When I was young, one of my favorite books was Anna and the King of Siam. I read this tale of the young Englishwoman who taught in the exotic Far East country of Siam, now known as Thailand, over and over and over again. One of the things that intrigued me most about...
A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to France, one of the highlights of which was a tour of Chartres Cathedral. The first cathedral was built in that town sometime in the fourth century. That original...
The words are said at the beginning of every funeral in the Episcopal Church. And no matter how many hundreds of times I have heard or spoken them, they never fail to move me with their powerful proclamation of faith and defiance in the face of death. “As for me, I...
Today is All Saints’ Day, one of the major feast days of the Church, and one of my favorite days of the year. This first Sunday in November is the day that we remember the saints of the church – all of them, those who are important and have their own day on the church...
It has not been a good time for the people of Israel when the prophet Joel enters the scene. Wave upon wave of locusts have descended upon the country, each causing more and more destruction, until finally nothing is left. “The fields are devastated, the ground...
One afternoon this week I began my sermon writing ritual. Spread out on my desk were a Bible open to today’s scripture passage, several commentaries, and a notepad. I was just getting absorbed in the work when Dunstan suddenly appeared. For those of you who are new to...
It was not the word from the Lord that the Israelites were hoping or expecting to hear. God is addressing the survivors of the Babylonian invasion of Israel, almost 600 years before the birth of Christ. Those who survived the...
Easter 5C It is the very first church controversy, and like the hundreds, if not thousands, since then, it threatens to tear apart the church. The controversy is ancient, but its content could be pulled from today’s newspapers – who should be allowed in the church and...
