A MESSAGE FROM REV. J.C. AUSTIN: RESPONDING WITH FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE Last Sunday, we gathered for our most recent “hybrid” worship service, in which we not only combined worship styles as we do periodically (incorporating both traditional and contemporary worship elements into one service), but also combined in-person, outdoor...

A MESSAGE FROM REV. J.C. AUSTIN: A RESPONSE TO UNPRECEDENTED TIMES It has become a cliché to talk about how we are living through “unprecedented” times in 2020, but it is a cliché for the simple reason that it is true. There are partial precedents, of course, most notably the...

A MESSAGE FROM REV. J.C. AUSTIN: RESPONDING AS A CONGREGATION It has been said that any budget is a “moral document,” meaning that it articulates the moral priorities and values of those who created and administrate that budget. Jesus agreed with that idea when he taught that “where your treasure...

A MESSAGE FROM REV. J.C. AUSTIN: AN EXPERIMENTAL CHURCH For the last three years, we’ve identified as an “experimental church.” If you play out the metaphor of the scientific method there, you have a sense of how we approach ministry. In a scientific experiment, you start with a question, usually...

A MESSAGE FROM REV. J.C. AUSTIN: AN INDIVIDUAL MINISTRY One of the things I have heard the most from people over the last six months is their surprise about how effective digital versions of worship and education have been for our church. I don’t mean that we’re doing a version...