Whitney Rice

The Rev. Canon Whitney Rice (she/her/hers) is an Episcopal priest who serves as the Canon for Evangelism & Discipleship Development for the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. She is a graduate of Yale Divinity School, where she won the Yale University Charles S. Mersick Prize for Public Address and Preaching and the Yale University E. William Muehl Award for Excellence in Preaching. She has taught undergraduate courses at the University of Indianapolis and has contributed to Lectionary Homiletics, the Young Clergy Women’s Project journal Fidelia’s Sisters, and other publications. She has served as a researcher and community ministry grant consultant for the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and is currently a member of The Episcopal Church’s Evangelism Council of Advice. A communicator of the gospel at heart, she writes and teaches on a wide variety of topics, including rethinking evangelism, stewardship, leadership, women’s theology of the body, mysticism, and spiritual development. When she’s not thinking about theology, particularly the intersection of evangelism and justice work (which is all the time, seriously), you’ll find her swing dancing. Find more of her work at her website Roof Crashers & Hem Grabbers (www.roofcrashersandhemgrabbers.com).
Sermons and Bible Studies
Who Counts at Christmas?, Christmas Day (II) – December 25, 2022
This sermon is also available as part of Sermons for Advent and Christmas 2022, a compilation for download here. Each sermon includes questions for reflection with your small group, congregation, or personal […]
The Cross Defeats Shame, Wednesday in Holy Week –2022
[RCL] Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32 As we continue our journey through Holy Week, our attempt to be faithful to Jesus in his hour of need, we […]
The Deep Water, Epiphany 5 (C) – 2022
[RCL] Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13]; Psalm 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 The message of all the people in our scriptures today is: “I’m not very good at this. I don’t […]
What Do You Want Me to Do for You, Proper 25 (B) – 2021
[RCL] Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22); Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52 Who doesn’t love blind Bartimaeus? Here is a man who knows what he wants and goes after it no […]
Bible Study: Advent 1 (B) – 2020
RCL: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 During Advent and Christmas, we will be using study prompts and other activities tied to the sermon for the […]
Waiting Upon the Lord, Advent 1 (B) – 2020
[RCL] Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 Waiting is the hardest thing to do because it feels like you’re not doing anything. And it seems twice […]
The Gate, Easter 4 (A) – May 3, 2020
[RCL]: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 Even though we are in the season of Easter, our lives may still feel like one long Lenten discipline of […]
No One Asks, Lent 5 (A) – 2020
[RCL]: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45 No one asks Lazarus if he wants to be resurrected. That’s the fascinating part about our gospel story today. No one […]
Liberated, Easter 7 (C) – 2019
Today the scriptures teach us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, above all other things, is liberation. We see this dynamic all over our story from Acts. We read that […]
The Rock and the Handmaiden, Good Friday – 2019
All week, we have grappled with our dual nature. It began on Palm Sunday. We started by shouting Hosanna to the Son of David and ended shouting for his crucifixion. […]
Singing the Song of Our Enemy, Ash Wednesday – 2019
The terrible war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended in December 1995. The fighting between Serbs and Croats had set itself up along ethnic and religious lines and so deepened the […]
Christmas Is a Choice, Christmas Day (I) – 2018
Christmas is not an event. Christmas is not a holiday. Christmas is not a church service. Christmas is not a set of familiar carols or decorations of red and green […]
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