Sermon for the Renewal of Ordination Vows

We’re all going to be sent out of here at the end of this service to do the work we’ve been given to do – and I trust we will be reminded of that prayer that says, “teach us to love what you give us to do.” That sending is what mission means – to […]

Christ Church Durham 350th Anniversary Sermon

The history of this place is absolutely fascinating, from the parish libraries sent by Thomas Bray, which your rector has researched, to the history of the rector who was jailed for bigamy in 1698. There have undoubtedly been times when the future of this congregation has looked very dire, but you have survived war and […]

Diocese of North Carolina Service of Repentance, Healing, and Reconciliation

Three blocks from the Church Center in New York is a public park called Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. It’s the site of many rallies, a weekly farmer’s market, and the occasional protest, since it’s across the street from the United Nations. A couple of weeks ago, I was going through the park before dawn, and ran […]

Presiding Bishop’s 2011 Easter message

Presiding Bishop Preaches on Annunciation to Open House of Bishops

Maybe we ought to start by singing, “hail, hail, the gang’s all here.” We’re here again, brothers and sisters gathered as part of the body of Christ. Some are here eager to see old friends and share time together. Some have come with a bit of trepidation to their first meeting, or the first one […]

Sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent, Diocese of Springfield

I started Lent this year at an Ash Wednesday celebration in Haiti. It was a remarkable experience, with several hundred people and all the clergy of the diocese gathered in the open-air cathedral. That is a shelter with a roof but no walls, on the grounds of the historic cathedral which was destroyed in last […]

Sermon for the First Sunday of Lent, Diocese of Albany

There is another story told about a head-to-head contest between Jesus and the devil. They were engaged in a competition to see who could file away all the names in the book of life – on computer files. Each one had been working away madly for hours, when suddenly a flash of lightning blasted through […]

Cathédrale Ste. Trinité, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

We stand at the beginning of Lent, reminded that we are dust and that we shall return to dust at the last. The people of Haiti know something about dust and ashes, particularly as a sign of destruction and of mourning. People here are reminded of grief wherever we turn, grief that still sits heavy alongside the piles of ashes and dust. When those piles really begin to disappear, hope emerges in their place.

Ash Wednesday Sermon

  We stand at the beginning of Lent, reminded that we are dust and that we shall return to dust at the last.  The people of Haiti know something about dust and ashes, particularly as a sign of destruction and of mourning.  People here are reminded of grief wherever we turn, grief that still sits […]

Are you traveling light on the earth? Presiding bishop's message for Lent

The Episcopal Church observes Lent in solidarity with Christians throughout the ages. Lent has anciently been understood as a time of solidarity with those who are to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. It's a time to focus on prayer and study and fasting, and in some traditions, almsgiving. Each of those, when done in […]