Blog

This past Tuesday, on the feast of the Confession of St. Peter, I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. I have always taken great comfort in being ordained on this feast. On one hand, Peter recognized and confessed that Jesus was the messiah, the son of the living God. On theRead more

There is a scene in the Book of Exodus revealing an encounter between God and Moses. God has just commanded Moses to lead the people away from the holy mountain, the place where they’ve been dwelling after their escape from Egypt’s oppression. God is inviting Moses to take the people into the land that wasRead more

I’ve driven through a lot of fog lately – or maybe it’s technically mist, I’m not sure – but whatever it should be called it lends an air of mystery to my day. Sometimes I find the fog annoying and depressing, like during the summer in the city when my body craves the sun. ButRead more

Walking is about the only form of exercise that I really enjoy doing, and my new favorite walk since I started here at St. John’s is from the church to the log cabin at Phoenix Lake. It’s been especially gratifying to do this after the recent rains, because the waterfall from the spillway of theRead more

Last Sunday our children told the story of Christmas. They learned songs, memorized lines, practiced their entrances – how they would walk in and where they would stand, they put on their costumes and worked together, transforming the church into a scene from Bethlehem, 2,000 years ago (give or take). I imagine this story isRead more

For as long as I can recall, my mom has attended St. John’s Advent Quiet Days. When I was little, this day was shrouded in mystery – not unlike Advent itself- as my mom would announce where she was going and disappear to a church that I’d never been to (the beautiful St. Columba’s Inverness).Read more

Ever since my seminary days in the mid-90s I have begun Advent by reading a short reflection by the writer and minister, Frederick Buechner. It was originally published in 1988, and while it shows its age, I still feel it evokes the expectation of Advent and the importance of attending to Advent at a timeRead more

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this holiday is filled with gratitude, joy, and rest, as we give thanks, and with understanding and deepening awareness, as we seek to see things from different perspectives. On Sunday, we begin the new church year with the season of Advent. As the season of fall begins to give way toRead more

At the Wednesday night Bible Study we’ve been slowly making our way through Exodus. It is a book that covers a lot of territory. First there is the story of Moses – a baby born into a harsh world whose life is preserved by courageous women, a youth who takes action to serve and protectRead more

St. John’s parishioners first met Fr. Francis Matumba in 2004 during a visit to an AIDS support organization operated by him in Malawi’s central region. Since then, St. John’s parishioners visited him twice, once while he was the rector of St. John’s, Salima in 2011 and again in 2013 when he worked for the AnglicanRead more