Read Pastor Grant's Daily Journal

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In the meantime, here’s a recent week’s entries by Pastor Stephen Grant in his journal. Enjoy…

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 24

Tonight, Jen and I settled in for a Sunday night movie, and we chose “Murder on the Orient Express” – the new one directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played Poirot. One word: Brilliant.

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 25

June 25^th is quite the date in history for Lutherans. On this day in 1530, Emperor Charles V heard the Augsburg Confession from German princes. And fifty years later on the same date, the first edition of the “Book of Concord” was published.

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 26

Matins is a wonderful service, especially on weekday mornings. I know plenty of my brother pastors who give up on doing Matins because few people show up. I get it. It can be frustrating. But I try to focus on both parishioners who show up every week on Tuesday and/or Thursday morning, and those who find their way to St. Mary’s on a weekday morning on only rare occasions. In those two cases, as well as in the cases of others, Matins matters.

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 27

Can a Christian truly be a pessimist? That was the discussion that Tom, Ron, Zack and I engaged in over breakfast, after devotions, at the diner. Zack was still affected by his journey to Walt Disney World, so he was as far from pessimism as one could get. But seriously, given that Jesus never promised a rose garden in this earthly life, the act of being a pessimist – that is, subscribing to a lack of hope or confidence in the future – is impossible, in the end, for a faithful Christian. After all, we know the Good News and what that means ultimately.

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 28

Tonight is our monthly “God and Guinness” gathering at Buckley’s Pub. Zack and I decided to take the conversation we had over breakfast yesterday, and present it to the group. Should be an interesting discussion on whether or not a Christian can be a true pessimist.

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 29

The “God and Guinness” chat last night over whether or not a Christian could truly be a pessimist turned out to be quite interesting and, at least for some, illuminating. There was a fair amount of “light bulb” moments in that several people admitted not to having thought much about the topic, and found some solace and perspective. A night well spent.

Pastor Stephen Grant Journal, June 30

With July 4 arriving on Wednesday, Scott, Pam and Zack have decided that the St. Mary’s Saturday night outdoor movies this week and next will be patriotic. Tonight it will be “Apollo 13” and next week “Miracle.” I love both movies.