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Join us for our Christmas cantata this Sunday at 10 a.m. Singing by our choir, music by our band, and a meaningful message written and directed by our very own Jerri Johnson as performed by members of our congregation! It is our gift to all of you!

When your pastor predicts the future - or gets the sermon completely wrong! 😂

What great energy surrounds our church! We celebrated new members joining us, our youth and the start of a new Sunday School season, and our new organ emeritus, Paul Berry!

We are a welcoming church. Today we welcomed six adults as new members and baptized five children. Let the light continue to shine on all of us!

Our church loves children!

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. We lit the candle of peace. Next Sunday please join us for our cantata, written by a member of the congregation with a meaningful message acted out by members of the congregation. Did we mention that both the choir and the worship band are also featured? Next Sunday at 10am.

Our angel tree is looking good. Thanks to all those who took an angel to buy a gift for a family in need!

Did you see us at the Burnsville Fire Muster parade? Our church LOVES music!

The 2017 Summer Salon was a wonderful musical event. There was a variety of music and artists, and the talent was spectacular. If you missed it, enjoy the photos below and make a note that it will come around again next summer at Presbyterian Church of the Apostles. We LOVE music here!

Today we celebrated in the blessing of the animals at our church. This SATURDAY is the Summer Salon at 7 p.m. As always at the Presbyterian Church of the Apostles, ALL are welcome!!

How was your fireworks yesterday? Me? Best ever. It’s something, isn’t it? How much the human creature puts into fireworks? They just seem to get bigger and more elaborate each year. For years I’ve had the sneaking suspicion that Creation has been smirking at us. You know, enjoying our little attempts at “fireworks.” She’s been patient, I’ll have to give her that. She’s given us some time in our vain attempts at “fireworks.” And then, last night happened. At about exactly the time that fireworks displays were happening around the Cities, one of the most spectacular Thunderstorms I have ever witnessed exploded. To the west and then moving northeast of the Cities. Just the right distance: not too close to inundate us, but close enough for us to take in every bolt. Much of the lightening was cloud to cloud. But, unlike anything I can remember (and I grew up in Florida!), the lightening was phantasmagorical!!!!!! It formed circles, and curlycues…..railroad tracks and amazing root systems of oak trees. It was almost constant, a seemingly inexhaustible source of awe and power. And, I believe, that written into the streaks and trails was my translation of Psalm 29: "Give to God, you towering cumulous, glory and power! The God of glory thunders! The voice of God majestic! The voice of God strikes with flashes of lightening!" If only we could cease with our vanity! As if we know how to make fireworks! As if we can just treat Creation as a commodity! If only we could orient ourselves to this power. To this Creation. If only the bolts would infuse us with humility. Would awe-strike us. And lead us to subordinate ourselves to the physical laws and Holy Grace of the Creation and the Creator. May it be so.

What the robin knows What is this bird singing about? At 4:37 AM….. What does she herald? The weary person inside of me wants to make it a warning. But, I listen closer. This is no dread or damning sound. I listen. No, this is an elegy. Some word of praise. Trilled out to me. “Courage! This new day brings with it so much that is possible! Sing with me!” So I sang, and woke my wife up: I sing the mighty power of God, You make Your glories known. And clouds arise, and tempest blow by order from Thy throne. While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care. And everywhere that we can be Thou, God, art present there. Thank you dear Robin.

This Sunday we are celebrating our graduates. Join us for worship at 10:00!

Save the Date: The 6th annual Summer Salon Benefit Concert will be Saturday, August 19th at 7pm. The Dolce Wind Quintet will once again be the heart of this chamber music concert. Many more musicians will be donating their time in support of our music and worship programs at PCA. You won’t want to miss this wonderful PCA community event.

Hi PCA friends. This Sunday is Memorial Day weekend. Emerging from my work with two passages from Isaiah, I want to share a deep learning given to me from my father, a WWII veteran, and a life long follower of Jesus. The name of the sermon is "What I Learned From My Dad About War". Also, there will be a time in the service to call out the names of loved one, family and friends, who you would like to remember on this day. People who died in wars, or served in wars who are now dead, or are currently serving in harms way. See you Sunday. Gwin

