Rector's Blog

This blog is also available as a podcast.

Rector's Blog: Stubborn Christians

This blog is also available as a podcast. I became a priest, in part, out of stubbornness. I was a waiter at the time, and my coworkers had a lot to do with my decision. Throughout our time working together, many of them consistently commu...

Rector's Blog: When We Repent

This blog is also available as a podcast. Last week I wrote that throughout the Epiphany Season, I planned to interview parishioners about their vocation for my blog. Then Wednesday, January 6th happened. We watched a violent act of insurr...

Rector's Blog: Your Epiphany

This blog is also available as a podcast. Ok, so Christmas is over. The baby was born. Jesus is here. God with us. Now what? In the church we celebrate a season called Epiphany, and I’m here to tell you it’s underrated. Epiphany ...

Rector's Blog: Wait and Wonder

This blog is also available as a podcast. Every year is the same. Every Christmas, as the day approaches, we stress about the same things: About our expectations for the day, for the season, about if we will give and get the right things for...

Rector's Blog: Rest in Peace

This blog is also available as a podcast. Yesterday I held my friend David’s hand. He told me he loved me. I told him I loved him. We talked about what had been, and what was coming. He told me he was ready. He told me he loved me again. I...

Rector's Blog: Rest Dysfunction

This blog is also available as a podcast My wife has a sleep disorder. It’s called Narcolepsy. You’ve probably heard of it, though you don’t necessarily know what it does. I remember thinking narcolepsy meant someone would fall aslee...

Rector's Blog: I am Thankful for You

This blog is also available as a podcast. One Thanksgiving we put our names in a hat. There were four families of people together that Thanksgiving – which feels so odd to imagine heading into this quiet little COVID holiday, but there...

Rector's Blog: We're Taking a Break

This blog is also available as a podcast. Back in April, shortly after Church of the Redeemer transitioned to remote and digital ministry, we had a realization: We were losing money. In response to the pandemic and based on our B...

Rector's Blog: Are You Tired?

This blog is also available as a podcast. Can we rest yet? Is it time? The dizzying, never-ending buzz, the exhausting, contentious election season, and the marathon Groundhog Day experience of a four-day Election are all in our rearview m...

Rector's Blog: In the Hands of a Competent God

This blog is also available as a podcast. Do you have your plan? We’ve been hearing this question a lot lately as Election Day approaches. And of course, it’s referring to your need to come up with a plan for how you will vote:...

Rector's Blog: When Jesus Votes

This blog is also available as a podcast. In Ireland, during the Troubles, if someone was asked, “Are you a Catholic or a Protestant?” and they responded, “I’m an atheist,” the question would come back immediate...

Rector's Blog: Why Christians Must Say Black Lives Matter

This blog is also available as a podcast. I do a lot of premarital counseling with couples. I don’t spend any time trying to figure out if these two belong together – that’s above my paygrade. And I don’t test them ...

Rector's Blog: Your Commitment in 2021

This blog is also available as a podcast. I’m writing to you today about how I’d like you to make a financial commitment to Church of the Redeemer in 2021. If this makes you uncomfortable, I hope you stick around anyway: Your u...

Rector's Blog: A Place for This Church in Your Life

This blog is also available as a podcast. It seems like we're supposed to preface everything these days with, "I know this not how we'd like things to be but..." We have an understanding, of course, that our lives have been radically up...

Rector's Blog: Unity not Uniformity

This blog is also available as a podcast. When I was growing up, we talked about politics in my family. Which is to say we argued a lot. Mostly around the dinner table. I’m not sure what there was to argue about – for all inten...

Rector's Blog: Last Sunday I Stayed Home

This blog is also available as a podcast. I stayed home and watched church on Sunday. I know you probably did too, since there were only 9 people in the building that day. But, y’know: Normally I’m in it. So even when we’...

Rector's Blog: Holy Connection and Communion

This blog is also available as a podcast. When we first started piecing together our Vision Statement a couple years ago, we knew we needed to talk about relationships. The relationships we build and foster here are like the marrow of the ...

Rector's Blog: I miss taking Communion

This blog is also available as a podcast. "I miss taking Communion." "Really? What do you miss about it?" I was not prepared to be challenged by a priest when I said I missed communion. But that was what was happening. I wanted him to say, �...

Rector's Blog: Building Unity

This blog is also available as a podcast. Last Sunday I walked down the center aisle of our Church for the first time in a long time. What’s more, I wasn’t alone! A small group of us had gathered together to rehearse the st...

Rector's Blog: No Such Thing As Secular

Last Spring, I preached a sermon about the political implications of the Gospel. It was, I have to tell you, not my favorite topic. Talking about divisive things in the church makes me squirm, and what’s more divisive than politics in our curre...

Rector's Blog: What Percentage of Your Income Do You Give to The Church?

This blog is also available as a podcast. What percentage of your income do you give to the church? Do you know the number? I have almost never known this number my entire life. I remember learning that in the Bible there was a mandate fo...

Rector's Blog: Where is Jesus in Your Spending?

This blog is also available as a podcast. Where is Jesus in your spending? I asked you this question last week, but I sort of hid it at the bottom of the blog, so maybe you didn’t notice it. We don’t get to avoid that question ...

Rector's Blog: We Sold Our House

This blog is also available as a podcast. Last Fall I was sitting in a presentation at our Annual Clergy Day and had no intention of having my life changed. My preference would have been to simply survive the day and get home before Cincin...

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