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…
St. James' Episcopal Church – Mt. Airy, Maryland
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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…
Dear St. James’ Parish Family, We have entered my favorite season of the church year, Advent. It is a time in which we can build in pauses and deep breaths as the world around us spins faster and faster. Advent is a season of hope and expectation, of reflection and preparation. It points us toward Bethlehem and the…
For God has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. ~ 2 Samuel 23:5b We read this passage from the last words of King David last Sunday. It is one of the many instances found in scripture of the repeated promise of eternal covenant with the people of Israel. And it is something we need to always…
This Sunday we come to the last Sunday of the church year. Traditionally known as the Feast of Christ the King, in recent years many have starting calling it the Feast of the Reign of Christ. I like that nuance because it speaks more to my experience. There are no kings in my day-to-day life…
One of the pieces of coming to know each other is learning how we care for one another. Pastoral care is an essential part of Christian community, and as your priest I have a role to play in this ministry. There is no one size fits all way of caring for each other. In my experience, some folk want others to walk…