Send us a text

Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

Texts: Proverbs 4:25-27 & Philippians 4:6-9

What happens when Scripture sits on the bench and your phone takes the stand? We put social media and AI through a playful mock trial, using Philippians 4 and Proverbs 4 as the judge and jury, and followed the evidence toward a surprising, practical middle way. Instead of a simple guilty or not guilty, we asked sharper questions: Does technology pull our gaze off the path or help us walk it with others? Does it feed panic or deepen prayer? Does it form people of peace or keep us on edge?

We share stories from both sides of the aisle. On one side, the all-too-familiar cycle of doomscrolling, outrage, and comparison that scatters attention and crowds out silence. On the other, real wins: livestream worship that welcomes homebound neighbors, prayer chains that mobilize care, clergy across the country organizing on Zoom to support immigrant and refugee communities in fear. The tool isn’t the villain or the hero; the heart of the matter is attention—our most precious, finite resource. Where we aim it shapes who we become.

You’ll hear simple, repeatable practices to reclaim focus: adding friction with a “brick” that locks news and social apps after 9 p.m., batching updates, removing home-screen temptations, and using a daily digital examen to notice what feeds the soul and what frays it. We end with Mary Oliver’s three-line compass—pay attention, be astonished, tell about it—and a charge to let technology serve love, not steal it. If you’re longing for less noise and more peace, for tools that help you serve your neighbor without mastering you, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful path forward.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more thoughtful conversations, and leave a review with one practice that helps you guard your gaze.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

What happens when you put social media and AI on trial using Scripture as the judge? We invite you into a creative, candid journey through anxiety, attention, and the spiritual disciplines that help us live with peace in a noisy world. Grounded in Philippians 4 and Proverbs 4, we explore how prayer, gratitude, and a straight path can coexist with modern tools—if we choose them intentionally.

We share real stories from our community: livestreams that connect the homebound, online prayer chains that carry people through crisis, and digital organizing that gathers clergy across the country to support vulnerable neighbors. Then we face the hard parts—doomscrolling, outrage cycles, and the subtle ways our phones train our eyes away from the person right in front of us. The verdict is nuanced and practical: technology can be a faithful servant but makes a terrible master.

You’ll hear a simple practice that changes everything: a “brick” that locks news and social apps at night, requiring a deliberate step to unlock. It’s not withdrawal; it’s choosing when to engage so attention can rest, curiosity can breathe, and prayer can take root. We name attention as the scarce currency we all share equally, the resource that shapes our empathy and our discipleship. And we close with Mary Oliver’s three-part rule of life—pay attention, be astonished, tell about it—offering a weekly rhythm you can try today.

If you’re craving calmer mornings, clearer focus, and a kinder relationship with your phone, this conversation offers both encouragement and tools. Listen, reflect, and then join us: subscribe, share with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with one practice that helps you keep your eyes on what is true.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

A winter storm closed our doors, but not our hearts. We met from living rooms and kitchen tables, lit by lamps and laptop screens, to breathe, pray, and remember what steadies us when the world feels heavy. Guided by Mary Oliver’s poetry and the strength of Psalm 27, we explored how attention can become a kind of prayer—and how wonder can reshape the way we move through news, social media, and the long gray of cold days.

We began with “The Summer Day,” letting that final question—what will you do with your one wild and precious life—land in real time. From there, “Wild Geese” loosened the grip of striving and shame, reminding us that belonging does not hinge on perfection. “When Death Comes” turned our faces toward urgency and tenderness, asking us to be married to amazement rather than merely visiting this world. Along the way, we named gratitude for first responders, utility crews, shelter teams, and neighbors who keep one another warm and fed. Psalm 27 anchored us: fear is loud, but the Holy shelters, lifts, and teaches us to sing.

We prayed by name for those facing illness, grief, and job loss, making intercession a counter to doomscrolling. Oliver’s “I Worried” helped us set down anxiety and take our old bodies into the morning to sing. And we closed with a charge many of you know by heart: do justice now, love kindness now, walk humbly now. If you need a pocket of quiet courage, this is a warm cup for the cold. Press play, breathe with us, and consider one small way you might answer that wild and precious question today.

If this time grounded you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a steady word, and leave a review so others can find their way here.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org