Today, this great feast day of the church, is a day when we hear a multitude of voices. Among other things, here at St. John’s it is the last Sunday – at least for a while – that we will be hearing the collective voices of our choir, as they take a much-deserved break over the summer. And indeed, this is the last day we will be hearing one stalwart bass voice, that of Stratton, who with Robin will be leaving us for a season as they begin new endeavors.
John 14:23-29
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O God our rock and our redeemer.
Good morning everyone.
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Charlie Stang. I’m married to Sarabinh, who preached last week. She is a tough act to follow, so bear with me. Why am I up here? I’m usually down there in that corner, in that part of the sanctuary that doubles as a nursery and preschool. I’m up here today because, as I think many of you know, I’m in the discernment process; that means a group of five parishioners and I are discerning whether I have a call to ordained ministry, in other words, whether I might become a priest. Continue reading
Psalm 23
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over.”
Perhaps those are words you once memorized. Continue reading
John 21:1-19
If you are a student of American history, then you may have taken note that this past Friday was the anniversary of the death of Franklin Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States. If you were alive when that news came across the radio, you may have been young enough for him to have been the only president you ever knew. And you may recall how shocking and numbing the news was. Here was the person who had led the country through the depths of the Depression and through the conflict of World War II, a war whose end was in sight. And now he was gone. Continue reading
Exodus 3:1-15
I Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
If I were teaching a course in pastoral care for others, and I had a student like Jesus, I am not sure what kind of grade I would give him. In our story from the Gospel today, we hear of people coming to Jesus with a question that is as old as the Bible itself: Why do bad things happen to good people? Continue reading