From the Pastor’s Desk

Dear Grace Community,

Lillian Daniel, a pastor and writer, tells a story about talking with a man finding a church:

He told her that he visited all twenty-one churches in his hometown but didn’t find one to be part of.

“What was so wrong with them? They don’t sound too bad to me. No church has it all. Couldn’t you even find one that you liked?”

“Oh, it wasn’t that,” he said. “I liked a lot about all of them. It’s just that they ...

Dear Grace Community,

Every month we advertise our bus ticket ministry, and it occurred to me that some of you may not know what happens in and through that ministry.  Our church, like many churches, receives regular requests for help with transportation. In the mid 2000’s it was decided to allocate some mission money every month to purchase bus tickets.  When someone called or came by the church asking for transportation help they would receive a packet of 10 tickets – ...

All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.

The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them every one.

Dear Grace Community,

The words from the hymn, “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” come to mind as I take note of the change of seasons. Yes, it still feels very much like summer with 90 degree days and the air conditioner ...

Dear Grace Community,

We had a wonderful adult Sunday School series in June.  Each week we heard about different aspects of being human.  Dr. Francie Ekengren talked with us about end-of-life ethics.  She shared about the Transportable Physician Orders for Patient Preferences or TPOPP.

The TPOPP is a tool to allow individuals to best express their end of life treatment goals and preferences. It’s something that is filled out with a physician. It is then recorded in a database that is available ...

Dear Grace Community,

At her birth, our daughter Alice joined one of the more exclusive groups at Grace. It’s a group that includes Brian Whepley, Laurie Mulford, Will Snook, and me, to name a few. We’re all PK’s, Preacher’s Kids. At my latest count, there are around 11 of us in the congregation.

Being a PK is interesting. There are only a few other jobs that involve taking your child to work as much as this one does. I was fortunate to ...