May 15, 2026
Dear Church,
As I’m sure you’ve been experiencing, generative artificial intelligence (AI), or large-language models, are proliferating more with each passing moment. Tech companies are integrating them into their products, data centers are steamrolling residents' access to power and water, and many people are turning to generative AI to do things faster.
While there is a place for automation, and non-generative AI, (especially for accessibility support), many of the systems that are being created and pushed out are having harmful effects – providing false information, inducing hallucinations, pulling from data sets and online material that is blatantly racist, plagiarizing authors and artists, and harming the environment and residents who live nearby hyperscale data centers.
Because of all of that, and because we hold a deep commitment to church as a space to human together, Pastor Sarah and I felt it was important to communicate that we don’t use AI for any of our writing – whether that’s sermons, prayers, liturgy, Friday email messages, or emails. We have deep theological concerns about pastors who turn to AI to write their sermons because, from our perspective, sermons are meant to be written for a particular context, in a particular time. They are a living word that’s shaped, every time, by Spirit, community, and preacher. We take this part of our calling very seriously, and want you to know that the words we share come from us, not from AI.
We also strive to avoid any AI-generated images in our print and online materials, although it is increasingly challenging to identify, especially in integrated software like Canva. We value the work of artists, and musicians, and writers. This is a thoughtful article and comment section (as of this writing) on the non-profit sector and AI, which has parallels to religious communities, if you'd like to read further on this topic.
It is so beautiful when we are human together, and have grace for that humanity – not demanding an impossible or automated standard of perfection, and not demanding an unrealistic productivity output. We’ve talked about limits as a community – knowing that none of us can do everything, and that discernment is as much about what we say no to, as what we say yes to – and so I’d invite you into similar reflection about generative AI use. And know that when you receive communications from Grace, it’s your pastors and staff who are putting thought and care into these words.
In Christ,
Pastor Reed
Every Friday, we send an email to the congregation and any others who would like to learn more about the Grace community. The last four Friday emails are posted below.