by The Rev. J.C. Austin | Aug 20, 2023
In November 2001, I traveled with my brother in Chile. I was a pastor in New York City at the time, and the cumulative weight of responding to the September 11 attacks was weighing heavily on our pastoral staff, so we each swapped out a week’s vacation to recover. I...
by The Rev. J.C. Austin | Aug 18, 2023
A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN: EXPANDING OUR LEADERSHIP As most of you know, one of the great blessings we have had as a congregation is the service of Cindy Simmons and Steve Simmons as “Parish Associates.” In the Presbyterian Church (USA), ordained Ministers...
by The Rev. J.C. Austin | Jul 30, 2023
When I was traveling in Turkey many years ago, I had the opportunity to attend the annual Turkish wrestling festival near Edirne, which is a smallish, non-descript town several hours west of Istanbul (near the border with Macedonia, Greece, and Bulgaria), with nothing...
by The Rev. J.C. Austin | Jun 30, 2023
A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN: REFLECTING ON OUR REFLECTIVE TIME At this point, we are about one month into our Summer Worship schedule and format. It seems like a good time to invite you to send in any thoughts you have on both what you appreciate about it and...
by The Rev. J.C. Austin | Jun 25, 2023
“I don’t need ANYBODY’S forgiveness.” I was standing in the narthex of the church in New York City where I was serving as an associate pastor, when I heard a voice say that. The pastors were all greeting people exiting through different doors at the end of the...
