Our cultural practice of Halloween has an interesting history and can be traced back to "All Saints Day" and the Celtic spiritual practice of "samhain."  The change of seasons celebrated on October 31st by the Celts was called "The Thin Time."  It was the end of the summer harvest and preparation for winter.  It was a time of the mixture of the lighter half of the year and the darker half of the year, where the culture's attention was turned to what is known as "shadow work."

The "shadow" is the "unobserved self."  It is the opposite side of our strengths, a part of ourselves we deny or hide.  Jesus, quoting Isaiah, describes it as "listening but not understanding, seeing but not perceiving" (Mt 13:14).  The shadow is not evil, but it will allow us to do evil without recognizing it as evil.

The "ego" is the conscious self, the part of the self that wants to be significant, noticed, and important.  By nature the ego is very defended and self-protective.  The ego must eliminate the negative to succeed and is also known as the "inherent narcissism" in each of us.  Jesus'  term for the over-defended ego and denied shadow was "the plank in your own eye."

for the complete sermon, please continue . . .

Dear Friends,

This week I am preaching on "Too busy not to pray" which is really a sermon on "Too busy not to listen."  Below you will find a link to an article by Dr. Joe Colletti.  Joe works with the poor and homeless in the Los Angeles area.  We met in Pasadena during one of my doctor of ministry classes at Fuller, and was introduced to the spiritual art of lectio divina through Joe and Dr. Mark Lau Branson.

The article is the best article I have come across on how lectio divina can change your life.  I highly recommend putting this practice to work in your own spiritual journey.

Alongside One Another In Life's Journey,

Dan

lectio divina article

Welcome to the Grace Presbyterian Church website, and to my blog.  Below you will find our church covenant.  The covenant has taken us four years to complete.  Over the years we asked lots of questions and did a lot of listening.  We reflected a great deal on the nature of the church as revealed in the pages of scripture, and we worked hard on the generations in the church and the forces that shaped each generation.

I hope you find the Grace Presbyterian Church Covenant helpful in your own reflection of what it means to follow Christ in our culture, and what it means to be commited to a particular group of people called "the church."

Sincerely

Dan

                                                                      GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

                                                                       CONGREGATIONAL COVENANT

We are called to Grace Presbyterian Church at this time and place to receive and share in the reign of God initiated in Jesus as God's new covenant community of faith.

Caring:  Understanding the forces that shape each generation, we promise to love God and neighbor through building encouraging, caring relationships, inviting those in our community and around the world to share in the love of God in Christ and be a part of God's family, the Church.

Healing:  Knowing all we have is from God, we gratefully and generously dedicate our resources of time, talent, and treasure to God's glory through Grace Presbyterian Church, that Christ may be formed in us and that God might bless the world through us by extending Christ's ministry of healing and reconciliation into the world.

Connecting:  Following Christ as Lord and Savior, we promise to connect with God through weekly worship and scripture study, to connect with others regularly in small groups, to pray for one another, and practice open communication in love.

Acknowledging that as the Father has sent the Son and the Son has sent us into the world in the power of the Spirit, we commit ourselves to live as the called and sent people of God.  To God be the glory!