Mar 9, 2023 | Faith, Lent
I subscribe to the axiom espoused by an unnamed science fiction franchise beloved in my family. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Our congregation has long painted on such a broader canvas than simply caring for our own members. For...
Mar 8, 2023 | Faith, Forgiveness, Lent
Father Brooks talks this week about using the season of Lent to practice forgiveness – letting go of old hurts and pains. He encourages us to release those (or that person) who causes us to be in pain or angry, be he/she living or dead. Use this Lenten Season...
Mar 7, 2023 | Faith, Lent
People seem to ask me rather consistently how I do the work I do as a priest. They are curious, and usually very empathetic, as I answer them. They then usually respond with some version of “great for you but I could never do that!” Well, neither could I. Not...
Mar 6, 2023 | Faith, Lent
Begin with the end in mind. One of Stephen Covey’s hallowed seven habits of highly successful people, and for someone like me, fielding so many different daily challenges from both expected and unexpected fronts, so very challenging. The same Lord who reminded us to...Mar 5, 2023 | Faith, Lent
Today’s Gospel reading from John 3 contains two foundational axioms of our Christian faith. The first is Jesus’ enigmatic claim to the Jewish sage Nicodemus that to be included in God’s realms, the Kingdom of the heavens, we must be born a second time. Traditionally...
Mar 4, 2023 | Faith, Lent
Yes, I know. Two local cases of COVID-19 contagion in our own valley. Yes, we are. I am convening my Council of Advice, our circle of trusted lay leaders, to examine every stratagem to respond in a safe and protecting way going forward. No option is off the table...Mar 3, 2023 | Faith, Lent
Don’t defeat, retreat! Since my Lent Madness brackets continue to fall in (mildly) ignominious defeats, Lenten Fridays seem like the right day to continue introducing the (other) great Lenten disciplines discovered and honed by generations of our Christian...
Mar 2, 2023 | Faith, Lent
In the late 4th century C.E. (“Common Era,” our time now, the current academic terminology denoting what many of us grew up referring to A.D.), a young woman set off from western Europe upon an arduous journey. She hailed from what we call today Spain, or perhaps...
Mar 1, 2023 | Faith, Lent
Many years ago the Vestry, or Board, of our church discerned a mission for our congregation. A mission statement is an attempt to articulate God’s highest and best purpose for a specific parish family, the unique and compelling reason for us to exist as a...