Peter Perry

Last year in June 2025, St John’s adopted a vision: “God’s grace guides St. John’s to grow as a Christ-centered, inclusive, and active community.” We laid out five goals: growing a culture of Spirit-filled hospitality and inclusion, strengthening a culture of caring, equipping all generations to live out their faith, partnering with community organizations, and empowering leaders. How are we doing? After one year, what progress have we made? Look for a more complete report coming from...

I don’t know about you, but this summer feels like living through a haboob of chaotic events. They all sound so serious—which are really the most important to focus on? I feel powerless to do much about any of them. Do you need me to detail what I mean: war between the US and Iran; Israel and Lebanon and Gaza; Russia and Ukraine; Sudan civil war; South Sudan; earthquakes in Columbia, Indonesia, and Japan; AI and data centers; extreme weather events and predictions of a strong El Niño; lack of...

We don’t usually eat out, but had more reason in July with family meals related to our daughter’s wedding. I was surprised to see how full restaurants were! Eating out is so expensive! Yet, so many people are still eating out. If people really were financially hurting, I would think that they’d change their behavior. What does it take to change? You may have heard the saying “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change” (attributed to Tony Robbins)....