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If you’re reading this, I imagine you’re interested in joining a spiritual community. I
understand that can be both exciting and a bit scary. There is always the risk that the
community looks like on the outside and what it’s like once you join can be two different
realities.

Here’s the straight goods on St. Philip’s: it’s a group of ordinary but amazing people, people
who not only talk about faith but practice it, people who are willing to help others in the
community and join hands for the sake of helping people outside the church. We’re
ordinary, but when we join with each other, we’re amazing!

As a newcomer, I can attest that I’ve experienced a rich welcome to St. Philip! “But you’re
the priest,” I hear you say; yes that’s true, but this community is not clergy-centered, all are
welcomed because God loves everyone equally, and each person has unique gifts and
talents that enrich the community.

If you get to know the people and involve yourselves in some of our activities, you’ll find
that this community is built upon the conviction that a relationship with God is a deep and
fulfilling journey and that you can “join the journey” from wherever you happen to be.
What makes the journey so endlessly fascinating is that God isn’t something/Somebody we
can “figure out,” yet God has made the Divine Presence accessible to all of us regardless of
where we’re starting from or regardless of our past.

Here’s the thing: all along the way we need other people to journey with; this “human
thing” isn’t a solitary journey but a social reality. We might intuit that the spiritual journey
is towards “the beautiful, the true, and the good” but we can only make progress if we join
with other hearts who are bent on journeying there too.

I invite you to dialogue with St. Philip people, and with me, if you’d like to. God is
experienced through human faces and human actions and words. If you join us on the
journey, you will be welcomed and you will find a place. If your journey takes you on a
different path, we pray that you will find the grace and love that will light your way. We
hope you know that you’re always welcome here.

On the Journey,
Allen+
Rector