-
·
Shouldn’t all sacraments be on Sundays?
a Should’ve Asked Question Speaking to people much older than myself about baptism, I hear some pretty interesting things. First among them is how their children were baptized. Many of the people I’ve met in ministry have an experience of gathering with family on a Saturday for the baptism of their children. This practice is…
-
·
Which is the real Easter: a day or a season?
In this week’s Question + Response for St. Paul’s, I explore the pressing question of what is Easter, really: that one Sunday, the season, or is it something way bigger than that? Easter is our favorite. Many of us like Christmas, too. But Easter takes the cake. A born Jesus is nothing compared with a…
-
·
Why I’m Giving Up on Time/Talent/Treasure
Stewardship in the Episcopal Church is really pretty messed up. One of our favorite things we say about Stewardship is that it isn’t only about money. It is about giving in many ways, especially giving of our time, our talent, and our treasure. It’s a catchy phrase. There’s alliteration, which is always fun. And the…
-
·
Build Systems or Leaders?
Which is more important: the system or the leader? Since arriving at St. Paul’s, which is a pastoral-sized congregation*, I’ve figured out that much of the structure of the church is based on specific leaders doing specific tasks, rather than systems. I’m not sure how to feel about this. *[a pastoral-sized congregation is what many…
-
·
Why I’m preaching Easter 7 (and nothing else)
This week there are no doubt many preachers trying to figure out how to deal with Sunday. It is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. It also happens to be two other things: the Sunday after the Ascension and Mother’s Day. To the church, it is Easter 7. This isn’t to say that people in church…
-
·
Let the good stuff out
a Homily for Proper 17B Text: Mark 7:1-23 Those Dirty Hands You may have noticed that I read the whole gospel pericope, not the shortened version in the lectionary. The primary reason is because the full story makes more sense than the edited version. The second reason is because what was removed is the part…
-
·
The Imperfect Science
God is perfect, but our worship isn’t, despite what we might think. The seemingly fixed nature of our worship belies the truth: worship throughout history has been spontaneous and full of joy. We have gone through eras, particularly the medieval period, in which liturgy (the work of the people) was done in a language unknown to its…
-
·
Fixing What We Got Wrong
My mentor during seminary, The Rev. Darren Elin once remarked that we get our two biggest holidays backwards: we celebrate Christmas the night before and Easter the morning after when it should be the other way around. Boy was he right. This is my first Christmas in 5 years in which I wasn’t one of…