Amy Richter
The Rev. Dr. Amy Richter is an Episcopal priest and serves as dean of the School for Ministry of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, a role she shares with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Pagano. She is the author and editor of several books, including “Common Prayer: Reflections on Episcopal Worship” and “Saving Words: 20 Redemptive Words Worth Rescuing,” published by Cascade.
Sermons and Bible Studies
The Good News of Our Judge, Advent 1 (A) – November 30, 2025
[RCL] Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 The time has come: Advent, a season of preparation. We prepare for a joyous celebration of the good news that our God took on human flesh, became one of us, was born for us, a child. But before we get to the manger, at the beginning […]
Widows, Proper 24 (C) – 2025
[RCL] Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 There are a lot of voices in today’s parable. There’s the voice of Luke, the gospel writer, who tells us this is a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart. There’s the voice of Jesus, who tells this parable about […]
Obituary for a Fool, Proper 13 (C) – 2025
[RCL] Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21 Obituaries are about the life, not the death. The death is the occasion, but it’s usually reported in just one sentence, maybe with a detail—a disease, a condition, a struggle, an accident – and an age. We appraise: so young; a long life; so sudden; […]
The Hero Revealed, Tuesday in Holy Week – 2024
[RCL] Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36 Sometimes our eyes deceive us. We think we know what we’re looking at, but it turns out that reality is different than we thought, like our perceptions or expectations were off, there is more here than meets the eye. Sometimes, of course, we can’t see […]
The Archangels, Christmas Day (I) – 2023
[RCL] Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14(15-20) The archangel Gabriel crouched low so he could see clearly when enough shepherds had assembled for the great announcement to be made. He was looking through a tiny hole in the firmament, smaller than a pinprick. The light emitted by Gabriel and the angelic choir behind […]
Rock Solid When Everything Feels Up in the Air, Easter 5 (A) – May 10, 2020
[RCL]: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 It all feels so up in the air. When have so many people, everywhere, felt so uncertain, had so many unanswered and unanswerable questions all at the same time? When have so many plans been upended, suspended? When have so many guidelines been provisional, […]
Children of the God of the Living, Proper 27 (C) – 2019
[RCL]: Haggai 1:15b-2:9; Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22 or Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38 People chase immortality in many ways. Some spend billions on research in search of the technology or genetics or pharmaceuticals or a whole host of things they hope will allow humans, someday, to defy death or radically extend our span […]
By Faith, Proper 14 (C) – 2019
[RCL]: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 By faith… by faith… by faith… These words pulse through today’s epistle like a heartbeat, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. (It also works in Greek, the language the letter was originally written in—a single, two-syllable word we translate “by faith.” It sounds like pist-ay). “By […]
The Hero Revealed, Tuesday in Holy Week – 2019
[RCL]: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36 Sometimes our eyes deceive us. We think we know what we’re looking at, but it turns out that reality is different than we thought, like our perceptions or expectations were off, there is more here than meets the eye. Sometimes, of course, we can’t see […]
The First Sign, Epiphany 2 (C) – 2019
Why start with this miracle? In John’s Gospel, the first of Jesus’ signs—what the other Gospels call “miracles”—was turning water into wine. Jesus’ first sign that inspired his disciples to believe in him was not healing a sick person, bringing someone back from the dead, forgiving sins, or exorcizing a demon. It was making gallons […]
Change Your Question – Change Your Life, Proper 24 (B) – 2018
Here they come: the Zebedee boys. In fact, you can see them coming. They’ve been shopping at Men’s Wearhouse, and they like how they look. They flash whitened smiles, they’ve got just enough grey around the temples to look experienced but not tired; enough tan to look sporty, not like they have to earn a […]
Contentment, Proper 13 (B) – 2018
How do we know what is enough? To any normal member of his kingdom, King David would have looked like a man with enough. And yet, King David was not content. He wanted things that were not his to have. He wanted Bathsheba, although she was married to someone else. He wanted the appearance of […]
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