There was some real energy for titling this piece “2016 Did Not Totally Suck”. Then Carla pointed us to comments from Wendell Berry, made earlier this month ...

My dad and I drove down to High Point, North Carolina, a couple years ago. We were going to take a look at a pipe organ in a Methodist Church there. I wasn’t...

As GPPC embarks upon a new round of self-examination in terms of its future, I am reminded of an earlier time in its life of which I was very much a part.  I...

Some months ago I heard a contemporary praise song which had “We love you, Lord” as part of a refrain. It struck me then as shallow and too easy to say witho...

Since moving back to Richmond after almost 20 years away, I’ve been surprised at the frequent and visceral flashbacks to my childhood and youth. These episod...

Being part of GPPC is being connected. This means being connected to God, your church family, the community garden, world missions, the choir, the youth, the...

This past Sunday’s emphasis on Global Mission and Peacekeeping started a chain of reflections for Glenna Finnicum, and she offered us the following stories j...

Remember the beginning of the school year when you’d be asked to tell or write how you spent your summer? And everyone groaned. Why is that? Isn’t it fun and...

A grouchy church member complained to the pastor of another church, “I just don’t get anything out of our worship services so I quit going to worship.” “Tell...

I’m willing to take most anything as a sign from God. It’s just up to me to recognize it and then (the hard part) interpret it. This week, though, the recogn...

I’m a very happily married – 29 years – woman with six children.   My family is everything to me, and our lives circle around doing activities with and for t...

I am a recently retired Earth and Environmental Science high school teacher, having taught super young people at Hermitage HS on Parham Road for 19 years. Pr...

I have been reading poetry in the mornings – not something I commonly do in life. A collection of poetry and prose entitled While Still There is Light has be...

2001-ish, I sat in on a class for Unitarian inquirers – folks exploring the possibility of joining a local congregation. My being a liberal-leaning SNAG (sen...

When I was younger I used to believe that if I covered my eyes when I was scared I could keep myself safe. As long as I didn’t “see” the scene in the movie t...

Now it came to pass that as the time of vacation drew near, a certain member of the church bethought him of cool streams where fish were abundant, and his ch...

The phrase “come and sing about love” has become a mantra for the musical Godspell. Writer Steven Schwartz tells a story of how the show’s first director, Mi...

My dad was born a hundred years ago this May in Virginia’s rural Prince Edward County. The stories he told when I was a kid tended toward humorous character ...

PEOPLE!  Everywhere.  The streets were teeming with people, motorbikes, and cars.  People selling merchandise.  Bikes whizzing by in and out of snarled traff...