Pastoral Letter from the House of Bishops 5th Sunday in Lent – April 1, 2001
The Bishops of the Episcopal Church meet twice each year for prayer, consultation, mutual support. and learning, for the good of the church and the world we are called to serve. We gathered for our spring retreat this year from March 9-14 in the ancient mountains of the Appalachian chain in Western North Carolina. Our […]
Two Occasions: Full of Wisdom and Grace
March 23rd, 2001 Let me begin with a personal confession: I have always had what I like to think is an attitude of healthy skepticism about institutions, including the Church. To be sure, the Church is the risen body of Christ. However, few servants of the institution seem totally immune from actions which can often […]
What Is an Acceptable Sacrifice…, Lent 2 (C) – 2001
What is an acceptable sacrifice to God? Do we really have to take the heifer three years old, the female goat three years old, and the ram three years old and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other, remembering not to cut the turtledove and the young pigeon? Is giving up […]
Reflecting on the Past Year: A Conversation with the Presiding Bishop
By Dan England MR. ENGLAND: I’m Dan England, Director of Communication of the Episcopal Church, and I’m here with Frank Griswold, who’s the Presiding Bishop. We’re now at the end of the first three years of the triennium, and we all thought it would be a good idea to review where we are, where the church […]
Two Celebrations, Epiphany 1 (C) – 2001
[This year, the First Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany 1) falls on the day after the official feast of the Epiphany (Saturday, January 6). Many parishes will choose to celebrate Epiphany on Sunday. Lessons cited here are those specified for Sunday, Epiphany 1.] The meaning, in Greek, of Epiphany is a showing forth. You might also […]
Celebration of Full Communion
We have come together this morning as Lutheran and Anglican Christians, along with members of other households of faith, to celebrate the fact that, through baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, we are limbs and members of Christ’s risen body, the Church. Knit together in the communion of the Holy Spirit, which is […]
It Was An Early October Evening…, Proper 14 (B) – 2000
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Edmond J. Dunn tells this story: “It was an early October evening in a university town in the late 1950’s. I […]
Today’s Gospel Picks Up…, Proper 10 (B) – 2000
Today’s Gospel picks up where last week’s left off. If you remember, last week Jesus was not having one of his best days. Those people who knew him best, his neighbors and kinfolk, heard him preach in the synagogue and, instead of being proud of him, they said, “Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of […]
You Have Received…, Trinity Sunday (B) – 2000
“You have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” “No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and […]
Praying as we Believe – and Living as we Pray
One of the great joys of serving as your Presiding Bishop is being with members of our household in a wide variety of contexts, and to be privy to what is most deeply stirring in their hearts and minds. I cannot tell you what strength and encouragement I derive from such opportunities to speak, preach […]
Ashes, Ash Wednesday – 2000
[This sermon is meant to connect to the Ash Wednesday liturgy as found in the Book of Common Prayer.] Today we retrace our Baptismal crosses with ashes. Once upon a time there was a five-year-old girl named Eleanor who, after she was baptized, asked, “Can you still see the cross on my forehead?” A marvelous […]
Today’s Gospel Is a Feast…, Epiphany 1 (B) – 2000
Today’s Gospel is a feast of improbable and colorful images. There is a certified and certifiable wildman named John the Baptist. This John is perhaps the most colorful personality in all of Holy Scripture. Then there is a truly strange event. John baptizes Jesus, who does not need to be baptized. Finally, there is a […]
Home, Christmas 2 – 2000
Last Sunday we focused on the reality that we are allowed little time at the manger. If the Christmas créche is still placed in the liturgical space of your church, today might be a good time for moving the Holy Family to another place in the building, symbolizing their journey to Egypt. Children would especially […]
For All the Saints, All Saints’ Day (A) – 1999
Since the fourth century various Eastern Orthodox churches have commemorated a feast of all martyrs: those who have given their lives as a witness to the power of the Gospel in this life. By the sixth century, this commemoration was celebrated in Rome. Later it was celebrated in the British Isles where it was seen […]
A Call to Faithful Living, Proper 26 (A) – 1999
You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. For whatever reason, those who organized our lectionary readings for Sunday mornings have too often cut a passage short, often resulting in making it impossible to truly understand […]
We Live in a Time…, Proper 17 (A) – 1999
We live in a time when there is a most peculiar notion generally present in our culture. It is the self-help notion. There are books by the crate-full, videotapes, audiotapes, and hundreds of devices and processes designed to assist us or guide us as we help ourselves. We can gain weight, lose weight, become a […]
Jesus Was Always Confronted…, Proper 27 (C) – 1998
Jesus was always confronted with those who wanted to trip him up. The folk with the trick questions were trying to get him to identify himself with the Saddusees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. The Pharisees did. If he agreed with the logic of the Sadducees, then the Pharisees could condemn him. […]
The Kingdom of Heaven…, Proper 16 (C) – 1998
The kingdom of heaven, the one of which Jesus speaks, is not at all like the kingdom in which we live. The truths which guide often run counter to all we assume to be true about many aspects of our life: the order of things, the ways of reward and punishment, the best ways to […]
Glory to God Whose Power…, Proper 12 (C) – 1998
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. We recite this prayer, taken from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, often without focusing on the importance of […]
He Was Young, Well-Mannered…, Proper 23 (B) – 1997
He was young, well-mannered, well-educated, and well-off. He was sincere, honest, and seemingly above reproach. Maybe he also had an engaging personality and a winsome smile. Certainly Jesus found him likable, for Jesus, who was about to set out on a trip, took the time to engage with him. Jesus even tried to recruit him […]