Triduum: Until he comes again
Movements shake things up! One moment, everything feels stable, secure, predictable. Then suddenly the ground shifts, the earth shakes, and what appeared steady and familiar…
Palm/Passion Sunday: Hosanna!
How quickly the crowd gathered around Jesus as he entered Jerusalem and how quickly they dispersed as he was arrested, tried and crucified. People were…
Lenten Series: Week 5 Sacred Space for Debate
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may…
Lent 5: Purge me from my sin
Today we hear of the promise of a new covenant written not on stone but in our hearts. We hear Jesus speaking of being lifted…
Lenten Series: Week 4 The Complexities of Policy
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take…
Lenten Series: Week 3 Values-Based Conversations
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you…
Lent 4: The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people
The story of the serpents in the wilderness is intriguing. The people of God had been rescued from slavery in Egypt and were making the…
Lent 3: But we proclaim Christ crucified
Some things just don’t make much sense. Water doesn’t become wine, bread and fish do not suddenly multiply, the lame do not jump up and…
Lenten Series: Week 2 Tenets for Civil Discourse
“The Lord has shown, O mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and…
Lent 2: Take up their cross and follow me
“Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up…
Lenten Series: Week 1 Civil Discourse in Context
As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you…
Lent 1: An appeal to God for a good conscience
In the midst of two stories we know so well, the story of Noah and the flood and the story of Jesus and his baptism…
Ash Wednesday: Return to me with all your heart
We are created out of love and for love. We walk the same earth and breathe the same air, and yet… We proclaim that it…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: Advocating in the Information Age
He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.”—Genesis 15:5 The internet has the power to…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: Good Neighbors, Good Stewards
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” –Luke 10:29 This Lent, I traveled to Haiti to investigate the…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: For the Human Family
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” -Matthew 10:7 For the Human Family, The Book of Common Prayer O God, you…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: The Greatest Commandment is Never Easy
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: All are Created Equal
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: Jesus Led the Way
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed…
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: Care of Creation, Evangelism, and Reconciliation
“Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and…
Lenten Series: Holy Week
It is Holy Week. This week is always hard for me, as I am impatient to get to Easter without having to go through Good…
Lenten Series: Give It Away
A friend recently asked an innocent question that completely floored me. “I hear you Christians talking about racial reconciliation and Beloved Community, but what does…
Lenten Series: Pilgrimage to Ferguson
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson outside of the Canfield Green apartment complex in Ferguson, MO. I…
Lenten Series: Singing Anew
“Perhaps … I am the face of one of your fears. Because I am a woman, because I am Black, because I am a lesbian,…
Lenten Series: Called By Name
My name is Sowdo My name is Sergio My name is Sadiki My name is Linda Fundamental to the creation of Beloved Community is…
Lenten Series: Breaking the Chains of Injustice
One evening a grandfather told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside…
Lenten Series: Engaging the Beloved Community
“The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 26:36
Jesus covers a lot of ground in the gospels, but who determined where he went? Matthew, the gospel writer, tells us that the infant Jesus…
Go! for Lent: Mark 14:42
There is a common saying in Tamil (a South Indian language) that it is alright to pardon an enemy or an oppressor, but one should…
Go! for Lent: Mark 14:42
Betrayal is a breakdown in trust. In my experience it represents the worst kind of pain. I think of three particular instances in my life…
