Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding bishop writes of yearning, expectation in ENS bulletin inserts
"The world is waiting for the birth of the long-expected One, who will bring healing and peace to all who labor and suffer in darkness," writes Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori in an Advent message in ENS Weekly bulletin inserts for Dec. 2. The presiding bishop also tells of a meeting with Sudanese refugees in […]
Pledge Offering Sunday
I visited an Episcopal school and a church in the last two days, and at both of them I was told that people think they look like Hogwarts. This place, of course, bears no such resemblance. Young adults (and their elders) continue to be deeply fascinated by JK Rowling’s stories of mystery, the struggle between […]
Celebration of our Episcopal Heritage and Mission in Worcester County
Can you imagine the chutzpah of somebody coming in here right after the Civil War and saying, “it’s time to ordain women, and oh, by the way, we really should revise the prayer book”? It was hard enough work in the 1970s, let alone the 1870s! William Reed Huntington instigated both. He got the General […]
The Presiding Bishops Preaches at Conclusion of St. James' Bicentennial Celebration
Three weeks ago, Immanuel Chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary burned. It has heard countless prayers and student sermons since it was built almost 130 years ago. Last Thursday, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Houma, Louisiana, also burned. Although the parish was founded in 1855, the building that burned was finished in 1892. This congregation of […]
Witnesses of These Things: Ecumenical Engagement in a New Era
Ecumenism in the next century must consider the realities of the contexts we inhabit and the changes to those contexts we can see quickly arriving. We are far more interconnected than we were for much of the last century – and we know it. The image born of chaos science, that a butterfly’s wingbeats in […]
Sermon at Calvary Church, Williamsville, NY
How long, O Lord, will I cry, until you listen? How long, cries Habakkuk, how long until I know peace, and mercy, and justice? Or, as The Message puts it, “How many times do I have to yell, ‘Help! Murder! Police!’ before you come to the rescue?” God answers the prophet by saying, the time […]
The Presiding Bishop Preaches at Western New York Diocesan Convention
Have you ever thought about clay, and what gets made from it? Cathedrals – of stone, stucco, or brick; floor tiles; jugs for wine; pickle crocks; those stunning clay soldiers in Xian, China; even burial urns.There’s a remarkable image in Paul’s letter – “we have this treasure in clay jars.” It’s remembered in the Ash […]
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons?
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Is Tyler Clementi our neighbor? How about Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who’s trying to build a Muslim cultural center in Manhattan, near Ground Zero? And while we’re at it, how about Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center, who […]
One Spirit, Many Gifts
What’s your idea of the heavenly banquet? Sushi? Filet mignon? Or maybe Death by Chocolate, French vanilla ice cream, and strawberry shortcake? Perhaps you’d prefer a Las Vegas buffet – all you can eat for $9.95. I don’t think any of us could eat the same thing for eternity and still find it appealing. Remember […]
The Presiding Bishop Preaches at Trinity Church, Shepherdstown, WV
On Friday we spent most of the day at Christ Church, Fairmont. Itâs a bustling place, and the hospitality was pretty amazing. A group had been organized to serve lunch to the 60 or so diocesan clergy who were gathered there, and while we were at Eucharist, the parish hall was transformed into a banquet […]