Weekly essays inspired by Anglican themes and theology.
Vol. 57 No. 22 The Third Sunday after Easter April 26, 2026 Last Sunday at Evensong, Fr. Andrew Mead, OBE, and Rector Emeritus of St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, offered these reflections on the occasion of the Admission of five new Choristers to the Girls’ Choir of St. John’s. Our lessons today (Exodus 33, John 21) each…
Vol. 57 No. 21 The Second Sunday after Easter April 19, 2026 Those who attended the concert of the Tallis Scholars this past Sunday evening at St John’s heard unaccompanied vocal music of astonishing purity, beauty, and power. I confess, it gave me goosebumps. They sang works from the golden age of Renaissance polyphony—well-known works by…
Vol. 57 No. 20 The First Sunday after Easter (Low Sunday) April 12, 2026 Easter Lilies 2026The lilies adorning the Church were given to the glory of God and in loving memory of:• Mr. & Mrs. Howard J. Hoffman and Mr. & Mrs. Earle M. Culver, by their family• Margaret L. Armstrong, by the Culver family•…
Vol. 57 No. 19 Easter Sunday April 5, 2026 All the way through Lent, the Church has been veiled in Lenten array, a token of repentance and sorrow for our sins, which were the cause of Christ’s passion. When the veils come down on Easter, it is a sign that in the resurrection of Jesus the…
Vol. 57 No. 18 Palm Sunday (Lent 6) March 29, 2026 Over the course of Holy Week, the Church reads the Passion narratives of all four Gospels in order. It is a great deal to absorb, and these notes are intended to help us follow the story with understanding. We may think of what follows under…
Vol. 57 No. 17 Passion Sunday (Lent 5) March 22, 2026 This coming Wednesday, on the Feast of the Annunciation, we commemorate the conception of Christ—an event in history—and we celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God—a reality that endures forever. It is a day that invites us to consider not only what happened in…
Vol. 57 No. 16 The Fourth Sunday in Lent March 15, 2026 In a period of history from which few written records survive, Saint Patrick speaks in his own voice in two short writings: the Confession and the Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus. These are not polished theological treatises but deeply personal documents—defensive, reflective, and…
Vol. 57 No. 15 The Third Sunday in Lent March 8, 2026 Our country is at war—and as with all wars, there is no telling where that will take us. In the aftermath of “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is vigorous debate about its justification and its aims. Given the tribalized state of our…
Vol. 57 No. 14 The Second Sunday in Lent March 1, 2026 “Lenten array” refers to the old custom of veiling the splendor of the sacred images of the church in penitential garb of unbleached linen adorned with symbols of the passion in red and black. Last year, thanks to memorial donations, we were able to…
Vol. 57 No. 13 The First Sunday in Lent February 22, 2026 Organizing conferences is not a task I especially enjoy. But the secret of a good conference is not hard to grasp: choose a topic with real substance, invite speakers who have wisdom to share, gather people who care, and give them opportunities not only…
Vol. 57 No. 12 The Last Sunday before Lent (Quinquagesima) February 15, 2026 I trust you have all had this experience, or one like it. Maybe it’s a word game, or a work of art, or a poem, or a mathematical problem: you look at it, and you are perplexed. But you kept looking at it,…
Vol. 57 No. 11 The Second Sunday before Lent (Sexagesima) February 8, 2026 Of late there has been a lot of talk about loneliness and the loss of community—and it’s well-founded. Even when we are busy and connected, something can feel insubstantial. Fewer people marry than once did. Friendships are often mediated through screens. Work fills…
