As I mentioned in my Maundy Thursday sermon, the Anglican Communion of which our Episcopal Church is a part has a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. Archbishop Mullally was installed in a service at Canterbury Cathedral on March 25. She is the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC), and the first woman to hold the position since it was created back in 597 CE! The ABC is the leader of the Church of England, and she serves as a “focus of unity” for the worldwide Anglican Communion….
Over the next few months we will regularly share favorite prayers from our Book of Common Prayer (BCP). If you have a favorite you’d like to recommend, please let me know! ([email protected])
Today’s prayer is from John Sandercock, and it can be found at the end of the Morning Prayer service, Rite II, pp. 75-102 of the BCP:
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. (BCP, p. 102)…
Sunday being Palm/Passion Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem in a moment we often call the Triumphal Entry. Crowds gather, laying down cloaks and waving branches, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” It is a scene filled with excitement and hope. The people believe their long-awaited King has finally come.
But there is something unexpected about the way Jesus arrives. He rides on a donkey, not a war horse. In that culture, a horse symbolized power and conquest, but a donkey symbolized peace and humility. Jesus is showing us, from the very beginning, that His kingdom will not be built on force, but on love and sacrifice…..
Over the next few months we will regularly share favorite prayers from our Book of Common Prayer (BCP). If you have a favorite you’d like to share, please let me know! ([email protected])
Today’s prayer is from Lou Markert, and it can be found in the Prayers and Thanksgivings section of the BCP (pp. 810-841):…
This coming Tuesday, March 17, is the feast day of St. Patrick, and while you might wear green or drink dyed-green beer, I suggest a different observance − listening to one of my favorite hymns: St. Patrick’s Breastplate. We don’t hear it a lot, likely because it is long − seven verses in our 1982 Hymnal and even longer in other versions!….
One of my favorite prayers in our wonderful Book of Common Prayer comes at the end of the service of Holy Baptism. It is a prayer for the newly baptized, and in its last line especially it expresses wonderful qualities that I hope that all of us come to embody more and more….
…Also, I have a request: During Mother Anna’s sabbatical, we will be sharing favorite prayers from the Book of Common Prayer twice a month in these meditations. We’d love to know what your favorite prayer is! Please email me ([email protected]) and let me know which one and why. Your choice could be featured in a future meditation. Thank you!
As Black History month draws to a close, let us pause to remember, to honor, and to celebrate. We remember the suffering, we honor the resilience, and we celebrate the victories of the Black community, who against all odds, kept faith in a God who delivers. This Sunday’s Gospel from John, Speaks powerfully into that story.
In this passage, we meet a man named Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee, a leader, educated and respected. Yet he came to Jesus at night. Night suggests darkness – not just the time of day, but a spiritual condition. Nicodemus had position but still lacked something. He had religion but still wrestled with understanding. So, he came in the dark, searching for light….
In our culture of busyness, we who are faithful talk a lot about “doing” vs. “being.” We remind ourselves and one another that we are “human beings” and not “human doings.” We cherish small moments of quiet—especially in our beautiful, chaotic city. We work to carve out time for contemplation and stillness. Scripture commends such time and space to us. Spiritual leaders in all traditions point to its importance for growth. And sometimes, contemplation gets elevated over action, as if the singular, inner journey is the most legitimate path toward God….
Absalom Jones was born into slavery in 1746 in Delaware. He taught himself to read from the New Testament and other books. At the age of 16, his mother and sister were sold, while he was brought to Philadelphia. In the evenings, he attended a Quaker school and also worked, and he was able to keep his earnings. In 1770, he married an enslaved woman and purchased her freedom. Then in 1774, he gained his own freedom through manumission….
In my Annual Address during our service of Holy Eucharist last Sunday, I referenced the statement in response to the murder of Renee Good posted by Matt Moberg, NBA chaplain for Minnesota Timberwolves. With his words, chaplain Moberg offers a cry of the heart—and a call to Christians and all faithful people to examine what discipleship means in our lives. You may or may not agree with him, and your feelings and reactions may find expression differently….