Presiding Bishop Curry’s opening remarks at Episcopal Church Executive Council meeting
The following are the October 20 opening remarks of Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry at the Episcopal Church Executive Council meeting held October 20-22 in New Brunswick, NJ. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Opening Remarks Executive Council October 20, 2016 Allow me to talk about the vision of the Jesus Movement on the practical churchwide […]
Communiqué of the Episcopal Church-Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Dialogue
The dialogue partners met at the Nicholas Center of Saint James Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago. The PCUSA representatives were Dennis Hughes (co-convenor), Christian Boyd, Anne Bond, Kamal Hassan, Gordon Zerkel and Robina Winbush (administrative staff). The Episcopal Church representatives were Bishop Eugene Sutton (co-convenor), Joe Pagano, Elizabeth Ring, Tim Mulder, Joanne O’Donnell and Margaret Rose […]
Today’s Readings and Collect…, Proper 16 (C) – 2016
Today’s readings and Collect can be seen as a unit teaching us about God’s power and how it works in us. The opening Collect (prayer) in the Episcopal Church says: “Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples…” This […]
There Once Was a Wise…, Proper 14 (C) – 2016
There once was a wise communications professor who had her students engage in an observation exercise. She handed out a picture of an elderly man sitting on some front steps. A young woman stood to his right, looking down toward him, and a child stood in front, facing both of them. The professor asked the […]
The Episcopal Church Grant Report: SewGreen@Rochester Encounters Success (Part 3)
This is the third in a series of posts about SewGreen@ Rochester (SGR), in the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, New York. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. SewGreen@ Rochester, recipient of a 2015 Domestic Poverty Grant, has submitted their annual report. The $30,000 grant, awarded last year, exists to engage Episcopalians in ministry […]
Bible Study: Proper 4 (C) – 2016
1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39 “When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.” 1 Kings 18:39 Elijah’s challenge to the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel is one of the most vivid and memorable stories in the Hebrew Scriptures. Two weeks […]
Bishops Accept "Statement of Clarification" about Marriage
The 78th General Convention approved two marriage liturgies for trial use, along with a revision of the marriage canon, allowing same-sex couples to be married in The Episcopal Church beginning on First Sunday of Advent 2015, when both resolutions take effect. Episcopal News Service and the House of Deputies News carried the story. The trial-use marriage services are to be used […]
Ambassador for Christ, Lent 4 (C) – 2016
The Prodigal Son is a story familiar to all of us and movingly depicted in art, drama and dance. We like stories like this; ones with happy endings where people come to their senses and are restored to the family. But that isn’t how it always happens, is it? We know of many estrangements between […]
Visit to Church of the Epiphany's Welcome Table
“Jerusalem, my happy home, when shall I come to thee? When shall my sorrows have an end? Thy joy when shall I see? Jerusalem, Jerusalem, God grant that I may see thine endless joy, and of the same partaker ever be!” Earlier in October, I took a trip to Washington, DC, as part of a […]
Bible Study: Advent 4 (C) – 2015
Micah 5:2-5a Micah was one of the famous 8th century BCE prophets in the Old Testament (alongside Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea). Micah was primarily concerned with preaching justice and calling people to action while proclaiming a message of hope. Readers may associate Micah with his most famous verse: “And what does the Lord require of you […]
Stir-up / Traditional Holiday Food
“Stir up,” from the Latin “excita,” reminds us of God’s power moving in the world, but the stirring up also connects Advent to preparing time-honored recipes for the season. In older versions of the Book of Common Prayer, the collect for the final Sunday before Advent asked God to “stir up thy power…and come,” and so that […]
Sermon at installation of the 27th Presiding Bishop
All Saints’ Day, November 1, 2015 A Sermon Preached by the Most Reverend Michael B. Curry The Installation of the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and Primate The Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, Washington, D.C. In the Name of our loving, liberating and life giving God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. It […]
Bible Study: Proper 25 (B) – 2015
Job 42:1-6, 10-17 If any biblical character endured suffering, it was undoubtedly Job. He lost crops, property, family members, and his health. Job must have had that uncertain feeling that any of us experience when we lose someone or something important to us. Why would God let this happen? Where is God in all of […]
Presiding Bishop's testimony to Senate on global warming
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7 Good Morning. Madam Chair, Senator Inhofe, my fellow panelists, it is my great honor and privilege to join you here this morning. I appreciate your kind introduction. I am the Most Reverend […]
A Letter to The Episcopal Church From the Presiding Bishop, President of the House of Deputies
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings have issued a letter calling on Episcopal congregations to participate in “Confession, Repentance, and Commitment to End Racism Sunday” on September 6.
Bishops Accept “Statement of Clarification” about Marriage
The 78th General Convention approved two marriage liturgies for trial use, along with a revision of the marriage canon, allowing same-sex couples to be married in The Episcopal Church beginning on First Sunday of Advent 2015, when both resolutions take effect.
Bible Study: Easter 6 (B) – 2015
Acts 10:44-48 Our 1979 Book of Common Prayer includes all kinds of changes to the liturgy for baptism, but the most significant one doesn’t have to do with the language in our prayers. Have you noticed that our baptismal rites aren’t found right before Confirmation, as in older prayer books, but instead fall between Easter […]
Bible Study: Easter 4 (B) – 2015
Acts 4:5-12 “The stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone” (verse 11). As is often the case, the context of this passage is set in the portion of the text that is not included in the reading. Here, the situation is that Peter and John were preaching and rejoicing […]
Bible Study: Easter 3 (B) – 2015
Acts 3:12-19 At this point in the church year we read from the New Testament’s Book of Acts rather than the usual Old Testament source, yet this passage of Acts shows deep connections to the Old Testament. It reminds us that our salvation history includes the family history of Genesis and the prophecy of Isaiah. […]
The Blues Moan in the Gospel Shout, Good Friday – 2015
Take up your cross, the Savior said, if you would my disciple be. Well, today we see what that really means. Today, we kneel to venerate the wood of the cross on which hung the Savior of the world. And we recognize that we are completely incapable of following his commandment and carrying the wooden […]