May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be accepable in your sight, O God our strength and our redeemer. Amen. I would like to reflect with you this morning upon our collect for the day. The collect for the day is on your scripture handout, and I’m using the language from the contemporary because I saw it as a kind of formula for the Christian life…
It seemed to me that this day would be a great day to talk about faith. Here we are at our annual “in-gathering” – at the time of year when we are all invited to make a decision regarding our financial commitment to St. Paul’s. Throughout the year, all of us are given countless opportunities to participate with our time and with our talents in various efforts here at St. Paul’s. But today’s invitation is a pledge of monies…
This morning is the one year (exact to the date) anniversary of Care n Share’s Hand Blessing Service. And therefore this is going to be the second annual day of thanksgiving for the Care n Share ministry. It is indeed a day of thanksgiving for all of you, for all of our volunteers who care so well for one another…
One week ago yesterday, Saturday the 4th of April, 10 high school students and 6 adults met here in the church parking lot at 6:30am and by 7:30 were loaded and driving away toward New Orleans. Our youth coordinator, Fred Lowry, had a vision in his mind of joining with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and assisting with the repairs and renewal of the city’s poorest neighborhoods which were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. And he worked for over a year to see that vision come to fruition…
You have heard me say, many times I am sure, how much I am grateful that we worship God by following a seasonal calendar throughout the year. And possibly you have also heard me say that Lent is my favorite season in the church calendar. I really like Epiphany too, but Lent is my favorite. I was glad, for my own spiritual journey, to be able to preach on Ash Wednesday and talk about my understanding of Lent as the opportunity that God gives us to look honestly at ourselves within a context of safety…