Rev. Philip Richards
Pastor

Phil has been Minister of Christ Church since the summer of 2005. He is a graduate of Boston University School of Theology. Before coming to Glens Falls he served as Minister at Niverville/Chatham Center, Shenendehowa and Newtonville United Methodist Churches. Phil's special interests include movies, sports, travel, and the music. Some of his favorite movies include: The Fight Club, Philadelphia, Batman, Ordinary People, Star Wars (all 6), Lord of the Rings and the list goes on. Music in my IPod includes: Death Cab for Cutie, Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, NIN, U2, Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, The Raconteurs, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed and many others. Phil has two children, Maia and Alaina.

His vision of ministry includes:

• Awakening others to the best/latest contemporary religious scholarship currently available, allowing that scholarship to shape worship, messages, prayers and hymns;
• Shaping services of celebration, especially the Sunday morning experience, which blend tradition with the contemporary, using inclusive language, story, conversation, images and new metaphors - all from a progressive/inclusive theological perspective;
• Inviting people to focus on a theology which advocates: (i) Creativity - 'God' as expressed within religious naturalism; (ii) the humanity of Jesus; and (iii) an ethical/social stance which values compassion and social justice;
• Encouraging all to push theological boundaries - to re-imagine, re-conceive and reconstruct, rather than just restate.

Email: pastorphils@gmail.com