Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church

WELCOME ...Looking for a church that respects your mind and stirs your heart? Join us at Shepherd of the Hill this Sunday at 9:30 AM. Pastor Gordon Stewart brings the sermon; Momoh Freeman brings the music. A guest commentary by Pastor Gordon Stewart aired July 2 on Minnesota Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Click here for the audio or go to MPR Commentary page for the text. 145 Engler Boulevard, Chaska Minnesota 55318 A Presbyterian Church in Chaska, Minnesota Welcome to Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska, the only Presbyterian Church in Chaska - home of Shepherd of the Hill Dialogues - where we celebrate God's unconditional love for everyone in the name of Christ. Looking for worship with a thoughtful, powerful word from the pulpit and music to lifts your heart? We are blessed by the nationally recognized preaching of Pastor Gordon Stewart, whose sermons appear in two sermon collections published by Harper & Row. The Shepherd Pulpit page will give you a taste of twhat you'll get every Sunday. Each Sunday we anticipate the music of jazz-gospel-classical pianist Momoh Freeman whose soulful renditions of familiar hymns like "Precious Lord", "Be Thou My Vision" and "Amazing Grace" combine classical, gospel and jazz in ways that bring tears to our eyes and take our breath away. Looking for something better than diatribes? Over the last two years, we've become known as the church in Chaska that hosts the Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES (see the Dialogues page). Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES gathers the larger public to examine critical public issues like interfaith relations among Christians, Jews and Muslims; global warming; the connection between religion, terrorism and peace; building a deeper sense of community; and the huge transitions we face at this moment of our history. This more dialogical way of life also means expanding the discussion of important subject in public media. Pastor Gordon Stewart is heard across the Upper Midwest on the airwaves of Minnesota Public Radio's "All Things Considered" (KNOW 91.1 FM). The MPR Commentary page carries some of the commentaries, including the latest commentary on President Obama's Cairo speech to the Muslim world. Click here to listen to an MPR commentary. Written commentaries appear in the Chaska Herald and on MinnPost.com. Click here to read the Chaska Herald "Perspectives" piece, "Going Out of Our Mind," calling for a seismic shift in our understanding of God and our place in the universe; or here to read The Chaska Herald interview about Shepherd of the Hill's Martin Luther King Day Celebration; or here to read "Empathy and the Bench" on MinnPost, an online newspaper source published by former editors of the StarTribune. The Leadership and MPR Commentary, Etc. pages provide additional commentaries. Looking for a welcoming church in Chaska or Carver County? Friendlness and thoughtfulness are characteristic of what we do. We're small enough that you won't get lost and your voice will make a difference. You'll experience an engaging worship experience anchored in God's unconditional love for the world expressed in solid Presbyterian worship and preaching freed up by the free spirit of jazz-gospel musician and choir director Momoh Freeman. Looking for a more meaningful way of being in the world? The inaugural speaker for Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES, the late Japanese theologian Kosuke Koyama, spoke of God as a Three Mile an Hour God whose space is measured in light years yet walks with us in Jesus Christ at the speed of a patient walker. We aspire to be a patient and peaceful Three Mile an Hour God church. On our front lawn you'll see a huge rocking chair we call Jacob's Rocker, named after Jacob Miller, an Amish craftsman in Pastor Gordon Stewart's MPR commentary following the school shooting in Pennsylvania. Jacob's Rocker signifies the more natural, peaceful, and humble way of life represented by an Amish front porch rocker. The only Presbyterian Church in Chaska, you'll find us one block west of the Chaska Community Center on Engler Boulevard. Look for Jacob's Rocker on the lawn. Sunday, July 5 WORSHIP 9:30 AM Pastor Gordon Stewart preaching on "The Followers of Jesus on July 5, 2009". Jazz-gospel pianist Momoh Freeman leads the music. Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska adds a diffferent color to the religious landscape of Carver County - not better, just a bit different. You'll always be welcome. Worship at Shepherd of the Hill seeks to combine the best of structure and spontaneity. At Shepherd of the Hill tradition and contemporaneity are not antonymns; they are the necessary partners in the life of faith. Worship is anchored in scripture, interpreted by preaching that is thoughtfully prepared, delivered extemporaneously, and highly relevant to our lives in the complex worls of the 21st century. Those who visit Shepherd of the Hill have remarked that it is comforting and challenging, thoughtful and joyful, solid and fluid. Many have remarked that after visiting other chruches, it was the first church where anyone took time to say hello! Come by