Go! for Lent: Acts 22:10
In today’s scripture passage, Paul gives one of his accounts of his encounter with Jesus. He was on his way to Damascus when a heavenly…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 26:18
Jesús dijo, Vayan a la cuidad, a casa de cierto hombre, y díganle: El maestro dice: mi hora está próxima; en tu casa celebraré la…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 26:18
“Go.” “Go into the city.” “Go into the city to a certain man.” Go into the city to a certain man, and say.” Jesus sent…
Go! for Lent: John 14:2-3
Each Holy Week, as I read the scriptures leading to Gethsemane, the Last Supper, and inevitably the cross, I am aware of Jesus’ care for…
Go! for Lent: Luke 10:25-37
The parable of the Good Samaritan is surely one of Jesus’ Top 10. People who know nothing of Christianity still recognize the story: the three…
Go! for Lent: John 16:28
One of the gifts of pondering my discipleship as part of the Jesus Movement is the opportunity to reflect on the ways in which I…
Go! for Lent: John 16:7
“It is good for me to go away.” We so often want Jesus to stay with us, right here and now. We are comfortable in…
Go! for Lent John 14:3
This is Jesus’ promise to those eleven disciples sitting at the supper table with Him two thousand years ago. Jesus is telling them that they…
Go! for Lent: Genesis 12:1-10
God’s call to Abram is about as clear of a passage about going as there can be. God says, “get up! Leave! Go where I…
Go! for Lent: Psalm 122
The Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY is one of my favorite places on earth. It is, for me, a “thin place” – a…
Go! for Lent: Mark 10:52
Bartimaeus, the blind man of Jericho, had an incredible faith in Jesus and what He could do for him. Imagine this man sitting on the…
Go! for Lent: Luke 4:18-19
The meaning of this scripture passage for me is that it is Jesus’ statement of mission a way forward for Jesus and for us today. …
Go! for Lent: Ruth 1:16
In the Old Testament, the book of Ruth comes to us like a precious gem following as it does numerous stories of war and conquest…
Go! for Lent: Mark 10:21
My brother and I started off the year making a pledge to each other. My brother turns 50 this year and I am his senior…
Go! for Lent: Luke 14:21, 23
“Go out at once into the streets…” This scripture speaks to me because it is about action. It speaks to us of the expansiveness of…
Go! for Lent: John 15:15b-17
The fifth grade class at Trinity Episcopal Day School in Baton Rouge is intrigued by what it means to “go and bear fruit” as described…
Go! for Lent: Psalm 121:8
If Lent – and life – is a journey, then we can have no better words to be our companions on the way than the…
Go! for Lent: 1 Samuel 3:1-9
These verses, especially: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”, resonate with me in a very direct way this Lent. I recently became a Postulant…
Go! for Lent: Esther 4:16
The Book of Esther is one of my favorite stories of The Bible. There’s a lot of learnings and reflections we can make from this…
Go! for Lent Luke 17:14
The lepers in Luke 17 are not healed until they obey Jesus’ instructions to “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” When they start on their…
Go! for Lent: Exodus 4:10-13
One of the perceived obstacles to working with refugees and immigrants is language. “If we speak different languages, how will I ever connect?” In Rwanda…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 2:7-8
When I was in seminary, I had the great opportunity to travel to Liberia to learn about the relationship between the Episcopal Church of Liberia…
Go! for Lent: Genesis 27:3-4
Growing up, I always marveled at my mother’s gift of blessing everyone she ran into. It was like she owned the words “Dios te bendiga.”…
Go! for Lent: Mark 16:15
I love this verse. It’s all about “being sent.” It consistently reminds me that as Christians, we need to be out and about in the…
Go! for Lent: Jeremiah 1:7
Our faith as Christians is one of movement, of devoting our lives to a triune God who ever asks us to move. Our scriptures teem…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 28:19-20
Go, Baptize, Teach, Remember. These two verses are called by Christians “The Great Commission “. It catches my attention that it seems to be backwards.…
Go! for Lent: Mark 10:52
Mark 10:52: Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. On…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 14:14-22
