by Rector Gareth | Apr 15, 2022 | Church Blog, Newsletter, Rector's Message
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...
by Rector Gareth | Apr 9, 2022 | Church Blog, Newsletter, Rector's Message, St. Barnabas Church's Blog
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...
by Rector Gareth | Mar 17, 2022 | Church Blog, Newsletter, Rector's Message, St. Barnabas Church's Blog
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...
by Rector Gareth | Mar 10, 2022 | Newsletter, Rector's Message, St. Barnabas Church's Blog
In this moment of significant recovery from the pandemic, many of us are sensing that we have an opportunity to defy the recent pattern of collective anxiety. There is an emerging optimism shared by the wardens, vestry and your rector alike. At the vestry meeting on...
by Rector Gareth | Mar 3, 2022 | Church Blog, Newsletter, Rector's Message
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...
by Rector Gareth | Feb 17, 2022 | Church Blog, Rector's Message
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...
