Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church

<BODY topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" bottommargin="0" rightmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="false" frameborder="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <font size=+2 color="#ff0000">You must be using a frame capable browser to view this template.</font> ...Looking for a way beyond religious intolerance? Shepherd of the Hill Dialogues presents documentary film "Beyond Our Differences" Tuesday, February 16. See announcement below. Shepherd of the Hill is now on Facebook. Read "Hammer-Strokes Against the Darkness," an MPR commentary, or "Am I My Brother's Keeper? 145 Engler Boulevard, Chaska Minnesota 55318 MAP A Presbyterian Church in Chaska, Minnesota Welcome to Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska ("SOTH Church"), host of Shepherd of the Hill Dialogues: examining critical public issues locally and globally. SOTH Church is the only Presbyterian Church in Chaska, or, for that matter, in all of Carver County, Minnesota. We celebrate God's unconditional love for everyone in the name of Christ and welcome you to the web site. Looking for a welcoming church in Chaska or Carver County? A recent first-time visitor said SOTH Church was "the friendliest church, in fact, the friendliest group of any kind he had ever exprienced." You'll be greeted not only with warmth but with respect that doesn't intrude on your privacy. We're small enough that you won't get lost. Your voice can make a difference. Looking for a thoughtful church that lifts your heart and challenges your mind? SOTH Church is blessed by the nationally recognized preaching of Pastor Gordon Stewart whose sermons appear in two sermon collections published by Harper-Collins. The Sermons page gives you a taste of what you'll hear in worship every Sunday. And then there's Momoh Freeman Shepherd of the Hill's Liberian-born jazz-gospel-classical pianist 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. Momoh Freeman's improvizations bring a signature style to worship at SOTH Church. It's the unique signature of Momoh Freeman. Looking for something better than diatribes? Over the last three years we've become known as the church in Chaska that hosts the Shepherd of the Hill Dialogues (see the Dialogues page). SOTH Dialogues gather the wider public to examine critical public issues globally and locally. SOTH Dialogues tackle such things as interfaith relations among Christians, Jews and Muslims; climate changeand sustainability; the connection between religion, terrorism and peacemaking; 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 subjects by means of public media. The voice of SOTH Church Pastor Gordon Stewart reaches the Upper Midwest over the airwaves of Minnesota Public Radio's "All Things Considered" (KNOW 91.1FM). The MPR Commentary page (menu bar) carries some of the commentaries. Others are published by The Chaska Herald, MPRNewQ, and MinnPost, an online news source founded by former StarTribune editors. Read the Chaska Herald piece "Going Out of Our Mind" that calls for a seismic shift in our understanding of God and our place in the universe. Read The Chaska Herald interview about Shepherd of the Hill's Martin Luther King Day Celebration. Looking for a more meaningful way of being in the world? On the church's front lawn you'll see a huge rocking chair we call Jacob's Rocker, named after Jacob Miller, an Amish craftsman featured in an MPR commentary by Pastor Gordon Stewart following the tragic Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania. The rocking chair signifies the more natural, peaceful, and humble way of being in the world to which SOTH Church aspires. SUNDAY WORSHIP Sunday, February 14 - 9:30 AM Sermon: "At the Foot of the Mountain" SOTH Church Pastor Gordon Stewart leads worship this Sunday. Listen here to an MPR commentary on "All Things Considered" following the death of Michael Jackson to get a sense of the integration of scripture and everyday life at SOTH Church. Momoh Freeman, Shepherd of the hill jazz-gospel-classical pianist, and the choir bring 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. Worship at SOTH Church seeks to combine the best of structure and spontaneity with worship anchored in sacred Scripture and interpreted by thoughtfully prepared sermons delivered extemporaneously. Worship is spiced by the uniquely joyful jazz-gospel-classical music of Momoh Freeman. After visiting a number of other churches, many worship visitors have shared that SOTH Church was the first church where anyone took time to say hello. A first time visitor remarked that Shepherd of the Hill was "the friendliest church, or friendliest organization, for that matter, we've ever experienced." We'd like to think that's true. We're one block west of the Chaska Community Center, directly south of Chaska Middle School West on Engler. Click here for a map. 145 Engler Blvd. in Chaska, MN 55318 Phone: (952) 448-3882 As the local expression of the Presbyterian Church in Chaska, we enjoy a rich tradition that holds the tension between the right of individual conscience (no one speaks for you), on the one hand, and the belief that the church must not remain silent on the great issues of our time. Feeding the Soul - Challenging the Mind Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska doesn't pretend to be the ideal church. For us, an "ideal church" is best described by the sign that hangs over the lunch counter at the Ideal Diner on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis: "Where regular people feel special and special people feel regular." Everyone has a place at the table. We also identify with the huge rocking chair on our front lawn. It invites passers-by to a friendlier, slower paced, more neighborly, and more peaceful way of living. When you walk in the front door of SOTH Church, the first thing you'll see is an open food shelf that invites you to take what you need. No questions are asked. No embarrassing forms to fill out. But we don't sit and wait for the needs to come to us, and our mission goes beyond charity. We go where the needs are in ways described on the Mission page. Our core mission is "sharing the message of God's unconditional love for everyone." At Shepherd of the Hill that means solid, thoughtful worship with a challenging word from the pulpit. It means local and international ministries of compassion and peacemaking. In March '06 we created Shepherd of the Hill Dialogues. SOTH Dialogues is a public 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. "examining critical public issues locally and globally" "Beyond Our Differences" Click here for Bill Moyers' Journal background on this award-winning film on the common threads that unit the world's great religions. Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Location: Blue Forum at Chaska High School Go to Dialogues on the menu bar for more information on "The 'Other & the Community of Belonging," an on-going series of SOTH Dialogues in partnership with the BEACON Council of District 112's Office of Community Education. Every SOTH Dialogues event is offered for the general public free of charge. </body>