. 
  • God’s commitment to my growth. He has helped me grow as a pastor and teacher. Additionally, I’ve gotten better at conflict resolution and engaging in hard conversations with others.

I could go on and on. Reflecting on my years with SP helped me to recognize God’s tremendous work and not focus on my disappointments. I am so thankful for my time in SP. The ministry skills that I learned and the self-awareness that I gained prepared me to join Revoice. 

What is Revoice? Revoice exists to support and encourage Christians who are sexual minorities so they can flourish in historic Christian traditions. In Revoice, I’ll focus on the discipleship of and pastoral care for LGBTQ folks. I’m so excited for this next part of my journey. If you’d like to learn more, check out Revoice.org and visit my blog.   

Thank you for your friendship and support over the years! 

Love,

Janelle 

10/1/23 Transitioning Ministries

Hello hello! 

I have a significant personal update and career transition that I’d like to share about. 

Over the past 8 years, with Servant Partners in South LA, I mentored interns, led a Bible study at my church, led inner healing prayer for interns, served on the Leadership Team at my church, and more. It’s been a good journey – not easy, but good. Thank you for your emotional, spiritual, and financial support. 

Personally, 2020 was a turning point. After more than a decade of ignoring, denying, and running away from my same-sex attraction, I came to a place of acceptance about being bisexual. I started learning more about Side B* (*defined as LGBTQ Christians who believe in the traditional sexual ethic and definition of marriage as between a man and a woman) and got involved in the Side B community. It’s been such a rich experience! It’s difficult to summarize the countless, priceless gifts that Jesus has given me. I’m so grateful for my Side B friendships, a stronger and more robust theology, and the deep sense of peace that comes with embracing every part of myself. (I’m open to sharing more about my journey – if you’re curious, shoot me an email.) 

I received the gift of sabbatical the past year, and I used it to research the Side B ministries that are out there. I wanted to discern if God was inviting me to switch ministries. During the past year, I engaged with 6 ministries (focused on sexuality) and 5 churches (that were substantially engaged in the sexuality conversation).One of those ministries, Revoice, became near and dear to me. It’s an annual conference for Side B folks. I went for the first time in 2021. Revoice exists to support and encourage Christians who are sexual minorities so they can flourish in historic Christian traditions.

This year, I had the opportunity to lead prayer ministry at Revoice (see above photo). It was an incredible experience to lead a team of passionate ministers and see God move so personally and uniquely. After the conference, I felt something like: “THIS is what I want to do long term.”

Therefore, I’m sad to announce that I am leaving Servant Partners and excited to say that I am joining Revoice. My role is currently titled “Care Minister,” and I’ll be focused on the discipleship and pastoral care for LGBTQ people. Some things that I’ll be doing are: leading the Los Angeles chapter of Revoice (teaching, building community, providing pastoral care), leading an online Bible study, supporting a leadership development program for rising queer leaders, leading prayer ministry at the annual conference, and providing online pastoral “office hours” where people can come and receive prayer. I’ll also continue leading my Bible study at Church of the Redeemer.

My last day with Servant Partners is October 31, and I’ll start with Revoice on November 1.

I am fundraising for this new role with Revoice. Would you prayerfully consider giving a one-time or recurring gift?  

Here is the link for my Revoice donation page. Revoice uses a program called DonorView to process donations. At this moment, gifts can be made by credit card. (Unfortunately, it is not an option to give directly from your bank account.) If you are interested in giving via check, stocks, or Schwab, please email me, and I’ll help you set that up.

Again, thank you for your friendship and support over the years.

Love,
Janelle

(A photo of Revoice in June ’23)

6/3/23 Ministry Update

Hi Everyone,

I am now 8 months into my sabbatical, which means it’s now 2/3 over. In my last update, I reflected on some of the gifts of sabbatical: 1) the gift of availability, 2) the gift of spontaneity, and 3) the gift of friendship. I’ll share about a few more gifts in this update. 