Jesus had just fed the multitude of five thousand men, beside women and children. What was going through the minds of those disciples, I wonder?…
Go! for Lent: Luke 10:1-12
In a sentence: Discipleship is more radical than we believe it is! In a couple of paragraphs: We have built a church institution that is…
Go! for Lent: Joshua 1:16
Joshua is working to claim the land that God has promised. He is sending warriors into battle, and this verse is a part of their…
Go! for Lent: James 2:11-21
I love this passage from James which asks important questions about faith, James 2:14-16 : “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you…
Go! for Lent: Isaiah 60:19-20
The sun shall no longer be your light by day nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night. Your sun shall…
Go! for Lent: Isaiah 58:6-9
In my work with The Episcopal Church, I am lucky to see people across the world choosing the kind of fast God proclaims through Isaiah.…
Go! for Lent: Psalm 48
The imagery the psalmist uses in these passages is remarkable, particularly in how the writer describes God and Zion as the same: “Walk about Zion,…
Go! for Lent: Luke 4:18-19
I was born and raised an Episcopalian. I never imagined I would choose the streets of an inner-city as a place to proclaim Christ. I…
Go! for Lent: Job 2:11
One sentence from the story of Job tells a myriad about whom he is and how he is thought of and cared for. It begs…
Go! for Lent: Isaiah 55:12
I have had a lot of change in my life: moving to different cities and countries, divorce, relationships, change of jobs and careers, different degrees…
Go! for Lent: Isaiah 55:12
He tenido muchos cambios en mi vida: mudanzas a diferentes ciudades y países, divorcio, relaciones, cambios de trabajos y carreras, diferentes títulos en la universidad,…
Go! for Lent: Luke 14:23
In Mark 16:15, Jesus said to his disciples to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He also told them to…
Go! for Lent: Matthew 26:37
This gripping text tells part of the story of Jesus and the disciples being in the Garden of Gethsemane, before Jesus is betrayed by Judas. …
Go! for Lent: Genesis 8:15-9:3
A Time to Get Going A Paraphrase of God’s Command to Noah (Genesis 8:15-9:3) When God delivered Noah and his family after a tumultuous year-long…
Go! for Lent: Zechariah 8:21
Come let us go…I need you! I may not know you. I may never meet you. But I need you. I need your gifts and…
Go! for Lent: Mark 4:35
When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” Mark 4:35 It is one thing to…
EPPN Lenten Series: Engaging Poverty Through Creation Care
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan,…
EPPN Lenten Series: Engaging Poverty Through Food Security
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed…
EPPN Lenten Series: Engaging Poverty at Home and Around the World
Into paradise may the angels lead you, At your coming, may the martyrs receive you And lead you to the holy city, the new and…
EPPN Lenten Series: Engaging Poverty Through Education
“The advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.” Ecclesiastes 7:12b (NRSV) Study after study in this country shows…
EPPN Lenten Series: Engaging Poverty Through Housing
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. Isaiah 32:18 (NRSV) “On a single night in January…
EPPN Lenten Series Part 7: Holy Week Reflection
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this, your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into…
EPPN Lenten Series Part 6: Spotlight on Jerusalem
“The phrase “Holy City” is constantly used to describe the reverence for her shrines, but what it really means is that Jerusalem is the essential…
EPPN Lenten Series Part 5: Spotlight on Refugees
Be present, O merciful God, and protect us…so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may repose upon…
EPPN Lenten Series Part 4: Spotlight on Security
Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations…
EPPN Lenten Series Part 3: Spotlight on Borders
O God, by your Word you marvelously carry out the work of reconciliation: Grant that in our Lenten fast we may be devoted to you…
EPPN Lenten Series Part 2: Spotlight on Negotiations
EPPN Lenten Series Part 2: Supporting Peace in the Land of the Holy One Spotlight on Negotiations Again, the devil took him to a very…
EPPN Lenten Series: Supporting Peace in the Land of the Holy One
