This past Sunday in my sermon I leaned heavily on the wisdom of Anne Lamott as I explored the nature of mercy as it relates to the practices we immerse ourselves in during Holy Week. Here’s her definition of what mercy looks like: “Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate […]
Back in the 50’s and 60’s, it was thought that 500-year-old church divisions could be healed if churches reached across denominational lines and got to know each other. This was an exciting time for the churches in Irvington, as all the fundamental theological issues between the Protestant, Catholic, and Anglican Churches were on the way […]
In my message last week, I wrote of an emerging sense of optimism shared by our church leadership that church life can once again take on the semblance of normality. This past week, Bishop Dietsche shared his own sense of optimism in a letter entitled, “Return of the Common Cup.” He wrote, “…with the waning […]
“I would like to see the church come to some better understanding of what it means to be an inclusive fellowship, how to more fully exhibit the love of Christ in the world.” – Bishop Barbara Harris In honor of Women’s History Month, we acknowledge the historic role of Bishop Barbara C. Harris in the Episcopal […]
In a communications committee meeting on Tuesday night, co-chair Peter Williams reminded us that one of our team goals was to give expression to being a “church without walls.” It was just what I needed to hear as I prepared for Ashes-To-Go at the Irvington train station the following morning. Having reached out to Channel […]
Last Sunday afternoon, I attended a Memorial Service for Archbishop Desmond Tutu at St. John the Divine. I felt a connection with “the Arch,” as he was affectionately known, having assisted him at the altar when he visited Harvard Divinity School in 2002. On Sunday, I felt like our Church was doing something it really knows how […]
Parishioner Chris Mitchell once said to me that institutions at their best “set expectations and guide behavior.” He went on to say that the Church is the one institution that values the whole person and takes the human condition seriously. I am grateful to belong to the Episcopal Church for holding, as it does, to the belief […]
Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of Liberty Let our rejoicing rise… When Bishop Mary Glasspool made her Visitation to St. Barnabas in December, she sat down with the vestry after church. We talked about a wide range of topics, including how we might become a more racially diverse congregation. It […]