Katharine Jefferts Schori
Loving Our Neighbors: Young People, Violence, and Loss
Violence is anything that diminishes life. The word comes from the same root as vital, but violence moves in the opposite direction. It’s the antithesis of what Jesus speaks of as abundant life or the Reign of God. Shalom is the ancient vision of a world without violence, where peace prevails because there is justice […]
Observance of All Saints – St. Luke in the Fields
I was with a group of friends just before Halloween last week, and one of the younger ones said, let’s find a haunted house to visit! Another, older, one asked why anyone would pay to let someone scare you. Yet that does seem to be what Halloween is about in this culture – playing with […]
Feast of Alfred the Great – Michigan Diocesan Convention
Today we’re remembering Alfred the Great, who was king of the West Saxons and then the first king of all England. Born in 849 as fourth son to King Aethelwulf, at a time of pretty constant Danish incursions, he became king at age 22 after his father and brothers died. He’s the only English monarch […]
Southwest Florida Diocesan Convention – Feast of St. Luke
Well, the parks are open and the government is mostly back at work, but it feels like the division and challenge has just been kicked down the road a couple of months. We did see some work toward healing the divisions – perhaps most notably the work begun by Senator Susan Collins of Maine. There […]
Proper 22C – Grace Cathedral
What is most on your heart this morning? The continuing chaos in Washington, DC? The beauty of this place? Violence in the Middle East? Joy at seeing friends you love? Your health, or that of your family or friends? The beauty of this morning’s sunrise? There are really only two kinds of prayer: “HELP!” and […]
Opening of Bishop Kemper School
Congratulations on this initiative – the Bishop Kemper School is a remarkable thing to celebrate! You are building on the foundation laid by others years ago. You heard Paul’s reminder: we’re all God’s servants, working together… and you are God’s building. Skilled builders laid the foundation, and later workers are building on it. You’re continuing […]
Proper 21 C – St. Martin of Tours
Are you rich, or are you poor? Stop and ponder this for a minute. Why have you decided that you’re rich or poor? If you have a place to sleep and clothes to wear and food to eat, you and your household are better off than the half of the world’s population who live on […]
Theodore of Tarsus – House of Bishops Opening
I promise you that the planning committee did not examine the lectionary before they chose this theme of Transforming Loss into New Possibilities. But Theodore of Tarsus is a most appropriate witness to that kind of hope and faithfulness. He was born in Tarsus, what is today southeastern Turkey, in 602, and educated there and […]
Proper 20C – House of Bishops
In my youth three things were considered inappropriate for dinner-table conversations: religion, politics, and money. Sex didn’t merit listing because it wasn’t even mentioned in “polite society.” The Church has been having that conversation, even if one wag has said that “only bishops could make sex so boring!” Even the pope is insisting that other […]
325th Anniversary – Trinity St. Paul’s
What a remarkable milestone! 325 years of faithful worship in this community, with a vibrant and diverse congregation committed to serving the people around you, and those who continue to come here through a very narrow gate. The history of Christian community here has a great deal to do with narrow gates. Most children in […]