From the Pastor’s Desk

Dear Grace Community,

2017 marks 500 years since the Protestant Reformation. You’re invited to explore this anniversary and why it matters to our church during Sunday School in August. The Christian Discipleship team leads this class for all ages for four Sundays in the Great Room.

In some ways the Protestant Reformation was a perfect storm of events.  No one person set out to change the course of history for the Western world.  Martin Luther was a Catholic priest who only wanted ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk – July 2017

Dear Grace Community,

Before getting married at Grace, every couple is required to go through pre-marital counseling.  When I lead couples through this I always say at the start, “This isn’t counseling or an advice giving session.  It’s an opportunity to open up areas of conversation.”

There are some things couples haven’t thought about discussing, and other things they avoid discussing.  I name those things and invite them into conversation. Usually one person is more interested in the process than the other, ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk – May 2017

There is a group that meets twice a month to share ideas and to think creatively about worship.  For a couple of our meetings in April we read aloud from the book of Acts, through the first eight chapters. I shared with the group that I was considering preaching from Acts in June, on the Sundays following Pentecost (which is found in Acts 2), and this was a good way for us to explore the stories.

Reading it out loud together ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk: May 2017

On Palm Sunday, April 9, we received the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. On Pentecost, June 4, we receive the Pentecost Offering. These are two of the four special offerings we receive each year as part of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA). Our church leadership sees these offerings as an opportunity to be part of ministry that is much bigger than this congregation.

The PCUSA, of which Grace is a part, has over one million members. Being part of a ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk – April 2017

The church is a family, a community, a flock of sheep, etc. There are a lot of metaphors to describe the church.  Metaphors are helpful, and of course, all fall short. The metaphor I use the most in talking about church is that of the body.

The Apostle Paul introduces this idea in I Corinthians 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it ...

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