Sunday Services
8AM spoken Rite I Eucharist
10AM choral Rite II Eucharist
Sunday School & Nursery
At our 5pm Christmas Eve Service the pageant will be a “walk-on” pageant. This means that at various points in the pageant any adult or child who wishes may join in. The parts will include angels, animals, wise people, and shepherds and sheep. There will be costume accessories (ears, crowns, halos) available. All are welcome!
The Rev. Kate Sefton
I want to repeat a part of today’s second reading:
4:6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
4:8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
4:9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
4:10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.
Afflicted but not crushed.
Perplexed but not driven to despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken.
Struck down but not destroyed.
….so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.
In this reading, at the same time that he is stressing the importance of our mission to make visible the life of Jesus, Paul acknowledges the frailty of our human existence. Our physical bodies are compared… Continue reading
The evening I met my now husband for the first time, he dropped a pick up line only an Episcopal priest could appreciate. Somehow we were discussing the Myers Briggs Indicator. This is a personality test that reports how the test taker interacts with the world. If you haven’t taken the actual one, you’ve probably seen mini tests on Facebook based off the Myers Briggs. The Episcopal Church requires its candidates for ordination to take this test as part of their psychological evaluation. And as a result, it is often a topic of conversation among clergy. So this young man, my now husband, drops the line that the Myers Briggs is the astrology of the Episcopal Church. And he’s not wrong, I didn’t much discuss being a Taurus in seminary but the fact that I am extroverted was quite commonly known.
The tests fourth category reports on whether someone lives a lifestyle that is “well-structured” (this is a J for judgment) or a life style that “goes with the flow” (a P for Perception). The P “go with the flow” type tend to be dreamers who come up with new ideas and visions. The J “structured type” like to… Continue reading
The Rev. Christy Laborda Harris
Sermon: Epiphany IV The Rev. Christy Laborda Harris
Micah 6:1-8 & Matthew 5:1-12 January 29th, 2017
The theologian Karl Barth is said to have advocated for preaching with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
As we gather together today to worship our God, I know that we come feeling a variety of ways. Some of us want to escape the world. Perhaps the last thing you want to hear me preach about is politics. I know it’s hard. I feel this way sometimes too. And to those who feel this way, I assure you, that each week as I sit down to study the scriptures and read… Continue reading
The Rev. Christy Laborda Harris
Lent IV
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 March 6th, 2016
In our Lenten study for this coming Tuesday, our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry observes that we are shaped and influenced by the voices in our lives. There are some mighty loud voices in our world right now. In particular, there are some mighty loud voices in our country and in our presidential campaign. And at the moment, those voices seem to be playing on a repeating loop. New material is added to the loop daily, but it doesn’t stop. It just keeps going. And it just seems to be getting louder and louder. I am feeling more and more surrounded by these voices. I am reading more and more about the campaign. Watching more and more. Worrying more and more. And finding myself more and more often in conversation with you and all the people in my life about the campaign.
Lent III The Rev. Christy Laborda Harris
Luke 13:1-9 February 28th, 2016
Last week I began my sermon by mentioning presidential candidate Donald Trump. As I did so, I felt a collective inhalation as you waited to see just what I would say about Trump. And it was a bit of a red herring as I really only discussed his use of the word “faith” as a jumping off point.
During the morning session of our Lenten study this week, the conversation kept coming back to the presidential campaign, again and again. At the evening session, it was mentioned briefly. I have stayed away from the campaign in the pulpit because I do not feel it’s my place, or the church’s place, to get involved in partisan politics—the key word being partisan. Jesus was not a republican or a democrat.