Bible Study: Advent 3 (B) – 2014
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 In this passage from Third Isaiah, the exiles have returned from Babylon. Their task is to rebuild the city: to create a new Jerusalem. The theme is transformation. The messianic overtones and gospel message are unmistakable on this third Sunday of Advent as we rejoice in the expectation of God entering the […]
Legislation to Follow: B033 & Beyond
The operational theme for General Convention 2009 seems to be reconciliation – reconciliation between humanity and creation, global and ecumenical reconciliation, and reconciliation within our own communities that face the strains of, not only the economic crisis, but a deeper crisis of identity. On Thursday, the Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music Committee held hearings […]
What Do They Like?
I’m currently at a conference with about 120 church leaders throughout the Episcopal Church. While no one has their age on their name tag, it’s not difficult to discern that I’m likely the youngest person in the room. Don’t worry, when you’re a priest in your early 30’s you get used to it. I don’t […]
What is Good
He has told you, human one, what is good and what the Lord requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8 CEB This verse from the First Testament is the scrap of scripture that the Holy Spirit has been whispering in my ear since before […]
Strengthening our Youth Ministries Network: an Update
Episcopal Youth Ministry Network (EYMN) No, it’s not a new acronym or organization, it is simply a name that defines a group of people who hold in common a passion for mission and ministry with young Episcopalians across our international church. There are no membership dues and the communication and correspondence, all in digital form, […]
Resources from Church Publishing
Church Publishing’s latest newsletter, Living IN-formation, included the following useful tools and information: Resource of the Month: Creative Ideas for Children’s Worship: Year C by Sarah Lenton now completes the set of three books that correspond to all years of the Revised Common Lectionary. This series offers a session for every Sunday (plus Feast Days) for […]
Dress Codes or Radical Welcome?, Proper 23 (A) – 2014
Today’s gospel passage probably requires a bit of translation. There’s a big difference between the cultural expectations of first-century Palestine and 21st-century America. Not only about marriage, of course – but marriage is what today’s gospel highlights. Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a marriage feast given by a slave-owning king. Now, slave-owning kings […]
Proper 12A
If you were going to describe the kingdom of God, what sort of story would you tell? Can you see that goal we’re aiming for? What’s your image of that kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven? The hints Jesus offers in this morning’s gospel draw in all sorts of creatures and parts […]
Bible Study: Proper 8 (A) – 2014
Genesis 22:1-14 This passage has troubled readers for centuries. The image of God asking for the sacrifice of a child is both disturbing and a view of God not universally held by Christians. The passage has provided a number of interesting and varied interpretations from the notion that it is not God testing Abraham, but […]
TREC provides meeting report
The Taskforce for Re-Imagining the Episcopal Church (TREC) has provided a report to The Episcopal Church following its recent meeting.
Presiding Bishop at Executive Council: Opening Remarks
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori presented the following opening remarks at the Episcopal Church Executive Council meeting currently gathered at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum Heights, MD (Diocese of Maryland). Executive Council 5-7 February 2014 Maritime Center, Linthicum Heights, MD Opening remarks The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori Presiding […]
What Does “King” Mean to You?, Christ the King (C) – 2013
The King. Christ: the King. The feast of: Christ the King. This is what we mark and celebrate today, but what does it mean? Back around the time our current Prayer Book was approved, it wasn’t uncommon to hear clergy say, even lament, that confirmation was a sacrament needing a theology. Our understanding of baptism […]
Opening Worship – Rochester Diocesan Convention
From all I have seen of this diocese, your boundaries do indeed enclose a pleasant land, as the psalmist puts it. You are planted here, as Ezekiel says, with hearts of flesh, for living here in this land as God’s people. There is joy abundant in this place, for those who know the abiding presence […]
Budget process survey results issued
The Governance of The Episcopal Church: The following information is another in an ongoing series discussing the governance of The Episcopal Church. The Executive Council Budget Subcommittee has issued its report on the results of the survey on the diocesan asking formula that was sent to bishops and deputies in August, to help the committee […]
Freeing Our Usefulness, Proper 18 (C) – 2013
Imagine coming to church some Sunday morning and reading an entire book of the Bible. In fact, you just did. Well, almost. To be exact, you just read, or heard read to you, an entire book of the Bible – minus four verses. So, for the sake of completion, here are the missing verses from […]
This One Thing, Proper 11 (C) – 2013
Just when we think we have the formula all worked out, the path to success all laid out, the one easy answer for earning us an A-plus for discipleship, Jesus goes and throws a wrench into the works. Last week we heard the story of the Good Samaritan, where the point was: Go and do. […]
TREC provides report following recent meeting
A Word to the Churches
EPPN Alert: Lent – Changing our Culture of Violence
As we reach the climax of a Lenten season in which the Episcopal Public Policy Network has examined cycles of violence in our culture from a variety of perspectives, today we specifically consider the issue of gun violence that has grasped the attention of so many Americans. As Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in […]
An In-Between Place, Easter 7 (C) – 2013
The Seventh Sunday of Easter always seems to be a sort of in-between place; the Feast of the Ascension was celebrated just a few days ago, and Pentecost is still another week off. Like the disciples, we seem to stand metaphorically staring into the heavens, awaiting the next chapter of our story to unfold. The […]