Rev. Dr. Guillermo Márquez-Sterling

From Pastor Guillermo

I give and receive lots of hugs, but the hugs I remember were shared when I needed it the most. It was a hug that expressed what words could not and the tears easily followed.

In a few days, we will remember and celebrate a time when the saving love of God came to us in the form of a vulnerable child. We believe this was no accident. God chose to be born into a family who were poor and homeless; to a woman whose virginity was in question and thus made her a target; to a people who were persecuted and often despised; to a historic period full of strife, oppression and violence.

I imagine that Jesus could have chosen a different birthplace, a paradise where life is a perpetual vacation, where people mix coconut drinks, bask in the sun, swim in clear blue waters, eat Mahi Mahi and whose only worry is how to rub sunscreen on their backs. Maybe that has happened. Why not? Who knows if God needs a vacation every once in a while?

But this Christmas we remember the time when Jesus came into the world when it was at its ugliest and darkest. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, Jesus arrived into our lives when we needed God the most exactly because we needed God the most?

Are you at a time when you need God the most? I know far too many people who are. They’re watching their loved ones lay in a hospital room. They’re hiding who they are and who they love because they know it will make them a target. They’re in a messy relationship, trying to escape the daily reminder of violence. They have lost a loved one and their joy for life. They’re looking at the injustice so prevalent in our nation and world, doubting the existence of a just God. They have every physical pleasure in the world yet love and laughter escapes them.

This Christmas, Church of the Red Rocks is a beacon of light, reminding those who are vacationing with coconut drinks, and those who are living in ugly, dark times that the light of God is breaking through and will not be overcome by darkness.

This Christmas, come to Church of the Red Rocks on a silent night. Experience the love of God, when you just might need it the most, in the form of a song, a candle, a loving hug.

The words of Mordecai to Queen Esther ring true in the life and ministry of Guillermo Marquez-Sterling, leading him to the Church of the Red Rocks. “Who knows, but you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this,” citing Esther 4:14. It is as though all of Guillermo’s pilgrimage was leading relentlessly to Arizona’s Red Rock country and the Verde Valley.

Guillermo was born in Miami, Florida, to parents who fled Cuba when Fidel Castro took over the government there in 1959. His maternal family eventually started a small business and settled in Puerto Rico. His father pursued a career in higher education in the States.

Reflecting on his childhood, Guillermo noted that he grew up in a poor neighborhood, yet his mother wanted him and his brother to speak English without an accent, so she enrolled them in an English-speaking school. When his father became a Professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, he spent idyllic summer days there. He experienced the differences between the culture of the heartland of America and the island culture of Puerto Rico.

Paramount was his parents’ emphasis on education, which nurtured his love of literature. After graduating from Seminary, Guillermo’s first congregation was a new church plant serving Hispanic farm workers and their families, a time when he experienced cultural tensions and witnessed injustices. These experiences were preparation for ministry in a multicultural world during challenging and ever-changing times.

In his autobiography, he shared, “I am passionate about integrating our faith into our daily lives so that faith is not a rote tradition but a way of being; and about creativity as an instrument of the Holy Spirit to transform people’s lives and the community. I am passionate about extending God’s love to everyone and forming meaningful relationships. I am passionate about interpreting scripture so that it is relevant and meaningful to every member of our community and the Church. I am passionate about creating God’s peaceable kingdom by addressing the systemic injustices that keep people from living their lives with dignity, enjoying all the abundant blessings in our lives, and sharing them with those we love.” We are seeing Guillermo’s passions come to life!

Our congregation unanimously selected the Rev. Dr. Guillermo Márquez-Sterling following an extensive national search process of the United Church of Christ. Pastor Márquez-Sterling came from the Pass-A-Grille Community Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. Pastor Guillermo’s official installation as settled pastor of the Church of the Red Rocks is January 19th at 2:30 p.m. I encourage every member and friend to attend, and we will demonstrate our commitment to supporting his ministry as our pastor! Unable to attend, please send a congratulatory card.

Gary Wagner
Moderator, The Church of the Red Rocks

We are excited to welcome Rev. Dr. Guillermo Márquez-Sterling who will become the Senior Pastor at The Church of the Red Rocks on September 1, 2024. The Rev. Dr. Guillermo Marquez-Sterling, and his wife, Maria, will move to Sedona in late August from Pass-A-Grille Beach United Church of Christ, in Florida.