Week of December 15, 2019
So one of my more unusual personal Advent traditions is that when the readings from Isaiah (11:1-10) appear in our lectionary describing the “Peaceable Kingdom” I reintroduce myself to the works of American painter Edward Hicks. Hicks (1780-1849) was a Quaker minister and artist who painted a depiction of the Peaceable Kingdom 62 times in…
Week of December 8, 2019
Amidst the onset of Advent and the approach of Christmas in this liturgical season, we have perhaps forgotten one other change in our worship life together: the switch to the Gospel of Matthew. For those who do not know, the readings in church are determined based on a three-year cycle with begins on the first…
Week of December 1, 2019
As the nation gathers together for a communal expression of Thanksgiving, I would like to just celebrate the fact that God calls us to gratitude every day of our lives, should we choose to listen. I believe that gratitude is the cornerstone of Christian spirituality and discipleship, especially in the way that it helps us avoid…
Week of November 24, 2019
With so many things going on this week, I wanted to share with you a few things happening at Trinity. First, my thanks to everyone who has filled out a pledge card and returned it to the office. Every card has come in with the hope of seeing the ministries of Trinity Church grow and…
Week of November 10, 2019
The readings from last Sunday, which were taken from the Feast Day of All Saints, featured a sort of “before and after” aspect that may not be immediately evident. The book of Daniel is best known for stories about Daniel and others surviving the hardships of living under Babylonian rule (such as Daniel in the…
Week of November 3, 2019
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was continuing to look at ways in which Trinity Church could respond to the increased need to assist the community’s homeless population, particularly in light of the recent (and necessary) downsizing of the Lawrence Community Shelter. Since then, I have met with local government leaders from the…
Week of October 27, 2019
If last Sundays’ Gospel reading (Luke 18:1-8) had a theme song, it might be the classic, “Anything You Can Do” from “Annie Get Your Gun.” I have always found this passage, others similar to it, to be comforting in the utter simplicity of its argument. Essentially, Jesus makes the claim that if we are to believe that…
Week of October 20, 2019
This weekend is our annual Diocesan Convention, where clergy and delegates from around the Diocese of Kansas gather together to worship and explore our shared ministry together. The focus of this year’s convention is “The Way of Love,” a program developed by Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. The Way of Love is a…
Week of October 13, 2019
Very soon I will be attending a high school reunion. Not my own, but that of my wife Mandy in her hometown of New Braunfels, Texas. I’m excited about going, not just because it is a mini-vacation and I get to see firsthand some of my wife’s history, but also because I am going to be going…
Week of October 6, 2019
I’ll freely admit my memory isn’t as great as it used to be, but I was taken aback when I logged into Facebook and saw that several years ago I was posting an enraged rant about a particular airline company. You see, I have no idea what happened. I’m sure if I went back and researched it…