The (Overwhelmingly) Great Cloud of Witnesses

In a tunnel, in what seems somehow both like a thousand years ago and yesterday, I began to voice my call. It was a dark, isolating place in which I quietly and timidly voiced the first stirrings of my calling to ministry. Most of the people in my life weren’t comfortable with it, and, toContinue reading “The (Overwhelmingly) Great Cloud of Witnesses”

The Foolishness of Courage

A sermon delivered to the people of St. John’s Norwood Episcopal Parish in Chevy Chase, MD on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 on January 29, 2017. There is an unfolding trend among wealthy technology executives and the super rich: doomsday shelters. These are not shelters far out in the woods owned by those who are disconnected fromContinue reading “The Foolishness of Courage”

A Life Worthy of Our Calling

A sermon delivered to Virginia Theological Seminary, Friday, November 18, 2016 on Ephesians 4:1-6:  I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain theContinue reading “A Life Worthy of Our Calling”

Mary’s Song of Faithfulness

Sermon delivered to the people of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Germantown on Luke 1: 46-55 on Sunday, August 14th in celebration of the Feast of Saint Mary.    An additional 250 police and paramilitary officers are being brought into the site of the Assumption of Mary in Lourdes, France near the Spanish border. This isContinue reading “Mary’s Song of Faithfulness”

But Mary Stood Weeping

Sermon on the text of John 20:1-18 delivered during Holy Week, March 23, 2016 to the Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology Chapel. There are days in hospital chaplaincy that are smooth and easy; days when God’s presence is obvious and abundant, and days when lives are saved, families reunited, and prayers answered. But there areContinue reading “But Mary Stood Weeping”

There’s a Stirring

There is much stirring about in the denomination of which I was once a part, and with all my heart, I hope it continues to be and becomes a holy stirring towards a more faithful reading of scripture. I have spoken much of my love for my former tradition; that those who raised me, bothContinue reading “There’s a Stirring”