On Saturday night (12/5) I went to bed with, I thought, the sermon completed for the morrow. At 4am (12/6) I awoke ‘suddenly’ and was moved to write an altogether different sermon. I enjoyed preaching and thinking about this sermon and I think ‘syncopation’ is one way to describe the Advent tensions, maybe the tensions… Continue reading
I cannot imagine being a member of a church that did not struggle with the abominable Paris murders. Last Sunday my Rector, Canon Anne Marie Richards, preached to the events; this week it was my turn. In all the thought about, preparation for, this sermon I think I was challenged to realize that the two… Continue reading
My joyful commitment to officiate at weddings/unions is as strong as ever and always is with a sense of privilege. I know, from personal reflection and the comments of others, that I am particularly gifted in pre-marital conversations. There is not only the task of preparing people for their wedding but also, when you think… Continue reading
In over thirty five years of pastoral, pre-marital counseling I have often been asked the question, “Well, what do you think, should we marry?” I understand the energy for the question; at such a decisive moment, full of implications for the future, we want to “get it right”. But, like most profound moments in our… Continue reading
Right in the middle, the center of most Bibles are the ‘Psalms of David’; I remember Dr. Billy Graham telling me, along with some 5,000 other people, that just place your finger in the middle of any Bible and… there you will find the Psalms. Interesting that at the core of the history of God… Continue reading
Read at the beginning of sermon in honor of Remembrance Sunday, Veteran’s Day They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. For the Fallen, Lawrence Binyon… Continue reading
“On Nov. 5, 2013, Esmé Weijun Wang came to the remarkable conclusion that she was dead. For almost two months, Wang suffered from Cotard’s syndrome, in which patients think they are dead or somehow nonexistent. Any attempts to point out evidence to the contrary — they are talking, walking around, using the bathroom — are… Continue reading
It must be accepted that the nursing of resentments is a futile and harmful business. Interesting that “nursing” is used as it suggests a kind embrace, a sensitive nourishment of the very thing that will gradually and surely erode our sense of serenity and well-being. It is ironic that the nursing of a resentment has… Continue reading
Here is profound wisdom for today. Working on our persona facade, our projected identity will never be sufficient for personal freedom and will always condemn us to struggle and the consumption of nervous energy – “a profound personality change.” And with this comes the powerful experience of being in control of all things because we… Continue reading
After more than thirty five years in parish ministry I moved, in July, to part-time ministry. From 24/7 consciousness of parish work to 20hrs/week and this is generally expressed in Sunday morning plus Monday & Tuesday. This, I know, is becoming a challenge for me as all those years of full-time parish ministry prod, urge… Continue reading