A Sermon for St Peter’s 100th Anniversary

January 20, 2014.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A few words on 100 years of life and ministry. Listen: (They do not feature heavily but the readings can be found by clicking here.)

Whatever is Excellent

October 22, 2013.Reading time 5 minutes.

I’ve just started my new position as rector of St Peter’s in Edmonton. (Six weeks in, so everyone still thinks I’m new. A year from now, church members will still understand that I’m new.) As with most new clergy, I’m frequently asked one question. “How are you going to save the Church?” People don’t actually […]

At Deathbeds: On Closing Churches

May 23, 2013.Reading time 4 minutes.

In the last 18 month I’ve been present at the closing of three Churches. I was their priest; they had been a cluster when I was called. In each case it was excruciating and sad. In each case it was the right choice. Churches, the actual communities, the buildings located in towns and cities, are […]

SR The Church, Sacraments, and Unity, Easter 7, 2013

May 15, 2013.Reading time 2 minutes.

Link: The Church, Sacraments, and Unity, Easter 7, 2013 Summary of what I was saying and why: Jesus’s prayer for the unity of the Church is great. And hard to preach. Because it is so patently not what is. Also, while I can encourage many of the other things Jesus says and Christians can, mostly, […]

The Church, Sacraments, and Unity: sermon for Easter 7 5-12-13 (audio)

May 12, 2013.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The lessons can be found by clicking here. I worked most closely with John 17:20-26. Jesus prays for his Church, us, to be one. So we spent some time discussing the Church and what and how we are. Listen:

More than Jesus is Awesome

March 25, 2013.Reading time 8 minutes.

I am a Christian. I am not always sure if it is okay to call myself one. A week ago Marcus Mumford, whose music I enjoy, had an interview published in Rolling Stone where he said, “I don’t really like that [the word Christian]… I wouldn’t call myself a Christian. I think the word just […]

Small Churches, Big Buildings, and Millennials

February 22, 2013.Reading time 5 minutes.

In the last few days, I’ve seen at least two articles speculate about how Millennials might just be important to the future of the Church and radically change the nature of the Church. Apparently, my age-peers and I are not the natural heirs the Baby Boomers and do not want to merely continue what was […]

Going Meta: Reviewing Sermon Reviews, part 2

January 30, 2013.Reading time 4 minutes.

Part 2: Did it Work and What I’ve learned? Did it work? I think so? Or, rather, I can’t fully answer. Is my preaching better now than it was nine months ago? Maybe. Go listen and let me know what you think. When I started this I wrote, “I believe I am a good preacher. […]

A #CCAB outcome

November 16, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

As Episcopal denizens of Twitter already know, this past week was the organizational meeting of the CCAB’s. I attended as a new member of the Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Formation and Education. As it often does, the appropriate role of social media was a topic for all of the assembled CCAB’s. There were a […]

Family Reunion (aka Diocesan Convention)

October 13, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

This weekend is Diocesan Convention for Episcopalians in Montana. I should confess that I love Diocesan Convention. As we Episcopalians are wont to do, we quibble over what should or shouldn’t happen, what’s appropriate or unnecessary at a Diocesan Convention. And whatever my opinion may be, I will love Convention. This is my family. The […]