Services

When we were little kids we all played the game,”Follow the Leader.” The rules were very simple. A leader was chosen and everyone else followed him or her wherever they were led and mimicked the leader’s actions – skip, jump, turn in circles, somersault, crab walk, and so on. If any player messed up or refused to follow the leader’s instructions they were out.

Paul says in Corinthians today, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. And Jesus in John’s Gospel today, follow me and you will see greater things than these.

You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased. This seems to be about Jesus alone but the message for us has value if we see ourselves as the recipients of this blessing as well. Thus, the essence of our relationship is one of love and value.

We tend to think of the beginning as advent and the beginning of the church as Pentecost. This may be so, but epiphany is a new beginning, a new chapter in the story.

Christmas Eve Service

The Anglican tradition has inherited many ancient pieces of liturgy, so it may be a bit surprising to learn that our Service of Lessons and Carols is only a little over one hundred forty years old.

A voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. This brings together a couple of different concepts and ways of looking at life. Being in the wilderness or the desert seems like a bad place to be, but maybe there’s learning in the wilderness. And the desert isn’t just sand. So, the wilderness and the desert are a lot more complicated then first look.

Here we have Jesus talking about heaven and earth will pass away but his words will not. And he also talks about staying awake. I don’t think this is about avoiding sleep. What does this mean?

Service bulletin and video for the Last Sunday after Pentecost.