This first week of Easter has been coloured for me by the death of Pope Francis. The Pope took his name from Francis of Assisi who likewise was an extraordinary character. Many years of teaching children about the latter had me researching the intricacies of his life story. I feel sure you know the stories…
Dear Friends, Holy Week has finally arrived, and my sense of anticipation is palpable. Our choir rehearsals have brought me much joy because they bring the opportunity to focus deeply on words and images in hymns. These resonate. No doubt you have an idea of how singing is a whole-body experience. The repetitive nature of…
Here we are at the sixth Sunday of Lent and we know the gospel so well (taken from Luke chapter 23) that we could probably recite parts of it. The ultimate question for each of us is where we stand in relation to that crowd that gathered at Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Are we…
This week we have another gospel that we know so well (from John, chapter 12). The story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with costly oil and drying them with her hair. It is a story of an intimate action that takes place in public. At a dinner, no less. This action of washing prefigures Jesus’…
Here we are at Mothering Sunday, also known as Refreshment Sunday, so named since the Middle Ages. This is an opportunity to review our Lenten process thus far. This fourth Sunday of Lent is a time of relaxed Lenten observances, and some churches will use rose-coloured vestments. Either a piece of Simnel cake or a…
Dear Friends, Jesus certainly adopts a terse tone in this Sunday’s gospel. We are called to repent! My sermon will look at the complexity of Jesus’ context and the difficult question we all face in life: Why do bad things happen to good people? I don’t believe God punishes us for wrongdoing. Jesus calls us…
Our Gospel today (Luke 13: 31-35) is only a few verses with a stinging message from Jesus. He weeps over Jerusalem, the city that will not heed his message. This sad situation can probably be applied to us as well. We do not consistently work towards the Kingdom of God. Before us is a world…
Here we are launched into another month and in the season of Lent. I have spent a lot of time this week reviewing ways that people engage with this time of preparation for Easter. I think back to the Godly Play story that explains that this time of preparation takes six weeks because Easter is…
Dear Friends, This week’s gospel has a deceptively simple message that we can paraphrase: take care of who you follow! It is interesting that that the phrase ‘Take care’ has become a prosodic feature of our social interaction. It’s a kind of social lubricant. People use it constantly as a way to end a conversation….