One of the things that I am most excited about from General Convention is the election of Bishop Michael Curry as our next Presiding Bishop. I have been a longtime fan of Bishop Curry. He is arguably one of the Church’s best modern-day preachers, and I believe his passion for Jesus and...
Over the course of the last year, I have read countless articles about the state of our struggling Church. The struggle is not just an Episcopal one, but is common across most denominations. There are all sorts of theories about why it is happening and who or what is to blame. I myself have...
At St. Margaret’s we are in the middle of two big weeks. This past Sunday we baptized twin girls and this coming Sunday we are baptizing another baby girl. It is fairly rare for our parish to have back-to-back baptisms. For the Altar Guild, that has meant that the same...
This weekend I finally saw “The Intouchables,” a 2011 film based on the true story of a French, wealthy quadriplegic who hires a man convicted of petty theft to be his caregiver. The quadriplegic, Philippe, has been through many caregivers. He is a widower who lost the use of most of...
In general, I am opposed to “Hallmark Holidays.” I learned a long time ago on Valentine’s Day how consumerism fueled by one stationery company (and let’s be honest, the restaurant industry, floral industry, chocolate industry, jewelry industry …) could make a...
Our Vestry and Parish just completed a Mutual Ministry Review – a time to reflect on the health of our congregation and to strategize about how to move toward greater health and wholeness. There was a lot of positive feedback in the survey indicating the ways in which we have grown and...
This Monday our parish walked in our local Memorial Day Parade. I did a lot of cajoling to get our parishioners out among the community that day. But I must admit, that morning all I wanted to do was stay in bed. I had experienced some sleepless nights with the little one, Monday is normally my...
I was visiting a neighboring parish recently and was admiring their beautiful landscaping. A dogwood was blooming in delicate pink. There were pockets of flowers in red and purple. As I was surveying the beauty, I noticed one, brilliantly yellow tulip standing on its own near the dogwood. It was...
As Mother’s Day approaches, I face it with my usual dread. Though there are so many mothers that we can and should honor (I love you, Mom!!), there are so many people for whom this is a hard day. I am at the stage in life when many of my friends are having children. There are the sonogram...
As Christians, there are many things we say out of habit. We say, “God bless you,” when someone sneezes, even if we do not actually mean to invoke a blessing on the person. We say, “Peace be with you,” in church without necessarily thinking about what offering the peace...