Gift #4: The gift of spiritual direction 

I started meeting with a spiritual director in March. My spiritual director is helping me grow in intimacy with God and pay attention to God’s movement in my life. During our sessions, we usually start by reading and meditating on a short scripture. This scripture is random, chosen by my director, and I’m intrigued and surprised by what God brings up. During one session, we read this scripture: 

As we were talking, I realized that perhaps this verse applied to a conflict that I was trying to navigate. Perhaps there was reconciliation beyond my imagination. God has been working in my heart, helping me to pray for and hope for reconciliation. 

Gift #5: The gift of the Church 

I’ve had the opportunity and flexibility to visit churches and parachurch ministries, including: Reality SF, Evergreen (EBCLA), City Church (Long Beach), and New City (Downtown LA). It’s been such an encouragement to see how God is working in the Church, and I’ve been blessed by many new friendships. 

(One highlight was getting to meet and hangout with David Bennett. I really loved his book.) 

Gift #6: The gift of travel

My parents, two family friends, and I went on a bucket list trip to Portugal with a tour group, and it was wonderful. One of the most interesting things I learned about Portugal’s history is that because monks used egg whites to starch their clothes, they began using egg yolks in desserts to avoid wasting them. That’s how the pastel de nata (Portuguese egg tart) was invented at the Jerónimos Monastery. As someone who grew up eating dan tat (Chinese egg tarts), it was delightful to see the roots of one of my favorite snacks. 

(By the way, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There were countless, amazing pastries on every street.) 

(The Jerónimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site)

(A tour and tasting at Ferreira, a producer of port wines)

Again, join me in thanking God for these gifts and many others!  

2/5/23 Ministry Update

Hi Everyone, 

Four months have flown by, and my sabbatical is now 1/3 over! As I’ve been reflecting, there have been so many gifts from Jesus that I’ve received already, and I wanted to share about three of them. 

1) The gift of availability

Stepping back from formal ministry has allowed me to serve in different ways, often in ways that have felt organic. 

In December, when our pastor got sick, I offered to lead a Blue Christmas liturgy for our Sunday service. It was meaningful to lead a time of mourning for us, which included an artistic reflection time. We wrote our laments on pieces of cloth, ripped them, and then tied them to this wreath. I love leading reflective activities like this.

In another instance, it was the morning of a dear friend’s memorial service. Someone who was scheduled to read part of the eulogy wasn’t feeling well. I was honored to step into the role. 

Finally, I had the opportunity to travel to Iowa (for the first time), be on a panel, and share some of my story. It was one of those special moments where you’re giving and receiving at the same time. 

2) The gift of spontaneity

This gift is closely tied with the gift of availability, but I’m thinking of the ability to act immediately – having the time and energy to act immediately. 

I received a phone call that a close friend who has experienced ongoing mental health issues was in an emergency situation. I was available to drive over right away and be supportive. 

One day I was on a walk and ran into a friend from church. We started talking, and she shared about a difficult situation in her life. We prayed about the situation, and it was a sweet time. 

Lastly, I was dropping off an item at my friend Sarah’s house, and she invited me to stay for dinner. It was a joy to hangout and connect. It’s moments like these that make friendships feel more like family relationships, and I am so grateful for them. 

3) The gift of friendship

This gift also feels intertwined with the two previous gifts. I’ve had the space and time to nurture and deepen friendships. 

After my time in Iowa, I got to visit my friends Steph and Isa in Rockford, IL! They moved last summer, and it was wonderful to see their new home. We squeezed in a day trip to Chicago (my first time). 

I went on a prayer retreat with Laurie and Alex (Servant Partners colleagues) in Vail, CO. The scenery was gorgeous. We had some really meaningful prayer times. Personally, God brought up some deep grief that I wasn’t aware of. I’m so grateful for these friends, their love for God, and their love for me. 

Honestly, there are so many more stories I could share. God has been really good to me, through the joys and the sorrows. Join me in thanking God for His faithfulness and wonderful gifts. 

11/5/22 Ministry Update

Hi Friends,

I finished my 3 year term on my church’s Leadership Team, transitioned my responsibilities, and started my year-long sabbatical in October! It’s crazy to think I’ve been with Servant Partners for 7 years. Servant Partners is committed to the spiritual practice of sabbatical for “spiritual renewal, education, reflection upon our call, and creative projects outside of our regular job responsibilities.” 