EPPN LENTEN SERIES: SUPPORTING PEACE IN THE LAND OF THE HOLY ONE An Ash Wednesday Reflection from Alexander D. Baumgarten Director of Justice and Advocacy…
A Lenten Reflection on Repentance
A Lenten Reflection on Repentance February 12, 2013 “Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desires not the death of sinners, but…
Being Peter: Lenten Meditation, 3/29/2013
John 18:1-19:42 By: Hershey Mallette Oh, Peter, not again! Every time…every year…you deny Jesus?! If I were Peter, I’d claim Jesus! Would I? Do I?…
Being Peter: Lenten Meditation, 3/29/2013
March 29, 2013 By: Hershey Mallette Oh, Peter, not again! Every time…every year…you deny Jesus?! If I were Peter, I’d claim Jesus! Would I? Do…
Service and Sacrifice: Lenten Meditation, 3/28/2013
John 13:1-17, 31b-35 By: Grace Flint “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also…
Beloved: Lenten Meditation, 3/27/2013
Philippians 4:1-13 By: Charles McClain “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable,…
Wisdom and Folly: Lenten Meditation, 3/26/2013
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 By: Adam Pike In today’s reading, Paul describes God’s wisdom not as a virtuous trait, or a well of knowledge built by…
Poured Out: Lenten Meditation, 3/25/2013
John 12:1-11 By: Jamie Osborne I think there is a tendency to characterize Jesus more like a superhero than a human being. The Christian faith…
Enemies to Love: Lenten Meditation, 3/24/2013
Luke 19:28-40 By: Jonathan Melton “After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem” (Luke 19:28) The “this” that Jesus said,…
Time to Act and Time to Wait: Lenten Meditation, 3/23/2013
Acts 17:22-31 By: Rachel Jones Saying someone has the spiritual gift of discernment is a short way of saying that they are good at helping…
The Gift of Discernment: Lenten Meditation, 3/22/2013
Matthew 13:47-52 By: Zack Nyein As a newly-minted postulant for the priesthood in The Episcopal Church, the word “discernment” carries a lot of baggage. I think…
A Sword Shall Pierce Your Own Soul: Lenten Meditation, 3/21/2013
Luke 2:25–35 By: Jessie Vedanti Simeon, a man whose only credentials were his piety, was ready to face death knowing God had provided a savior.…
Just Downstairs: Lenten Meditation, 3/20/2013
By: Callie Swanlund When I was little, I remember waking up one Saturday morning and – before I was even fully awake – knowing what I would…
Redeemed by Faith: Lenten Meditation, 3/19/2013
Romans 4:13-18 By: Hershey Mallette “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the…
Passing Peace: Lenten Meditation, 3/18/2013
Psalm 122 By: Grace Flint I grew up in a non-denominational church where anything liturgical was considered insincere. Instead of exchanging the peace, we were…
Pressing On: Lenten Meditation, 3/17/2013
Philippians 3:4b-14 By: Jason Sierra “I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) As…
Our Straying Hearts: Lenten Meditation, 3/16/2013
John 7:37-52 By: Adam Pike In our gospel reading for today, we hear Jesus make an invitation: Drink of the living waters. Never again experience…
For They Reasoned Unsoundly: Lenten Meditation, 3/15/2013
Wisdom 2:1a, 12-24 By: Jamie Osborne Lent is a serious time in the church year, but it is also a beautiful time. This season of…
What Freedom is For: Lenten Meditation, 3/14/2013
Exodus 32:7–14 By: Jonathan Melton I cannot read this passage from Exodus without thinking of Mooby the Cow, a fictional and Mickey Mouse-like pop culture…
A Spacious Life: Lenten Meditation, 3/13/2013
By: Phillip Fackler After graduating from college, I spent a year working in Malawi. I didn’t make much money and resources were scarce, so my…
The Prophet’s Path: Lenten Meditation, 3/12/2013
Mark 10:42-45 By: Rachel Jones Prophets are intended to be truth-tellers of the most serious kind – the truth that could save or kill, hurt…
Called to be Prophets: Lenten Meditation, 3/10/2013
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 By: Allison Sandlin Liles The gift of prophecy is one that, I admit, I’ve always longed to possess. There’s something about urging…
What Do You See?: Lenten Meditation, 3/11/2013
Isaiah 65:17-25 By: Zack Nyein I grew up in the buckle of the Bible Belt. The first time I heard about the gift of prophecy was…
Open to Healing: Lenten Meditation, 3/9/2013
Wisdom 7:24-28 By: Callie Swanlund During my senior year in high school, I was in a terrible skiing accident in which I collided with a…
Rhythms of Prayer: Lenten Meditation, 3/7/2013
