This post was originally published in November of 2016. Today I re-post it in honor of Pablo who died unexpectedly this week. Many will remember him for his jovial, mischievous spirit and for the ways he looked out for others. He volunteered many hours working to make this a safer, more beautiful Rosedale neighborhood. At Rainbow we always knew when our parking lot lights weren’t working thanks to Pablo. May he rest in peace.

The first time I wandered over to the Rainbow Community Garden across the street from the church, I heard someone yelling, “Get out of there! That’s private property.” It was Pablo, our ever-present, ever-watchful neighbor of the church. I did my best to give him a friendly wave and smile, and then introduced myself as the new Rainbow pastor. He got this unbelieving, embarrassed look on his face, put his head down, and uttered something along…