Eat your Broccoli Occasionally someone will come out of Sunday morning worship and let me know there was something about the liturgy they didn’t like. Maybe we sang a hymn new to that person. Maybe we sang a hymn we’ve sung too often for that person. Maybe we did Rite I or Rite II […]
Tradition and Trust It would be hard to find a place that is more traditional than St. John’s. That’s kind of our niche in the market so to speak as people are attracted to our history and liturgy. It’s not only what we do but how we do it that appeals to our longstanding […]
Heaven AND Earth “For God to be born a human being, born in a stable among the poor, shows that we already have redemption. Christmas is already Easter because if God became a human being, then it’s good to be a human being! The problem is already solved.” Those are not my words; they […]
What Would God Have Me Do? “Each day, ask God what God wants us to do today; then ask God to help.” (From Melody Beattie’s Daily Meditation for December 12 in The Language of Letting Go.) The Language of Letting Go has long been my go-to meditation book. It came out in 1990 and I’ve […]
Nominees for Vestry Annual Meeting – January 26, 11:15 am Each year at this time I receive a delightful surprise and am able to pass exciting news on to the parish at large. This is the season in which the Nominating Committee brings forward a slate of nominees for election to the Vestry by the […]
Entitlement Years ago, a volunteer who was serving on our front desk, said to me: “Robert, I just found out that not all priests make the same salary. Why is that?” I replied teasingly, “Because priests like me deserve more money than lazy, good for nothing priests!” She laughed and said, “I guess that’s right.” […]
Radical Gospel, Practical Church This time next year I will not be leading a parish. For 45 years, I have been either preparing to go to seminary, in seminary, or ordained as a leader of an institution. For 33 years, I have been directly responsible as a rector for the affairs of parishes. What […]
The Role of the Vestry Nearly 25 years ago, when our children were 10 and 6, we sat them down and told them that the family was moving to Montgomery. Both of them immediately burst into tears and were crushed. Meg said, “But they are expecting me at school!”. Rob’s concerns were more basic, “Will […]
Rebuilding the Temple The Books of Ezra and Haggai, in the Old Testament, speak of the return of the people from exile in Babylon to their ancestral homeland of Jerusalem. The previous generations had been swept away, taken prisoner by the Babylonians, and carried away to a strange city. Over time, God works to […]
The First Part Have you noticed how very important the first part of your day is? The very first things that happen upon our awakening in many ways determine just how the rest of the day goes. Consider, for example, those days you oversleep. Immediately we are rushed and hectic. We jump in the shower, […]