As Christians we are people of story. A few weekends ago your Vestry and I met and made retreat, and a part of the work we engaged in was their role as leaders in this community as storytellers. Storytellers re-member (as in literally put together) our stories – stringing them together like a pearl necklace to create a bigger story. This is…
St. James' Episcopal Church – Mt. Airy, Maryland
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Let my prayer rise up like incense before you, the lifting up of my hands as an offering to you. ~Psalm 141 The use of incense in worship goes back to our earliest scriptures. Within the Episcopal Church the use of incense is varied – from “Smokey Mary’s” in New York City to “low churches” where the word ‘thurifur’ sounds like…
Dear St. James’ Parish Family, The warm weather as February is turning into March is a reminder that spring always follows winter, just as the empty tomb always follows the cross. We are deep in Lent, and our eyes are being turned toward the three great days and the day of the resurrection. For as much as…
“I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time – waking and sleeping. It does not change God, it changes me.” ~ C.S. Lewis ~ You are invited to join an exploration of five different prayer practices as we journey through the holy season of Lent this…
Dear St. James’ Parish Family, The holy season of Lent is nearly upon us. Yes, it is early this year! Ash Wednesday is February 10th, which means Easter will be March 27th. But before we get to the empty tomb, we must first encounter ashes on our journey to the cross. One of my favorite prayers is the Invitation to Observe a Holy Lent…
We’re finally getting a taste of winter, and with it I know several folks have caught colds and flu bugs. Tis the season and all that! Along with prayers for happy healing I want to share a bit with you around communion practices that I return to every year at this time. There is no…
For the next couple of seasons of the church year we will be adding a liturgical feature to the beginning of our 10:30 service, an introit. Introits have a long history, and you can read more about them by clicking on the link below. In the most basic sense, though, introits are simply a piece of music sung at the beginning of…
Beginning in January, on the third Sunday of every month during Sunday School (9:30-10:15), I will lead a spiritual parenting group for parents and grandparents. If you’re anything like me this parenting thing can throw you for a loop at times, especially when it comes to the hard questions our kids ask about life and faith and the world we live in. …
Last Sunday in my sermon I asked how many of you are like me, and your house is never cleaner than five minutes before guest arrive. In both services there was a murmur of agreement and knowing nods. Although I wasn’t thinking about it when I wrote the sermon, in reflection it brings to mind one of my favorite poems by Mary…
Some of you remarked last Sunday on the change in liturgy for the season of Advent, as well as the format for our bulletin. The newly formed Liturgy Team met last month to plan ahead for Advent and Christmas, looking over potential Eucharistic Prayers and seasonal music selections. Going with the previously established pattern of changing these for each liturgical season (the…