Daniel 6:10-16 By: Margaret Ellsworth Last year for Lent, I didn’t give something up, but took something on instead: praying the Daily Office. That is,…
Witness to Healing: Lenten Meditation, 3/6/2013
Sirach 38:1-8 By: Christopher Esposito-Bernard Whenever a church hires a new pastor, there’s a buzz that generates across the congregation. Questions like, “Will he be…
Convicted by Our Common Humanity: Lenten Meditation, 3/5/2013
Matthew 18:21–35 By: Lindy Bunch This past spring, I had the opportunity to travel with my fellow seminarians studying restorative justice to Riverbend High Security…
Forging New Paths to Forgiveness: Lenten Meditation, 3/4/2013
Colossians 3:12–17 By: Lucas John Mix Lent is a time of taking on duties and giving up pleasures. It is also a time for accepting…
What is Enough? Lenten Meditation, 3/3/2013
Isaiah 55:1-9 By: Nina Vest Salmon The dining hall at the college where I teach offers students who are on a meal plan limitless food.…
The Gift of Faith: Lenten Meditation, 3/2/2013
Psalm 95:1-7 By: Nils Chittenden Although I’ve recited Psalm 95 at Morning Prayer thousands of times, whenever I read it I am always transported back…
The Unknowable Kingdom: Lenten Meditation, 3/1/2013
Mark 4:26-29 By: Vivian Taylor “He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night…
Beyond Suffering: Lenten Meditation, 2/28/2013
Luke 4:14-21 By: Patrick Christopher Kangrga Lent is a perplexing liturgical season. We do the complete opposite of what we think we normally should do.…
Peace Under Black Light: Lenten Meditation, 2/27/2013
Philippians 4:4-9 By: April C. Caballero The peace of God is a reality, which rests on all of creation, although mostly unknown to us. The…
Mary and Martha: Contemplation in Action: Lenten Meditation, 2/26/2013
Luke 10:38-42 By: Cameron Partridge At first glance, the story about Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), unique to the Gospel of Luke, can be confusing,…
Gift of the Spirit: Faith: Lenten Meditation, 2/25/2013
John 7:37-41a By: Mary Catherine Young A triptych, a three-paneled icon, was recently installed at St. John’s in the Village Episcopal Church in New York…
Faith Transfigured: Lenten Meditation, 2/24/2013
Luke 9:28-36 By: Hillary Raining Faith is a complicated gift. It is the kind of intangible that gets battered around in Christian circles in many…
Bringing Out the God Flavors: Lenten Meditation, 2/23/2013
Matthew 5:11-16 By: Margaret Ellsworth In college I lived in a house with five of my closest friends and would often trade off cooking meals.…
At Your Right Hand: Lenten Meditation, 2/22/2013
Mark 10:35-45 By: Christopher Esposito-Bernard I have a confession to make. I think there are a lot parts of the Bible that are hilarious, and…
In Pursuit of a Passionate Faith: Lenten Meditation, 2/21/2013
Song of Solomon 3:1-4 By: Lindy Bunch Upon my bed at night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not;…
Who Do You Say That You Are?: Lenten Meditation, 2/20/2013
Isaiah 55:6-11 By: Lucas John Mix “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;let the wicked forsake their way, …
What is Essential: Lenten Meditation, 2/19/2013
Matthew 6: 1-7 By: Nina Vest Salmon A student was dissatisfied with his grade on a 10-page paper he had turned in for an assigned…
Getting the Whole Picture: Lenten Meditation, 2/18/2013
John 15:1-11 By: Nils Chittenden It was the English writer and raconteur Miles Kington who said, “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom…
Finding the Promised Land: Lenten Meditation, 2/17/2013
Deuteronomy 26:8-10 By: Vivian Taylor “So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.…
A Stumbling Block to Myself: Lenten Meditation, 2/16/2013
Romans 14:10-13 By: Patrick Christopher Kangrga The men in my family have always been the unlucky ones. It’s a simple issue of math. We are…
Peace: The Alternate Scenario: Lenten Meditation, 2/15/2013
Luke 10:1-9 By: April C. Caballero Peace. It is unwise. Peace does not get the popular vote. Peace is not a natural instinct. And further,…
Wisdom of the Wreck: Lenten Meditation, 2/14/2013
Psalm 69:8-18 By: Cameron Partridge I came to explore the wreck.The words are purposes.The words are maps.I came to see the damage that was doneand…
After a Chocolate-Free Lent: Lenten Meditation, 2/13/2013
Isaiah 58:1-12 By: Mary Catherine Young Self-denial is probably the most common practice associated with the six-week season of Lent that begins on Ash Wednesday…