Our Calling
Fishing on the Sea of Galilee was not a great job. It was dangerous, with the sudden storms that swept upon the lake. And it didn’t bring in much money. Fishing was big business, but unlike the captains here in Morro Bay, the fishermen were not entrepreneurs. They were at the bottom of a rigid hierarchy, and got to keep very little of what they caught. Fishermen had to have licenses to fish the waters as well as provide most…
A Time of Change – A Pre-Inauguration Sermon
Tomorrow is a big day. For some of us it is a time of rejoicing, for others a time of sadness. For all of us it is a time of change. After 8 years of consistent leadership we are going into the unknown. It was a risk, eight years ago, to elect a young, relatively unknown black, President; a risk that paid off for many but not all. It is a risk again this year to have elected a President…
Bishop Mary’s Sermon
Unfortunately the space on the chip ran out before the end so the last few minutes are cut off.
The Music of the Heart
The New Year is here. We’re facing a year of great struggles, in our nation and in the world, in our communities and even within our own families. Most of us are already weary, and it’s only Day One. Can we trust that God is speaking to us in the midst of this chaos, inviting us to be co-creators of a better future? And how can we hear God speaking in the midst of the chaos, so we can…
Nothing Changes Except Everything
Nothing changed. God had broken into our world with sound and beauty. Light and hope pierced the dark of gloom and nothing changed. The prophets of old had spoken of it; “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The people who sat in darkness waited and hoped and prayed and longed for Light to dawn. But…
And now it’s Christmas
This has been an unusual and, in many ways, difficult year. And now it’s Christmas. Last Christmas I was given the gift of a pedicure. I’d never had one before and was very nervous about it. But I put on my big girl pants and went downtown, and surprise! It was not too painful and I liked the way my toes looked afterwards. So I’ve been back. Last time I was there I overhead another customer asking her hygienist whether…
Unlawful holy living
Along with most other mainstream churches, Episcopalians use a three year cycle of Bible Readings for Sunday mornings. This year our main focus will be the gospel of Matthew. Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is the more familiar one. In today’s reading from Matthew we heard about Jesus’ father, Joseph, and one of the dreams which prompted him to take some unexpected and daring steps. But before I talk about that, I want to make some more general…
Wellsprings
Sometimes we think that the Gay Rights movement started with the riot at Stonewall Inn or that the Civil Rights movement began the day Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, but of course they didn’t. They started long, long before those iconic moments. They are the moments around which something that had been building coalesced. Something that had been building in people’s hearts and minds for years. When a new social movement breaks out and…