this Sunday at 9:30 AM. We're one block west of the Chaska Community Center. Click here for a map. 145 Engler Blvd. in Chaska, MN 55318 Phone: (952) 448-3882 Feeding the Soul - Challenging the Mind Our core mission is "sharing the message of God's unconditional love for everyone." Recently we've added the description "Feeding the Soul - Challenging the Mind" to flesh out what that means. It means solid, thoughtful worship with a challenging word from the pulpit. It means Christian education for all ages and Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES programs that offer thoughtful reflection on the collective mind and prevailing patterns of living. We created Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES as a public forum - a kind of Chaska town hall forum - to examine the unconscious assumptions hidden in our thinking, the way Socrates did in ancient Athens. The Christian life, as we understand it, means a continuous reformation, an ongoing openness to truth and goodness whatever their sources. The Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES program reflects the same thoughtful spirit as the Sunday sermons and educational offerings. For us an "ideal church" can be described by the sign that hangs over the lunch counter at the Ideal Diner in Minneapolis: "Where regular people feel special and special people feel regular." Everyone has a place at the table of God's love. Everything we do aspires to be like that, symbolized by Jacob's Rocker on our front lawn: a slower paced, friendlier, caring and more peaceful way of living. Jacob's Rocker symbolizes that. So does the open food shelf just inside the front door that invites you to take what you need, no questions asked. But we don't wait for people to come to us. We go to where the needs are. The Mission page will tell you more. For Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES' 2009 Spring Series on TRANSITIONS, go to the Dialogues page. On four consecutive Tuesday evenings - April 21, April 28, May 5, and May 12 - Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES looked at four shifts: from private greed to public accountability; from newspaper to blogosphere; from a brown to a green job economy;and from mono-cultural military solutions to multicultural diplomacy in Afghanistan. Former Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Foreign Minister and head of Afghanistan's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, joined this series with a focus on "A Secure, Sustainable Peace in Afghanistan: From Militarism to Diplomacy," making the case for rural agricultural development as the solution in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dr. Lakanwal is Executive Director of the MuliCultural Development Center in Bloomington, MN. The right column on this page introduces the new Shepherd of the Hill DiIALOGUES series coming to Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska in September. Planning is underway for the 2009 Fall Series of Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES in partnership with the Beacon Council of School District 112 and others interested in Dialogues' purpose of examining critical public issues locally and globally. "Talking with the Other," the overarching theme of the new DIALOGUES series will at "the other" - both the human other and divine Other. Beginning in September, Shepherd of the Hill DiIALOGUES will feature dialogues with social theorists, historians, and representatives of Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian faiths on our relationship with those who are different from ourselves. At Shepherd of the Hill we believe that God is the ultimate Other who calls us to engage people who are other than ourselves with openness and respect. Practicing that belief is not simple or easy. Often the differences are profound; sometimes the claims of truth put whole cultures and nations at odds. Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church's Momoh Freeman provides a half-hour piano concert before each Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES event. Pastor Gordon Stewart serves as Moderator of DIALOGUES. All events are offered to the general public free of charge. We seek to create a new kind of town hall meeting or public square where people of conscience get to speak their mind on the common life. We invite you to join the search for a better way to live together as the diverse children of God, the Holy Other and the Source of diversity and unity. The Dialogues page provides an overview of the history of the program since its inception in 2006. Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska - Home of Shepherd of the Hill DIALOGUES and Jacob's Rocker - celebrates God's unconditional love for everyone, feeding the soul - challenging the mind with worship, education, outreach, and community gatherings that re-create the public square and promote the common good in the name of Christ. An MPR commentary by Pastor Gordon Stewart frequently airs on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)'s "All Things Considered." Music by Momoh Freeman and Linda Livers. We're the only Presbyterian Church in Chaska and Carver County...a bit different - not better, just a little different.