Grace and Glory Pastor's Page
Pastor's Message November, 2009
Recently I saw a movie on the big screen called "The Last Song."
It tells the story of a young woman named Ronnie, wrestling with her own demons as a daughter of divorce. As she spends the summer with her estranged father at his beach house, she quickly connects with another troubled young woman named Blaze.
At one point this young red-head, jealous over her boyfriend having made a pass at Ronnie, nonchalantly drops an item in her purse at a neighborhood boutique, setting her up for shoplifting charges.
Some time later, on her way to buy a dress for a wedding to which she has been invited, Ronnie sees Blaze embroiled in conflict with her scoundrel-boyfriend. Apparently she had failed to pay her portion of the rent. Lying in the dusty gravel in the middle of a dirt parking lot, dejected and distressed, Ronnie carefully places the wad of cash she had been given to shop for a dress in the dirt in front of Blaze, the very girl who had intended her harm.
It was grace. Pure, simple, undeserved kindness.
Surely you and I have encountered it too. Either on the giving or the receiving end, we know when it happens that it is a moment infused with God's energy. It is the moment that unfolds completely differently than we anticipated-when what could be expected is suddenly substituted by what is completely improbable.
In a world that is filled with pain and problems, these moments of grace fall like gentle rain upon parched earth. I hope that you relish those moments of undeserved kindness in your life when they come out of nowhere and surprise you. And may you follow the nudging of the Spirit to gently place the grace-filled gift of forgiveness in the hands of those who are hurting and hungering for the presence of unconditional love in their lives. Perhaps, like Ronnie, we find our own way in this world as we find the strength and compassion to exchange evil for goodness.
Pastor Ken Albright
Pastor Ken Albright - Biography
Pastor Ken Albright is an ordained pastor with 15 years of experience, serving congregations in Knoxville, TN and Atlanta, GA before accepting the call in 2006 to be the first, full-time called pastor of Grace and Glory.
He also serves on the board of Fluvanna Habitat for Humanity, as chair of the church relations committee.
He married Charlotte in 1991, who is employed in Human Resources at the University of Virginia. They have two daughters, Julia, and Meredith, and share their home with their gregarious animals, a Labrador mix and a grey tabby cat.
Pastor enjoys Biblical storytelling, getting youth and adults involved in mission trips, and helping people discover their God-given gifts and delight in using them. He believes in the power of re-creation, and practices it in the forms of tennis, kayaking, hiking, and biking.