Sermon at Cathedral of our Merciful Savior, Faribault, MN

My husband has lost two close relatives in the last few weeks – a brother in law and a cousin. A co-worker has had three young cousins and an elderly aunt die in the last month. The news media are keeping us all on edge with their tallies of flu deaths. There is death all […]

Sermon at Breck Episcopal School, Minneapolis, MN

When I was in junior and senior high school, we used to joke about how the teachers graded our papers and exams. One story went like this – well, they just stand in the stairwell and throw the papers down the stairs. The ones that land at the bottom get As; and the ones that […]

Blessings in hard times

How do we cope in tough economic times? How do we nurture an enduring sense of hope in ourselves and in those around us? Start with gratitude for what you are and have. Begin with the simple (!) task of listing the blessings in your life – shelter, family, friends, skills and your breath. Include […]

Sermon at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas

During Holy Week and Easter, Dick and I visited the Episcopal churches in Italy, which are part of the Convocation of Episcopal churches in Europe. St. James in Florence has a thriving presence, ministering to, and feeding, students who come from all parts of the globe to study in Florence for a semester. The congregation […]

Sermon for Easter Sunday in Florence, Italy

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! This is the great feast of the Christian year, for “on this day the Lord has acted” (Ps 118:24), “This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice” (Isa 25:9). New life has come out of death, for God has […]

Sermon for Maundy Thursday in St. James, Florence

I give you a new commandment, to love one another.  How shall we love the people in and around l’Aquila who have suffered injury, lost friends and family, and been displaced by this earthquake?  Would we wash their feet?  Invite them in to use our showers and bathtubs?  If we were there, in the midst […]

Chrism Mass with Delaware Clergy

I was in Quincy this weekend for their reorganizing convention.  I did a lot of question and answer work like what we’ve done here this morning.  The questions were fascinating, and somewhat different than the ones I hear in dioceses that are closer to the mainstream in TEC.  Sunday afternoon, someone asked me, “if it’s […]

Palm Sunday in the Diocese of Quincy

I had a challenging trip here on Friday. I went to the airport in New York in plenty of time, and when I went to the counter to check my bag, the agent told me my flight was delayed more than an hour. I knew I only had an hour to connect in Detroit. There […]

Quincy Reorganizing Synod, Morning Prayer

In a few minutes, we’re going to pray: Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure […]

Presiding Bishop’s Easter message for 2009