The Sunday Sermon: True Greatness

My Acorn TV obsession of the moment is a series called The Clinic. It’s an ensemble medical drama set in Ireland. Over and over again misunderstandings and conflict arise because people don’t spell out what they need or what they mean. They keep missing opportunities for important conversations about relationships, death, and family. Maybe you … READ MORE…

Dean Letter: Congregational Feedback

Dear St. Paul’s family,                 Our recent series of summer socials gave me an opportunity to say in person to about 250 of you how much I love St Paul’s and all of you. Every day I give thanks for the tremendous privilege of serving this extraordinary community. You are faithful, smart, sophisticated, engaged, passionate … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: Homecoming: Listen with the Heart

Listen. What do you hear? The breathing of the person next to you. The traffic outside. A voice. The shuffling of paper. The beating of your own heart. There is no background music, no mechanical buzz. This is a quiet place, a sacred space, a refuge from the chaos and noise of the world. In … READ MORE…

Dean Letter: Summer Wrap up

Dear St. Paul’s Family, This week we celebrate Homecoming, a regathering after the summer and a rededication to mission and ministry. But we haven’t been idle: here are some facts and figures about our cathedral summer. Martin Green held two weeks of choir camps, attended by 19 children in all, several of them new recruits. … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: Bread from Heaven

For four weeks now we have been hearing about Jesus and bread. He fed the multitude with bread and fish. He spoke of manna in the wilderness as bread from heaven. He said, ¨I am the Bread of Life¨. And now he says, ¨I am the living bread that came down from heaven … Those … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: The Way of Love

“Every cloud has a silver lining. That test was a piece of cake. Don´t worry, I was only pulling your leg.” What do these phrases have in common? They are all idioms, phrases that mean something different from what the individual words say and that would not make sense if translated into another language word … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: open to grace

Almost exactly 12 years ago, I made a big life change. I had been working in corporate America. I was successful, and good at what I did. I made enough money. I lived in a nice, new house in the LA area. And 12 years ago this month, I left that behind, sold my house, … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: O still, small voice of calm

There´s a lot about coming and going mentioned in our Scripture today. King David is enjoying being settled at home after his comings and goings and now wants to make sure God settles down with him. Paul writes to the Ephesians about those who were far off from God coming near. Jesus and his disciples … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: Just Love

You know, we’re still talking about it! A certain African American cleric preaches at a certain family wedding in the UK, albeit one watched by billions, and proceeds to turn the world quite literally upside down. Indeed, just last week, the Archbishop of York started his Presidential address to the General Synod of the Church … READ MORE…

The Sunday Sermon: A Different Kind of Power

On Friday, the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis published an almost entirely blank editorial page. At the end of a week when a supreme court justice announced his retirement and national turmoil continued over the detention of immigrant families, the Capital Gazette chose not to express any opinion in its Friday edition. Instead, the page … READ MORE…