Category The Parish Paper

In the face of institutional inertia, reformers may feel the need to “move fast and break things”, but then they run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Getting the balance right requires prudence, and sound judgment. Even churches struggle to do so. In the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the Roman church identified public worship as an area in need of renewal, but the reforms that followed were more drastic than had been anticipated, and did serious damage to the liturgy of the Roman church, and by its influence, on the liturgies of Protestant churches also.

It would be understandable that many a person drawn to Christ would be of two minds about joining a church and committing himself to fellowship with other believers. Christ’s glory is so great, it can only expose the flaws and failures of those who bear his name! Relationships with other Christians can be challenging. Dealing with institutional structures can be frustrating. In the modern culture of individualism and consumerism it may seem that reading your Bible and saying your prayers on your own might be a best path for the Christian disciple.

The Feast of Candlemas bridges past and present, where ancient rituals meet modern faith through the symbolic power of light.

As we reflect on Saint Paul's journey, we're reminded that each of us has the potential to be instruments of change in our communities. His story challenges us to examine our own spiritual paths and consider how our personal transformations might contribute to the greater glory of God and his creation.

The journey of Prayer Book Catholicism reflects a complex religious evolution, where traditional practices meet modern challenges. While the media approach once served as a bridge between Catholic and Protestant traditions, its foundations have faced significant scrutiny in recent decades.

Nothing comes from nothing. Things do not “just happen”. For every effect, there must be a cause adequate to explain the effect. So where did faith in Jesus as God come from? How did Christians come to affirm that the man Jesus is also God? The conventional explanation many would give is that the historical Jesus morphed into a mythical God, through a process of embellishment and misunderstanding; and that any use of the language of God in relation to Jesus must be understood not literally but as supercharged metaphor for an inspiring religious and moral teacher.

On January 1st, the church observes the octave day of Christ’s Nativity, commemorates his Circumcision, and begins a new (civil) year in his grace. Before drawing out the connections between these, a brief excursus into art history: St. Luke’s gospel tells us that the new-born child of Mary was wrapped in swaddling clothes; and for…

A biblical and theological exposition of the ancient lessons for Christmas.¹ I Though rarely recognized as such, the account of Christ’s birth in Luke’s gospel is profoundly political. Even the shepherds summoned to his cradle are ancient biblical (and classical) images of government both divine and human. In “the decree of Caesar Augustus, that all…

C. S. Lewis wrote the Narnia books for children, but with a richness of imagination and a depth of psychological and spiritual insight that merit serious attention by adults. A recent conversation about the challenges of transitioning from childhood beliefs about Santa Claus (and more generally from childhood) drove me back to them. For Christian…

We asked Cathy Baxter, Executive Director of Hope Haven, to write about this new respite ministry at St. John’s for caregivers of persons with dementia. Cathy will be manning a table outside the church after the 11 a.m. service on Sunday to answer any questions you may have about this new initiative. As Christmas approaches,…

“People look east”: but why east? Jews face Jerusalem when they pray, and Muslims face Mecca – but the ancient custom for Christians was to face east in prayer. Why not north, south, or west? Because east is the quarter from which the sun rises. In Latin the word for “east” is oriens, “rising”, and so to face east in alignment with the rising sun is the proper meaning of the word orientation.

One of my favorite collects (Trinity 4) makes this petition: “that [God] being our ruler and guide, may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal”. It’s a prayer for the right use of time, a prayer that our passage through time might not end in darkness, but in life with God. In the cycles of the sun and moon, the rotation of the earth, nature provides markers for the passage of time, in days, seasons, and years.