SPECIAL INVITATION FROM EARTH ANGELS AND GWIN Hi Friends, There is an event that I would like to invite you to, and our Earth Angels agree! I have mentioned to some of you the “Arts and Nature Camp” that my wife created, and directed along with Erin, my daughter, for 7 years in our last church. It is a profoundly beautiful experience that is designed to connect children to their own natural love of the Earth and her wonders, immersed in a culture of kindness to each other. A few years ago, a documentarian learned of the Camp, and went to work on a film about it. The premiere of it is this coming Thursday, May 18, at the Riverview Theatre in Minneapolis. And the Earth Angels and I would like to invite you to attend. There are great reasons to go!: PCA has long been a community that has worked and advocated for the Earth. It is another way to deepen community and enrich our connections to each other, and others who care for the Earth. Supporting work with children and the planet is another way to work for the healing of our Earth Mother. And…..OK…..you got me. IT IS A WAY TO SHOW OFF MY FAMILY TO MY CHURCH FAMILY!!!! So, I hope that some of you can attend. See below for all the details and more information. I will have a space where we can sit together! With thanks and love, Gwin All in the Circle Dear Friend, Imagine a world where children are fully supported, deeply connected, and alive to the beauty of the earth. This is the world we at Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light invite you to enter with us on May 18th 7:00-9:00 pm as we premiere All in the Circle: The Film at the Riverview Theater! Get Tickets Here: tinyurl.com/AllinTheCircleFilm To watch the trailer, go to allinthecircle.org This film is 2 years in the making and the end product is beyond our wildest dreams! The cinematography is beautiful and succeeds in drawing the viewer into a lived experience of the principles of our camp: children practicing a culture of kindness with self, other, and the natural world and developing an empathetic and imaginative connection with the natural world. Google City Pages for an article about it! All in the Circle Documentary Premiere & Benefit May 18th 7pm at the Riverview Theatre This will be an interactive night. The audience is invited to dance, sing, and experience the magic of All in the Circle. Enjoy an evening complete with: Green carpet for photos Big puppets West African drum and dance performance by Tiyumba Dance Story-telling by Dakota elder Bob Klanderud Performance of “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir” by campers The main event! The documentary itself! The film is full of rich interviews with children, youth, parents, volunteers, and directors, and interwoven with the audio and visual of the camp experience from the perspective of the camper. Informed by the wisdom, teachings and experience of educators, spiritual leaders, and developmental psychologists, children gain the skills and “know-how” to live peacefully with each other and the natural world. Camp nurtures the development of children, youth, and adults giving them the skills, competencies, and practice of bringing their gifts to make this world just, sustainable, and kind! This is the launch of a bigger campaign to make the experience of All in the Circle available to more communities. Help us spread the word! Check out our facebook page, All in the Circle: The Film website, We treasure your support and presence as we celebrate together, Erin Pratt, Program Director

Hi PCA Friends. Here is a follow-up to the fire drill story. I received an email from Chris Bellmont, the Principal at Gideon Pond. He writes: Thanks Gwin. We treasure PCA as partners. Your signs and the openness of your congregation to compassion and acceptance are an inspiration to everyone. Chris Openness, compassion, acceptance. PCA. Gwin

Hi Friends, Feeling proud of you just now. And I wanted to share with you. Next door to our church is the Gideon Pond Elementary School. Today they had their scheduled “fire drill.” The goal is that all 450 of the students will in orderly fashion march over to our church, and shelter inside. Chris, the Principal, had shared with me some time ago that 40% of his students are Muslim. And that, in a previous drill, some of the Somali children were so afraid upon approaching our church that they would not go in. When they saw the cross, they were terrified. Chris is a great leader and teacher, and he went to work on that. He shared with the children that our church was a safe place, where everyone was welcome. So, today they tried again. All 450 of the children marched out to E. 130th St., and down the sidewalk, right past our church sign. “All Are Welcome” the sign says. But, there was another sign that we had planted in front of our regular sign. It is bright red, and it says, “Love Your Neighbor*”. And, below that is the *, with these words: "Your black, brown, immigrant, disabled, religiously different, LGBTQ, Fully Human Neighbor." And, I parked myself near the entrance area as all the children left. And I was so moved by how many of the children, all the rainbow of children, looked at me, and smiled, and waved their hands. And I was so proud to be a Christian, so proud to be a part of the Presbyterian Church of the Apostles, so proud of you. Gwin

Hi friends, If you’re reading this on FB, I have an idea. We want to draw more folks to our page, correct?! Well, what if you told your friends that the pastor at PCA just posted some info on when he is an ATHEIST?! “Yeah, this crazy guy has publicly stated when his atheism kicks in!!! And, he’s a pastor!!” So, here’s the scoop: Here is a phrase that concludes a sentence about my belief: “, then I am an atheist.” Here is the FIRST part of the sentence, before the comma: “If by God, you mean the god who rescues me from trouble, prevents cancer if I pray, never lets bad things happen to good people, condemns people, excludes people of certain faiths, inspires vengeance and war, sends some people to hell……(coma), then I am an atheist.” Now, here is another sentence: “, then I fervently and passionately believe in God.” And here is the FIRST part of that sentence: “If by God, you mean the God who Einstein called the organizing principle or first cause, who lit the match that set off the Big Bang, who placed in the mother rat, the mother porpoise, the human mother the love of her offspring, whose presence has sustained my wife and me over the years as she battled two cancers by walking with us through each dark valley or hospital corridor, who became embodied in the womb of a homeless woman and lived his life on the edges of society with the outcast and calls me to do the same, who weeps with us when we suffer, who is witnessed to in each great faith by the call to compassion, especially for the poor…… a God who is utterly transcendent and unknowable (250 billion galaxies!!), and a God who is intimately immanent (Mary’s baby had a soft spot on the top of his head)…….(coma), then I fervently and passionately believe in God.” So!!! Invite your family and friends to the Presbyterian Church of the Apostles, a church where we explore our atheism, and our faith. Gwin, a searching pastor.