Sermon: The Foreseeable Future, 5/24/20

  Ps 68:1–10, 33–36; Acts 1:6–14; 1 Peter 4:12–14, 5:6–12; John 17:1–11 When the apostles had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’  Acts 1:6 At some point in the 1990s, I chanced upon a TV show called Early Edition.  It was a series …

An Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 5/22/2020

Dear People and Friends of St. James, In addition to the attached meditation for the Seventh Sunday of Easter [see separate post], I use this opportunity to share with you all information which may be of interest to you as it affects our common life at St. James.  This will be posted on our Facebook …

Homily: Christian Traffic Signals, 5/17/20

Easter 6, 17 May 2020 A Psalm 66:7 – 18; Acts 17:22 – 31; 1 Peter 3:13 – 22; John 14:15 – 21 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance …

An open letter from Rev. Clarence, 5/16/20

Dear People and Friends of St. James, In addition to sharing with you my thoughts on this sixth Sunday of Easter [see tomorrow’s post], I draw your attention to two correspondences which have come my way and which you should have received as well. The first is a pastoral letter from our diocesan bishop, the …

Sermon, 5/10/2020: Living with Ambiguities!

Easter 5, 10 May 2020 A Ps. 31:1- 5, 15 – 16; Acts 7:55 – 60; 1 Peter 2:2 – 10; John 14:1 -14   “And when he had said this, he (Stephen) fell asleep [died].  And Saul was consenting to his death.”  Acts 7:60 – 8:1 In his 1790 Reflections on the Revolution in …

An Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 5/9

Dear People and Friends of St. James, One clear reason for my joy in these days of much concern and anxiety is that I continued to be uplifted by the ministry which we continue to show and extend to each other, even as we observe the mandates of our ecclesiastical, local and state officials.  From …

A Lesson from Plane Geometry, 5/3/2020

A Sermon on 4 Easter, 3 May 2020 A from Rev. Clarence E. Butler Psalm 23; Acts 2:42 -47; 1 Peter 2:19–25; John 10:1 -10 I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11 I offer you this morning, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, commonly called “Good …

An open letter from Rev. Clarence, 5/2/20

Good day to members and friends of St. James!   I write, as promised, hoping that in so doing, we may all remain in contact with one another, even as we may presently not embrace each other with our presence. Inevitably, I will forget to mention items which I would share with you, although I …

AMBIVALENCE, 4/26/2020

A sermon from Rev. Clarence on  the Third Sunday of Easter, 26 April 2020 A Ps. 116:1-3, 10 – 17; Acts 2:14a, 36 – 41; I Peter 1:17 – 23; Luke 24:13 – 35 “As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. But they were startled and frightened…And he said to them, ‘Why …

An Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 4/24/20

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. James! In keeping with my pledge to support our small congregation in acceptable ways during this time of our separation, I attach [see separate post] my homily for the Third Sunday of Easter.  I attempt to ring in to one or more of you each week, with the hope and …