Parishes throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida are giving thanks for God’s grace and sending supplies to the Bahamas in planeloads! Financial donations sent to the Diocese were and will continue to be sent to The Rt. Rev. Laish Boyd, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks & Caicos Islands,…
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Proper 18 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, September 8, 2019 Year C Luke 14: 25-33 Born March 3, 1819, in New York City, Alexander Crummell struggled against racism all his life. As a young man, he was driven out of an academy in New Hampshire, dismissed as a candidate for Holy Orders in New York, and…
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New Beginnings is a weekend retreat where sixth through ninth graders can learn about relationships, meet peers throughout the Diocese of Central Florida, enjoy skits, listen to talks and participate in small-group activities. The next retreat will be held Oct. 4-6. The Rev. Tracy Dugger, the retreat’s spring 2018 spiritual director, said, “I would highly…
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Proper 17 Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, August 25, 2019 Year C Luke 14:1, 7-14 I want to share one of my favorite stories about the life of the Episcopal Church, a church that has traditionally welcomed, as the Prayer Book says, “all sorts and conditions,” regardless of age, race, economic status or education. If…
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Proper 16 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, August 25, 2019 Year C Luke 13:10-17 and Psalm 103:1-8 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! … He has done great things, bless his holy Name!” (“Bless His Holy Name” by Andraé Crouch) “Bless the Lord, O my…
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Proper 14 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, August 11, 2019 Year C Luke 12:32-40 Jesus once again speaks to us in the middle of our fears: our turmoil, our insufficiency, our inadequacy, our smallness. And he says: Fear not! “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you…
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Proper 13 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, August 4, 2019 Year C Colossians 3:1-11 Sometimes we can feel like holiness is a buzzkill. I know that before actually coming into the faith in college, I regarded Christians as vapid killjoys. I liked doing things that they didn’t do and my own experience proved the idea…
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“Life-changing.” “Amazing.” “Empowering.” Participants use these words and more to describe the ministry of Cursillo (“little course”). “My first Cursillo was a life-changing experience,” said Phil Phillips, chairman of the diocesan Cursillo Commission. “It brought my faith into focus and reinvigorated my relationship with Jesus.” Cursillo is a lay movement dedicated to evangelism and renewal…
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Proper 12 Sunday, July 28, 2019 Lectionary C Luke 11:1-13 Remember the comic “Peanuts”? Linus kneeling by his bed has an epiphany! He can’t wait to tell Lucy: “I think I’ve made a theological discovery! … If you hold your hands upside down, you get the opposite of what you pray for.” Look, prayer is…
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Proper 11 Sunday, July 21, 2019 Lectionary C Luke 10:38-42 Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany are described in the Gospels according to Luke and John as close and much-loved friends of Jesus. Luke records the well-known story of their hospitality, which made Martha a symbol of the active life and Mary of the contemplative,…
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