Joslyn Ogden Schaefer
The Rev. Joslyn Ogden Schaefer hails from the mountains of western North Carolina, where she has served at Grace Church in Waynesville since 2017. She views parishes as rest areas—with nutritious, abundant food-—for all kind of pilgrims. She thanks God for providing her with family systems work, spiritual direction, a supportive family, awesome clergy colleagues, and incredible lay ministers. These resources enable her to pass along the Bread of Life—one beggar to another.
Sermons and Bible Studies
Peace, Proper 9 (C) – July 6, 2025
[RCL] 2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 What do you think of when you hear the word “peace”? Many people first associate the word with internal positive emotional states like calmness, contentment, and acceptance. Others jump straight to external realities like harmony among groups of people, or the absence of it […]
Us and Them, Easter 5 (C) – 2025
[RCL] Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 148; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35 So, we are really getting into Easter now – it is the Fifth Sunday of Eastertide. The weather has gotten warmer, maybe, the days certainly longer, and maybe saying “Alleluia” still feels like a privilege after our Lenten deprivation. We have two more Sundays, three more […]
Life-Giving Force, Proper 8 (B) – 2024
[RCL] Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Lamentations 3:21-33 or Psalm 30;2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43 Note: During the 2024 Season after Pentecost, Sermons That Work will use Track 2 readings for sermons and Bible studies. Please consult our archives for many additional Track 1 resources from prior years. Think for a moment of someone in […]
Unclean Spirits, Epiphany 4 (B) – 2024
[RCL] Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28 So, friends, today we are going to talk about evil spirits, unclean spirits, the demonic. Go ahead and wiggle in your seats… it is an uncomfortable topic for most of us 21st-century moderns, blessed with the scientific method. We are quite happy to be Jesus’ […]
Sent, Proper 7 (A) – 2023
[RCL] Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 In today’s Gospel, the tail-end of a commencement speech of sorts, Jesus prepares his twelve closest followers for their first mission apart from him. They are to demonstrate what God’s Kingdom looks like, interrupting life-as-they-knew-it with new possibilities for healing, wholeness, truth-telling, and repaired relationships. […]
Real Life, Proper 21 (C) – 2022
[RCL] Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 We have all heard that the “love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” While that is certainly true, the maxim alone may leave us feeling judged, helpless, or defensive. Thank goodness that isn’t the only thing Paul said about […]
God’s Yes, Epiphany 6 (C) – 2022
[RCL] Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26 Today’s Scriptures are filled with binaries… The Prophet Jeremiah shares God’s Word: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals… Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. The poetry of the Psalms begins with: Happy are those… who delight in the law of the […]
Shame and Wonder, Maundy Thursday – 2021
[RCL]: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1, 10-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully,” or, as we’re used to hearing, “he loved them to the end.” Though this verse isn’t quoted as often as John 3:16, it conveys the marrow of the […]
The Law, Lent 3 (B) – 2021
[RCL] Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22 A few years ago, the abbreviation “SBNR” popped up in church and cultural circles, naming an emerging phenomenon showing up in countless national surveys. SBNR stands for Spiritual, But Not Religious. SBNRs are present in every cohort surveyed, but their prevalence increases with every new […]
Sent, Pentecost 3 (A) – June 21, 2020
[RCL]: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 In today’s Gospel, the tail-end of a commencement speech of sorts, Jesus prepares his twelve closest followers for their first mission apart from him. They are to demonstrate what God’s Kingdom looks like, interrupting life-as-they-knew-it with new possibilities for healing, wholeness, truth-telling, and repaired relationships. […]
Resurrection Vision, Easter Day (A) – April 12, 2020
[RCL]: Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-1 “Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!” A joy-filled proclamation. A mystery we don’t “get,” can’t “get,” weren’t designed to “get,” and yet it rings true to our world-weary, sin-sick souls. “Alleluia, alleluia, […]
Welcoming the King, Christ the King (C) – 2019
Downton Abbey, the much-beloved PBS television series, recently came out with a feature-length movie. The entire plot was based on the Abbey preparing for and having a 24-hour visit from the King and Queen of England. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, Downton Abbey is a large country manor that houses “upstairs” nobility, […]
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