Sermons

There’s a funny thing about history. It changes depending on who is telling it. For many years, history textbooks told the story of this country’s past from the viewpoint of white men. Stories of women, Native Americans, African Americans, and other minorities were...

I was talking to a friend a few days ago, who commented that she had heard people talking about the three-day holiday weekend. "When did Fathers' Day become a national holiday?' she asked. Well, today is Fathers' Day, and we give thanks for all the fathers among us...

A few years ago I visited a friend in Wilmington, Delaware, and preached at her church, Trinity Parish. The more than 100-year-old church was once one of the predominant features of the downtown Wilmington landscape. But now its spires are dwarfed by the immense...

The pattern is the same every year. We celebrate Easter and God’s victory over death in the resurrection of Jesus, the son of God. Then 50 days later we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples at Pentecost. And then the next Sunday, before we launch...

John Howard Griffin was 16 when he left his home in a small south Georgia town to study in France in the years before World War II. Once there, he joined the French Underground and began helping to smuggle Jewish people out of Germany, putting them on boats to safety...

In Sunday School this spring we are viewing a video series called Living the Questions that explores what it means to be a progressive Christian, how and what we believe. Last week, the discussion centered around how we interpret scripture, including how a story may...

“Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” We hear that question asked in our second reading today. It’s a rhetorical question, and at first hearing sounds a bit naive. We all know that doing the right or the good thing is no guarantee against being...

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” I have been preaching for almost three decades now, and in all those years I have never preached on this...

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. We say those words just about every Sunday in the Eucharistic prayer.  The Christ has died and Christ risen parts we understand. Or at least we talk and preach about fairly regularly, particularly in...

If I had to choose three words to describe my life for the past six months they would be sickness, death, and grief.  It started in mid-October when my mother went to the hospital, and my brothers and I realized that her long life was coming to an end, and it...

"Be patient."  That's an unusual to hear from scripture on this third Sunday of Advent, two short weeks before Christmas. When I think of qualities I need to have right now, patience is not the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, in the world around us this...

We are here this morning to celebrate the life of our friend and parishioner Peachy Horne, and to commend her into the care of our gracious and loving God. It is a little unusual to have a funeral service on a Sunday morning. Peachy's family prefers to have the burial...

Most of you know that I enjoy photographing nature -- both wildlife and landscapes. That interest really began here at St. Dunstan's as I tried to capture photos of God's creatures who share this property with us.  I soon realized I was going to need a better...

    Do you trust the Bible?     That's why a sign in front of a church I pass on the way home asked recently.     Do I trust the Bible?     It's an interesting question; one that leads me to other questions....

    Zacchaeus is not a happy man. In fact, he might describe himself as miserable. He has great wealth, but has learned the hard way that riches do not guarantee joy.     He supposes that wealth often brings with it isolation, but most of...