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 …
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 …
2 Lent Genesis 12:1–4; Romans 4:1–5, 13–17; John 3:1–17 So Abram went as the Lord had told him. Genesis 12:4a Today, we find ourselves 11 days into Lent, that period in which we reflect deeply regarding our individual relationship with an unseen, intangible God. And, if we had a wide-screen or white board before us, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …