The Very Rev. Penny Bridges Today’s Scripture readings seem to come full circle, from the violent, vengeful God who drowns the Egyptian army, to Paul’s exhortation to refrain from judging others on their preferences, to a call for unconditional forgiveness, and finally back to the God who threatens the unrepentant sinner with eternal torture. There’s … READ MORE…
Rev. Cn. Richard Hogue Jr. Happy homecoming Sunday, St. Paul’s! It’s so good to see so many of our ministries and priorities represented here today as we celebrate the beginning of another program year. When I began discerning what the Spirit might ask me to say today, I felt a little confused. Our Gospel … READ MORE…
September 3, 2023Penelope Bridges In our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures today we continue the story of the Exodus. To recap: Pharaoh had ordered that all the baby boys born to the enslaved Israelites were to be murdered. Moses’ mother tried to save him by setting him afloat in the Nile. The baby was rescued … READ MORE…
A Sermon by Peter Bolland Good morning St. Paul’s. I’m very grateful to be here before you today, as one of you. And a very special thank you to our Cathedral Dean, the Very Reverend Penny Bridges for her invitation to speak with you this morning. Yes, Penny invited me here, but if I say … READ MORE…
Penelope Bridges The sons of Jacob turn on their annoying little brother Joseph and sell him into slavery. The disciples fail to recognize Jesus, and Peter fails the test of faith. Two stories today that reflect humanity’s failure to fully embrace the dream of God. Today’s Gospel story comes immediately after the disciples have participated … READ MORE…
Rev.Cn.Richard Hogue One could be forgiven for confusing today’s Gospel for a vignette of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. A couple of spirits show up, a person is briefly but profoundly transformed, confusing the daylights out of everyone present, and then life goes on. If anything of this sort happened to me, I would wonder, … READ MORE…
Penelope Bridges My mind is full of questions today, prompted by our Scripture readings. First, I have questions about Genesis. In today’s episode of the Jacob soap opera, Laban tricks his nephew Jacob into marrying the wrong girl; Leah obviously goes along with the deception; and somehow it’s not until the morning after the wedding … READ MORE…
The Rev. Cn. Richard Hogue Jr. Welcome, everyone, to our second Comic-Con Sunday! It is a joyful thing seeing some dressed for the occasion. We folks in the altar party come in our costumes every Sunday. Each of the stories represented here draws on the human instinct to create new ways of looking at the … READ MORE…
The Rev. Dr. Charlie Bell Happy Pride to you all! Well, whilst it was fantastic to see St Paul’s Cathedral front and centre of yesterday’s Pride March, I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that St Paul is one of the more unlikely candidates for patron saint of Pride. Those of us committed to embracing … READ MORE…
The Very Rev. Dean Penny Bridges You may have noticed that we are reading passages from Genesis each Sunday this summer. We are following a semi-continuous sequence, starting with the call of Abraham, and outlining the foundational story of the Jewish people: Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Jacob’s twelve sons who founded the twelve tribes of … READ MORE…