George Floyd. Listen to his name. Say his name aloud. Hear yourself saying his name. Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayGeorge Floyd. Listen. Listen to his name. Say his name aloud. Hear yourself saying his name. The spiritual practice I am working hardest on right now is listening. Specifically I’m listening to the pain expressed in the voices of black people. I am attempting to hold what I think I know about things as lightly […] Read More
Education for Life (Part 6) Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayFew areas of human thought have involved more questioning in the last three hundred years than the relationship between religion and science. It may have first appear when we learned in a science class that the world’s beginning was not a seven day affair as the first chapter of the bible seems to declare. For […] Read More
Education for Life (part 5) Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayMany of us find ourselves asking tough questions of God during these difficult times. Rethinking our faith need not undermine it. The process of examining one’s deepest convictions is not without turmoil and anxiety. The intellectual rearranging of your mind’s floor plan may be a constant reality as you ask deeper and deeper questions. Some […] Read More
The Word in Our Own Language! Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayFrom the beginning of Christianity, the faithful held a commitment that people should hear the story of God’s love for the world in the language that is closest to their heart. This was rooted in their deep understanding that God did not wait for us to learn God’s language; in Jesus God translated Godself into […] Read More
Learning for Life, faith asks questions (Part 2) Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayLast week we shared Jenna’s witness to the importance of continual questioning and learning. Men and women of faith embraced what Jenna discovered long before she was shown this possibility. Anselm of Canterbury, an archbishop, monk, and theologian of the eleventh century offered a definition of theology that is still important today: Faith seeking understanding. […] Read More
Arts Celebrated Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayWe continue exploring the Core Values we have identified at Grace. This week we look at the Arts celebrated. The original paragraph describing our commitment to the arts is: God the Creator made human beings in God’s own image and called us to creative work in the arts. We celebrate the profound beauty created by […] Read More
Restoring Creation Pastor Phil's Thoughts for the DayToday we look at the second of our Core Values at Grace, one upon which the future of the planet depends. The original summary of this value reads: Restoring Creation God who is Creator of all wishes us to care for the web of creation that sustains life. We trust the broad consensus of climate […] Read More