Wanting to justify himself, the Lawyer asked Jesus… (Luke 10:29) Dear Friends, From Sunday’s reading in Luke’s Gospel, I found myself pondering justification. I was not concerned with Priests, Levites, or even Samaritans (good or otherwise).  My mind did not turn to the poor man in the ditch half-dead, or of the robbers who jumped […]

Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever. (Psalm 30:13) Dear Friends, We are sliding down the backside of Hump Day. Thinking about this last line in this pslam of praise from Sunday, I thought of a poem by Mary Oliver and invite you to […]

Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.” (Psalm 16:1) Dear Friends, Generally, we Episcopalians do not spend a lot of time with the psalms, this beautiful and lyrical collection of poetry.  In his book, Praying the Psalms, […]

“I beg you, do not….” “They begged him not….” “…the demons begged Jesus to….” “The man… begged that he might be with….” (excerpts from Luke 8:26-39).” Dear Friends, The Gospel reading from Luke just a few days ago is deeply layered. It is a healing story that is in each of the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, […]

“ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13).” Dear Friends,  This past Sunday was Trinity Sunday. Did you know that Trinity Sunday is […]

” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine (Acts 2:12-13).” Dear Friends, Just a few days ago was the Day of Pentecost, one of the seven feast days of the Church (check them out in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), p. […]

Dear Friends, Sometimes time it helps to pause, notice, and give thanks. We are coming to the end of Eastertide this Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost on the 50th day of Easter. My first Sunday with you was the Last Sunday after the Epiphany. Today, we have been together for 100 days which included Lent and Eastertide. What a lovely […]

“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:25-26).  Dear Friends, […]

Dear Friends, Today is a different kind of Hump Day message because we are coming up on the election of our new Bishop: June 4, 2022. In the coming days: Friday, May 20 – Tuesday, May 24, you have opportunities to meet and hear from the candidates for bishop in person or online. We encourage you to learn about these […]

Dear Friends, Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity (Acts 9:36). This past Sunday, a virus-not-covid kept me from leading worship. As it became clear during the week that I would not recover fast enough and be able to […]