Episcopal Church House of Bishops Spring 2014 retreat meeting: Daily Account for Monday, March 24
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church is meeting in retreat at the Camp Allen Conference & Retreat Center in Navasota, TX (Diocese of Texas) from March 21 to March 26. The following is an account of the activities for Monday, March 24. The theme for the spring meeting of the Episcopal Church House […]
Bible Study: Lent 1 (A) – 2014
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said, “God made man because he loves stories.” And what is the first story about humans? It is a story of temptation, disobedience and clothing manufacturing. Other than the talking snake, this story in Genesis always strikes me as so ordinary and mundane. When they eat the forbidden […]
A Lenten Reflection on Repentance
A Lenten Reflection on Repentance February 12, 2013 “Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desires not the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live…pardons and absolves all those who truly repent and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel.” – The Absolution in the Ash […]
'Build the Serving Church' Capital Campaign Kickoff – 40th Anniversary
A couple of weeks ago I had a free Sunday in New York and took the opportunity to visit a congregation I’d just heard about. The subway put me off in a really gritty part of Brooklyn. Outside the station there were a quite few dilapidated buildings, plenty of graffiti, and a number of signs […]
March 2: World Mission Sunday
World Mission Sunday is March 2 in The Episcopal Church. Traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday after Epiphany, the purpose of World Mission Sunday is to focus on the global impact of the Baptismal Covenant’s call to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 305), and to raise our awareness […]
Martyrs of Japan – Executive Council
Traditionally the church has talked about two kinds of martyrs – white martyrs and red ones. Red martyrs shed blood for claiming their faith, like Perpetua and Paul, or because of the challenge that they’ve offered to the principalities and powers of this world – like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Oscar Romero. White martyrs […]
Presiding Bishop’s opening sermon from Executive Council
[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori delivered the following sermon on Feb. 5 during the opening Eucharist at the Episcopal Church Executive Council meeting currently gathered at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum Heights, MD (Diocese of Maryland). Martyrs of Japan Executive Council, Maritime Center, Linthicum Heights, MD […]
Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music seeks feedback on Holy Women, Holy Men
The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) has issued the following request for responses concerning Holy Women, Holy Men. At the last General Convention, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music was directed to continue revising Holy Women, Holy Men with particular attention to the 2006 guidelines, renewed attention to the form, poetry, and […]
Episcopal Church Office of Communication: 2013 by the numbers
For the Episcopal Church Office of Communication, 2013 was a remarkable year. “The year 2013 showed continued dramatic growth in audiences for all of our digital publications, our website and our social media outlets,” noted Anne Rudig, Director of Communication. Our internal and external media relations efforts yielded some significant placements and much expanded activity.” […]
Bible Study: Epiphany 1 (A) – 2014
Isaiah 42:1-9 “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” Arguably, Juliet’s words about Romeo in the famous balcony scene from Shakespeare’s play are among the most frequently quoted in Western culture. She speaks aloud, unaware that he is below in the garden, listening. […]
Bible Study: Advent 4 (A) – 2013
Isaiah 7:10-17 Our focus during the first three weeks of Advent has been the coming of Jesus and preparing ourselves for that occasion through reflection and repentance. Today, as we anticipate the birth of Christ, we must take this one step further: anticipating the coming of God, we must prepare a place within ourselves to […]
TREC issues letter to The Episcopal Church
Task Force on Study of Marriage issues report of work
The Episcopal Church Task Force on the Study of Marriage has issued the following report: The Episcopal Church’s Task Force on the Study of Marriage has begun to dig into the depth and breadth of its work, enabled by Resolution A050 at the 2012 General Convention. The Rev. Brian C. Taylor, chair, reports, “We’re making […]
Bible Study: Proper 20 (C) – 2013
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 This passage comes from the section of Jeremiah that contains a series of poetic oracles of God’s judgment in the form of conquest and destruction by Babylon, the foe from the north. It is a dialogue between the prophet Jeremiah, God and the people of Israel. It is not always clear who is […]
Repeatedly Lost, Repeatedly Found, Proper 19 (C) – 2013
Jesus puts before his audience two stories of lost and found. In each case, the one who loses goes to extraordinary efforts to find what is lost. Having recovered it, the finder calls upon the surrounding community to join in rejoicing that the lost has been found. Jesus applies both stories to what happens when […]
A People without Boundaries, Proper 5 (C) – 2013
A widow is walking a dusty road. The sun is in the sky, making shadows on the mud-brick walls and simple dusty streets of Nain. The town sits on the edge of a wide and beautiful valley, but the widow doesn’t notice, because today her life has ended. She has lost her last connection to […]
Pentecost – Westover Episcopal Church
I met a remarkable woman in Atlanta this week. We were gathered at an ecumenical conference on peace-making on the Korean peninsula, where a state of war continues, because a final peace agreement has never been signed. As we stood around before the day’s events began, I asked where she was from and she began […]
Service and Sacrifice: Lenten Meditation, 3/28/2013
John 13:1-17, 31b-35 By: Grace Flint “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) Since Lent is a time of self-examination […]
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop’s Easter Message 2013
[1] From the Exsultet, Book of Common Prayer pp 286-7 [2] http://http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/us/a-ritual-of-lent-attracts-nonbelievers.html
Passing Peace: Lenten Meditation, 3/18/2013
Psalm 122 By: Grace Flint I grew up in a non-denominational church where anything liturgical was considered insincere. Instead of exchanging the peace, we were instructed to introduce ourselves to our neighbor and share some inane personal fact, like a favorite color or sports team. It was more like being on a corporate team-building retreat […]