Rev'd Gavin Dunbar

At the heart of conventional worldly religion, God is conceived of as a metaphor or symbol of spirituality, a projection of human hopes and aspirations, a dream of what might or should be. But if God is just the other…

Since the 1960’s, we have been caught up in a far-reaching cultural revolution. One aspect of this revolution has been retreat from participation in the institutions of community life – notably marriage and church – but also from civic engagement…

The teaching of Scripture is the primary authority for what Christians know and believe; but under Scripture, Anglicans (and many other Christians) receive the three Creeds that have come down from the ancient catholic church, as reliable touchstones of Scripture’s…

Second of Two Parts In the first part of this essay, we explored the meaning of the term “Son of man”, used by Jesus to refer to himself, as the key to his understanding of the titles “Messiah” and “Son…

The church commemorates the martyrdom of St. Peter (and also St. Paul) on June 29th, a feast especially important to the church of Rome, which cherished its apostolic roots, and the tombs of the apostles, housed in magnificent basilicas built…

(Part 1 of 2) The Creeds teach us to speak of Jesus as Christ and Son of God – but it is notable that in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) such language is rare. There are good reasons…

A reflection on the formation of faith in the young by Mr. Vanderlip. Do dogs ask “Who am I?” That seems a distinctly human question. A child may ask of a quadruped, shaggy creature that is so affectionate toward her,…

Poor Pentecost! In the church’s law of prayer, it is a feast of the Gospel on par with Christmas and Easter, but in practice is treated like any other Sunday. It’s a comment, not only the significance of the feast,…

Somewhat like weddings and funerals, ordinations have been taken over by the contemporary culture of the autonomous self and turned into “celebrations” of the persons who are entering a holy estate, rather than of the holy estate to which they…

Thursday, May 29, 2025, is the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension, one of the most important but also most neglected festivals of the Church’s year. On Ascension Day, Holy Communion will be administered in the Chapel at Noon and 5…

In the minds of many, Christmas is the chief festival of the Church’s year, with Easter in second place – but after that? Most would have trouble picking out other days of importance. This impression is understandable, but mistaken, because…

(Part 2 of 2) In last week’s essay, I made some sharp criticisms of the Presiding Bishop’s Easter Letter – its tendency to eisegesis (reading his own views into Scripture, rather than reading out of Scripture the ideas it sets…