Week of June 9, 2019
Sunday is Pentecost, often considered the birthday of the Church because the Holy Spirit fell upon the Apostles and other followers, granting them the wisdom and power to continue Christ’s work in the world. Birthdays are often times a day to celebrate our existence, but a birthday for the Church is also a chance to…
Week of June 2, 2019
I am pleased to announce that Jonah Brandley will be joining the Trinity staff in June. Jonah will have two areas of responsibility. The first will be to provide office staff coverage in the morning and early afternoon. The second will be to provide staff support to our visitor, newcomer, and membership ministries. Jonah is…
Week of May 26, 2019
As we wrap up the school year and move into the summer months, I hope you will join with me as we not only welcome our newest bishop, but also recognize the invaluable ministry of our Sunday School teachers this past school year at the 10:30 AM service. But as we transition to the summer…
Week of May 19, 2019
This past Spring I coached for the first time a roller derby team, the Regulators. They were a brand-new expansion team for Fountain City Roller Derby, a league in Kansas City. Before my retirement I played for another team for FCRD, the Usual Suspects, who ironically would win the championship after I left. As an…
Week of May 12, 2019
Ram Dass and Paul Gorman wrote a book called “How Can I Help?” It was a highly influential textbook for me in seminary when I was studying pastoral care. The book is a guide for service, be it as professionals, volunteers, activists, family or friends. At its core, the key lessons involve listening and asking…
Week of May 5, 2019
This Easter season we will be hearing a great deal from the book of Revelation in our worship service, usually as the second (or third, if you count the Psalm) scripture reading. This book often creates feelings of confusion, concern, or dismissal because of its unique nature in the New Testament as an apocalyptic text….
Week of April 28, 2019
On the week after Easter my old boss, the Rev. Arthur Hadley, used to take the entire week off and travel to the Trappist monastery that had been the home of Thomas Merton. But not only does the idea of being silent for an entire week sound like complete torture to me, the week after Easter…
Week of April 21, 2019
I stepped outside this week in short sleeves, expecting the warm sun of the days prior, only to be blasted by a gust of brisk, cold air. I nervously checked my phone to see what the weather was to be for Easter Sunday, mindful of the fact that we have had snow on Easter the…
Week of April 14, 2019
A weeklong anamnesis. That sounds like a medical problem, but it actually what Holy Week aspires to be. “Anamnesis” is the portion of the Eucharist in which we remember Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. It typically starts with something like “On the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread…” We engage in that story…
Week of April 7, 2019
I have two things I want to share with the congregation, one regarding a recent break-in and another regarding my new policy regarding announcements. First, our Junior Warden made an announcement at the 10:30 AM service two Sundays ago that Trinity had experienced another break-in on March 11. The intruders entered the church proper, rummaged through the…