Bishop's Blog
In the next series of blogs, I want to examine one of our collects (a prayer that gathers our thoughts and intentions) in The Book of Common Prayer. This one is known as Proper 6. And what it says is incredibly relevant: Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love,…
A friend of mine went to a local men’s store to buy some dress shirts. And the salesperson came up to him. Now, you need to know this about my friend. If there’s anybody who would embody the fizz of a champagne glass, he’s it. He is effervescent, he is bubbly, he is fun to…
Advent is a wonderful season, but also the most difficult season we live in. Advent has so many layers, and living it out is always—not just sometimes, but always—superseded by parties and gift-giving and all the things that are part of gearing up for Christmas Eve, Christmas and the 12 days afterwards. In our busy world, we must think with some care about how we will personally live…
How can we be in the season of Advent already? I imagine this thought has crossed your mind, just as it has mine. In this season, people love to talk about how busy they are. Our schedules overflow with shopping, decorating and baking along with all the traditional church activities. As believers, we have the…
Last week, we learned that Advent is about celebrating the difference that Christ makes in our lives. We have a natural tendency to want to fit in. But once we make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, we don’t fit in anymore. Following Jesus goes against so much of what our culture says. That’s why,…
Probably one of the most painful things that can happen to almost anybody, particularly on our present culture, is to be different. To not look like everybody else. To not fit in. To know that somehow the crowd is there, and I’m here, and I don’t know that I belong in that crowd at all.…
As I shared in my last post, when I enter a church, with all the beauty, the songs, the liturgy, it’s as though something within me says, “Ahhh, this is who I really am.” Being at church reminds me of my identity as a follower of Jesus Christ. A Destination and a Reality And…
I don’t know about you, but when I walk into church, it’s with some relief. Relief because being in a church building, gathered with a group of people who I know love Jesus and are committed to following him, I feel at home. This is what home feels like for those who belong to Jesus…
A faith that enables its followers not only to speak on behalf of the oppressed but also to follow Christ in saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know now what they do,” to those responsible for oppression is countercultural—especially today. In my last post, we discussed the great truth that Christianity, more and more, is…
Countercultural. What comes to mind when you hear that word? A student protest in some far-off country? A new trend that, in one way or several, deviates from the norm? Today more than ever, as Christians, we’re having to think about the fact that the things we affirm, say and believer are, in fact, counter…