Summer Staff Interviews: Josie Ortega

Editor's note: Summer is a season of transition. Our staff and vestry are keenly aware that many within our church are navigating transition, especially those who are new to our community. So our staff want to try something new. Throughout the summer, our staff will make blog appearances, participating in a summer-y, get-to-know-you interview. Enjoy learning more about the folks who make Incarnation possible!

What's something that you enjoy doing in the summer, either growing up or these days? 

I enjoy walking out of the A/C into the humidity; I love lightning bugs and the sound of cicadas. My family recently returned from my great aunt’s lake house on Lake Chickamauga (East Tennessee/North Georgia), where we paddle-boarded and read stacks of backlogged funny papers.

What summer camp merit badge would you earn? (archery, woodworking, cross-stitching, basketball, make your own??)

At summer camp I was very into the competitive nature of earning personal badges and competing for my tribe. Sports-wise, volleyball was my specialty. I’m less athletically competitive now, but I could really get going with my niche merit badge list:

• Picking up treasures from the side of the road

• Rearranging furniture while my spouse is out of town

• Rearranging art on the walls

• Reading aloud

• Putting together an outfit that really fits the occasion

• Extreme coffee consumption

• Free-hand cutting out letters from construction paper

If someone forced you to lead Wild Wonder, what delight of creation would you share? 

I’d do something tree-centric for Wild Wonder. (If there was a merit badge for climbing trees, I’d go for that, for sure!) The kids who went to Wild Wonder Camp with Natural Leaders learned to identify sycamore trees and we talked about Zacchaeus climbing up to catch a glimpse of Jesus (NB: our North American sycamores are not the same kind as Zacchaeus’s!). Then there’s a challenge where each person chooses one particular tree to “get to know” as well as possible, then tries to identify it, blindfolded, among several options.

What's your go-to or best potluck contribution? 

To hit the easy button (and ensure that there’s fresh veg at the potluck!), the kids slice up cucumbers and top with lime juice and tajin seasoning. Another hit is Texas Caviar:

Texas Caviar

Red onion, chopped

Can of corn

Can of chopped tomatoes (or rotel)

Two cans black beans

Can of kidney beans

Can of navy beans or black eyed peas

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar (or balsamic or whatever you have)

1/2 cup sugar

Drain all cans; empty into big bowl with onion.  Mix olive oil, vinegar, and sugar. Pour over beans and mix. Serve with tortilla chips.

—OR—

The fancy mac & cheese:

What's your ideal Sunday or sabbath rest day? Is there anything the congregation should know about your work rhythms or availability? 

We have some beloved Sunday rituals that have morphed through the years. These days, pre-church breakfast often will be a baked good that Inez made ahead on Saturday. My husband/DJ puts on certain playlists on Sundays: a Wendell Kimbrough/Sandra McCracken vibe in the morning; Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Gospel channel at brunch; maybe, if we’re very fortunate, the Reverend Al Green for dinner. We guard the Sunday afternoon siesta pretty religiously (ha). Then, to finish the ideal sabbath, I’d like a nice late afternoon walk or puttering outside, then a convivial all-ages Sunday supper with friends, singing “Johnny Appleseed” as the dinner blessing.

In terms of work rhythms/availability: I’m part-time! (Additionally, I’ve homeschooled my kids for the most part since COVID, and I run an AirBnB . . . holler at me for the friends and familia discount if you have family members visiting town!) My church email days are normally Friday and Saturday. Increasingly for the past few years, during the summer and throughout the year, I’m taking more trips to Memphis to visit my parents. (My dad has Alzheimer’s.) I appreciate the church family’s support in helping things run along when I’m not there.

Favorite Bible verse? 

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart is good medicine.”

Summer reading or movie recommendation?

We LOLed at My Family and Other Animals and the other two books in the series of Gerald Durrell’s memoirs about his British family’s time on the Greek island of Corfu before World War II. Gerry grew up to be a famous naturalist; the books combine an appreciation for creation and boyhood freedom with the absurd entertainments of Gerry’s eccentric family members and Greek friends. (Not suitable for younger children probably.)