When I was growing up our family observed a time-honored ritual every year which was affectionately known as “spring cleaning.” Unlike the normal cleaning from week to week, which amounted to dusting and vacuuming and generally straightening up, spring cleaning was an all-out assault on a year’s worth of filth and clutter. It was commonly…
Have you ever been to a library? There’s a special rule for how we use our voices there, right? (Do you remember the rule? How do we speak in a library?) That’s right – we use very quiet voices in the library because we don’t want to disturb anyone who might be reading. Now things…
One day, when my brother and I were kids, we were throwing a football back and forth inside, in our shared bedroom. I threw it too hard and my brother panicked and ducked, and the ball went right through our window. We stopped dead in our tracks and listened to see if our parents might…
I was listening to the radio the other day, and caught an interview with two NASA scientists. It turns out, the new Mars rover Perseverance has landed on the Red Planet. The host interviewing the scientists promised not to go overboard with her own speculations, but asked the question that we all wonder about: what would it…
A few weeks ago at Emmanuel’s Zoom Coffee hour, my friend Meredith led a discussion of the very first places we would like to go post-pandemic. And I blurted out without hesitation: “I want to return to that happiest and most sacred of spaces: The Library of Congress!” It has been a year now and…
What season is it? The season of winter, of course. It’s cold outside! It’s even snowed this past couple of weeks. I hope that wherever you live, you got enough snow to go outside and play in it. Build a little snowman. Do a little sledding. Catch some snowflakes on your tongue. The church also…
Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate Ash Wednesday, the very beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. In preparation for today’s homily, I took some time to reflect on growing up in my family and how we celebrated Lent. Interestingly enough, we didn’t eat meat on any Friday throughout the year. Not…
The Merriam-Webster definition of “simplify” is “to reduce to basic essentials.” Lent is the time to spiritually simplify. On Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, preparing to fast, traditionally we clean out our cupboards and fridge of all that sugar and butter. (The reason for all of those pancake suppers!) Flowers give way to greens on the…
Lent is the purple penitential season. A forty day walk in the wilderness. It begins with a call to repentance and with a reminder of our mortality (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21). Along the way, we hear the stories of Nicodemus (John 3: 1-17) and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4: 5-12). We bear witness to…
Hi everyone, thank you for tuning into today’s sermon. These certainly are wild and ever changing times and we at Emmanuel are doing our level best to adapt with the changing news and happenings all around us – all in a spirit of flexibility, joy and anticipation. Working hard to stay in the present moment and…
