Some years ago, I led a revival series that featured testimonies by church members. We used as our theme, The Hour I First Believed. This is a line from the…
Last week, I began by quoting John Prine; and today I turn to another song, this one by Mary, the mother of Jesus. We call it The Magnificat because that…
A two-character drama sits at the center of this Advent narrative. The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, commends her life and frightens her all at the same time. Do not…
I had the wonderful delight this week to read the memoir of Robert Dale Hudson, singing tenor in our gospel quartet this morning, as he does every week. It is…
The funeral service for General Colin Powell was just over one week ago. It was an inspirational service, conducted according to the Book of Common Prayer of The Episcopal Church.…
This week a mother, for the first time, watched a video of her son’s death. She was sitting in a courtroom within sight of the three men charged with his…
Hot August night And the leaves hanging down And the grass on the ground smellin' sweet Move up the road to the outside of town And the sound of that…
I take my title from a novel by Patrick O’Brian but my text from Psalm 126. I use both to address real-life situations in our country, our church, and in…
This week Captain Kirk flew into space. Finally. At age 90! For years, he only pretended to do so, on the starship Enterprise in the old Star Trek series. His…
This past week I joined my regular Tuesday prayer group. Our thoughts turned to this psalm. It is the lectionary text for today. I pointed out verse 16 and asked:…
