Sermon 3/12/23: A New Wind Is Blowing

3 Lent Psalm 95; Exodus 17:1–7; Romans 5:1–11; John 4:5–42 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24 Surely, you have heard, and perhaps even used, the American idiom “to go out on a limb.”  Well, on this Third Sunday in Lent, I am going out on …

Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 3/13/23

Dear Members and Friends of St. James, This week’s update contains three items which merit your attention. The first is that you are invited to attend a Festival Choral Eucharist with our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev’d Michael B. Curry. Bishop Curry comes to Old North Church – Boston on Sunday, 16 April, to observe …

Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 3/6/23

Dear Members and Friends of St. James, In our Parish Update this week, brevity is the order of the day, in the main because a routine, i.e. a more recognizable pattern, appears to have returned to our parochial life. The coronavirus pandemic has faded into our recent memory, making us aware of the need to …

Sermon, 2/26/23: Tips on Packing Your Suitcase!

1 Lent Psalm 32; Genesis 2:15–17, 3:1–7; Romans 5:12–19; Matthew 4:1–11 Jesus was then led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil.  Matt. 4:1 My former colleagues in creative writing courses would instruct their students that words have consequences.  The choice of words and the order in which we use …

Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 2/27/23

Dear Members and Friends of St. James, As you will read in my reflections offered Sunday at Eucharist, I attempt to make a revised approach to our understanding of and observance of Lent.  If, as your priest, I take such a stance—one slightly different from the traditional one of distain for worldly matters—I should be …

Sermon, 2/19/23: Did you see what I see?

Last Epiphany (7 Epiphany) Psalm 2; Exodus 24:12–18; 2 Peter 1:16–21; Matthew 17:1–9 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ (Matt.17:7) During the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, when the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stood close to striking midnight, a married couple, Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne …

Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 2/20/23

Dear Members and Friends of St. James, Attached, as many of you have requested, are my reflections shared during our in-person Eucharist on the Last Sunday of Epiphany 2023.  The main item, to which I bring now your attention, is that on Wednesday of this week, 22 February, we will assemble in our sanctuary to …

Sermon, 2/12/23: UNDER CONTRACT

6 Epiphany Psalm 119:1–8; Deuteronomy 30:15–20; I Corinthians 3:1–9; Matthew 5:21–37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No.’  (Matthew 5:37) Because I have not recently been involved in what is called “the housing market,” I have paid little attention to how volatile, sluggish, bearish, or steady the selling and buying of residences have …

Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 2/14/23

Dear Members and Friends of St. James, I draw your attention in this update to several items of note.  The first is to report that Annual Meeting was held on Sunday, 12 February, immediately following Eucharist.  Copies of the printed reports are available in St. Francis Hall, as well as at the Broadway entrance to …