Some things I’ll be doing during my sabbatical:

1) Spiritual Direction: meeting 1-on-1 with someone who is trained to help me become more aware of God’s movement in my life 

2) Discernment and reflection: discerning my current sense of call; the image I have is holding all the parts of my life with open hands (my role as Internship Staff, working for Servant Partners, living in South LA, my church) and offering it to God 

3) Exploring other ministries (part of discernment)  

4) Growing in hospitality: having people over for meals and growing in deeper friendship (this is an invitation, please contact me if you want to come over!) 

5) Fundraising: deepening relationships with those who are supporting me 

6) Learning: reading books and listening to podcasts 

7) Daily walks for exercise    

I welcome your prayers during this special time. 

As always, here are some snapshots from the past few months:

I kicked off my sabbatical with a trip to Austin (my first time visiting)! This community of friends has been really meaningful to me. 

After Austin, we drove to Dallas for a conference with amazing teaching and worship. I had the opportunity to participate by reading the liturgy one day.  

Three years ago, when I was discerning whether or not to join my church’s Leadership Team, I sensed God inviting me to lay down my life for the church. While my time on the LT wasn’t easy, and I certainly worked a lot, being on the team was an unexpected source of joy. I loved working with each iteration of the team, and I’m sad to be stepping down. The team functioned really well together, and it was a joy to see each person’s strengths come out. We respected each other, challenged each other in love, and disagreed well. 

We hosted 6 times last month 🙂 Sooooo many waffles.

9/2/22 Ministry Update

Hi Everyone,

God has been doing a difficult and challenging but good work in my church. Back in February, we hired a consultant to advise the Leadership Team on our efforts to address issues that have been raised within our church about abuse, leadership, and church culture. In August, our consultant facilitated two listening circles – space for church members to honestly share about the pain they’ve experienced the past five or so years. 

I was pretty nervous going into the first listening circle. What if the sharing time went poorly? God showed me that I had unrealistic expectations, that I expected the listening circle to solve all of our church’s problems and to “save” us. I was convicted and reminded that only Jesus could do that, only Jesus could bring healing to us. God invited me to surrender my fears, hopes, and dreams, and to release control over the outcome. 

51 church members attended the first listening circle, and 36 attended the second. I was so moved by the honesty and deep vulnerability of everyone who shared. It was a sacred space. I trust that the Lord will continue leading us forward. 

Other stuff I’ve been working on:

– Participating in and getting trained on leading the Community Transformation Certificate (CTC) (see above photo). 

– Helping process donations at SP’s office in Pomona 

– Prepping to hand off the church treasurer role, since I end my term on the Leadership Team this month 

As always, here are some fun pics:

(Lauren, Amy, and I went on a road trip to a few places, including Antelope Canyon and Bryce Canyon.)

(Weddings and babies!)

7/1/22 Ministry Update

Hi Friends,

It was a joy to visit the Servant Partners site in Philly! I spent the past two years working with our two Philly interns, Julia and Emilie (in the pic above). They finished their internship in June, and I attended their commissioning. Julia and Emilie took me on a walking tour of their neighborhood, and we kept running into people they knew. It was clear that they had invested so much time, energy, and love into their neighbors. 

I also loved spending time with my good friends and SP co-workers Dan & Denise and Ali & Ramiro. I’d heard so much about Philly from them over the years, so it was amazing to see it with my own eyes. I visited Reignite Philly (a welding training program) and Esperanza Health Center (a faith-based medical center located in the neighborhood). It was very encouraging to see how God has been working in North Philly, and I am thinking about what aspects of the work might carry over to South LA. 

Then, I got to do some sightseeing in both Philly and NYC:

(We ate at Laser Wolf in Philly, a fantastic Israeli restaurant. Highly recommended.) 

(Me, Keo, Tabor, Ali, and Denise – we had a girls weekend in NYC! It was wonderful to have some extended time together.)

Lastly, I wanted to share that my sabbatical is coming up! It will start on October 1st. Servant Partners offers a sabbatical after 6 years of work – in my case, it’s now been 7 years with SP (I delayed my sabbatical to finish my term with my church’s Leadership Team). I’ll share more details about this in my next newsletter. 

Blessings to you this summer!