sounds like grace

2012-02-01T09:18:00.000-05:00

On how we create the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant when we live out the teachings of Jesus with another Child of God. We have to grow up and actually begin to see how what we do embodies the kingdom/rule of God or not. And not just for ourselves but for others.

Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28

*images taken from public domain and assumed to be free.

Grace Life, January 26, 2012

2012-01-26T14:06:00.002-05:00

Grace Life:

Grace Episcopal Church

Schedule of Events

What new way can you welcome, worship, study and serve in and around Grace Church? See below for new adult formation opportunities on Sunday mornings.

This Week/Weekend

Meals for Vanderbush/Kelly Family: On December 24, 2011, Lisa Kelly & Brooks Vanderbush and children welcomed Archer to the family. If you are able to provide a meal for this family of 5, please contact Amy Richards at 409.8615. The food restrictions are: no pork, nuts or berries. Thanks for helping with this important ministry!

Epiphany Play:

The last rehearsal is Friday, January 29 at 6:30 p.m. We will dress in costume. Sunday morning, the 29th, the children will attend Sunday School as usual. I will pull them from their classes to get in their costumes on shortly before coming down to perform. The play will be after the sermon!

Join the Bread of Life classes :

Sun│ Through Feb. 19 │9 a.m.│LL 1

Learn the basic little daily practices of faith in small classes and with a cup of coffee on Sunday mornings. Led by Rosemary Hagan, D. Min., director of Adult Formation, and The Very Reverend Daniel Richards, a series of adult formation classes will be held during the season of Epiphany. Childcare is available upon request; please call the office by the Thursday before.

The Story of Your Life:

Writing a Spiritual Autobiography

Sunday│January 29│ 9 a.m. │Jubilee House

This year during Epiphany, Linnea Stifler, our seminary intern, will lead a class. It will meet on Sunday mornings between services in Jubilee House. Materials will be provided, but pre-registration is requested. All sessions will include time dedicated to writing, as well as time for discussion and sharing (as desired). Registration is limited to 8.

Ministry of the Week-Jubilee House: "The House Next Door", is one of Grace Church Jubilee Center's ministries where the Gospel of Matthew 25:35 is followed each and everyday for all of God's children.

Contribution Envelopes:

Envelopes for 2012 are available in the commons and in the Parish Hall.

Contribution Statements: Year-end 2011 contribution statements are available to be picked up in the commons this weekend. Please save us a stamp and pick them up!

Altar Flowers Donation Schedule for 2012:

A new schedule for altar flowers is on the sign-up board in the Parish Hall. All arrangements for the altar will be done by our florist. The fee is $45 (or more) to cover the florist and delivery costs. Please have your wording to the office before Wednesday. Please contact Nancy Templeton at 947.2063 or Maxcie Latimer at 947.6376 with any questions.

Sanctuary Lamp Donations: The 2012 schedule is posted in the Parish Hall. The cost for the lamp is $5. Please sign up in the Parish Hall with your verbiage that will be in the bulletin!

Bulletin/E.update Items:

If your group will not meet, be sure to contact Erika in the office so she can adjust the calendar. We want to be sure your group/ministry is getting the exposure you want. If you have blurbs you would like in the bulletin or e.update, be sure to send those along to Erika early in the week.

Group Cancellation Policy: The staff may send out a cancellation email for groups of more than 25 members, but we would like groups with less then 25 members to directly contact their ministry or groups. Thanks for your cooperation!

Looking Ahead

Staff Calendar Meeting: The office staff will be holding a calendar meeting on Tuesday, January 31. If you have any events or meetings on the horizon, we ask that you get the details to Erika in the office no later than January 27 to be put on the church calendar. Please note: If you do not submit your dates, we may not be able to provide a space for your event.

Daughters of the King: Five Sat. in Lent (beginning Feb. 25)│9-11 a.m.
DOK will sponsor a Lenten 2012 series focusing on prayer. Mark your calendars for five Saturdays in Lent (February 25, March 3, 17, 24, and 31) to learn about different ways to pray. Different presenters will provide the background and process for each topic, a chance to practice the method of prayer, and then an opportunity to clarify the practice. Look for additional information in the coming weeks. If you have questions, please contact Candice Westerfield at 947-9485.

Other

Volunteer Opportunity with LOVE Inc.: Would you like to be a Love INC volunteer and help our neighbors in need in Grand Traverse County? A special overview and orientation session will be held Thursday, Feb. 2 at the Love INC office beginning at 3 p.m. This opportunity to serve involves gathering information through telephone conversations with clients at the Love INC clearinghouse. Volunteers typically work from 6 to 12 hours per month. Please call Zeke Fleet at (231) 933-0041 or email him at zeke.fleet@gmail.com for more information.

Snow Day Closures

Please Note:

Through the winter, we will follow NMC's winter cancellation policy. If NMC is closed so are we!
You may find out by following this link: NMC

Grace: It's Our Way of Life

As Episcopal Christians we:

Worship at home daily and together weekly;

Serve our families, our parish, and our world in the name of Christ. Study the Scriptures, our tradition, and what it means to be a disciple today;

Everything we do is done with an ethic of Welcome

because we are only here by Grace.

Clergy Appointment Hours

The Very Rev.

Daniel P. Richards:

Mon-Wed 1-4 p.m.
(by Appointment)

Thursday 12-3
(Rector Study Day)

The Rev.
Katheryn King:

Friday 10-12

Weekly Readings

January 28 & 29

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Psalm 111

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Mark 1:21-28

February 4 & 5

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm 147:1-12, 21c

1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39

Service Participants

January 28 & 29 2012

Sat., Jan. 28- 5 p.m.

Greg Hagan, Lay Eucharistic Minister Kerry Nelson, Lector

Vince & Kerry Nelson, Ushers

Sun., Jan. 29 - 8 a.m.

Barbara Klugh, Lay Eucharistic Minister

MaryLee Pakieser & Bill Fowle, Lectors

MaryLee Pakieser & Bill Fowle, Ushers

Sun., Jan. 29 - 10 a.m.

Connie Riopelle, Linnea Stifler & Denny Meyers, Lay Eucharistic Ministers

Elizabeth Black & Steve Wade, Lectors

Chris Black, Intercessor

Rick & Bobbie Garner, Ushers

Christ Black, Welcomer

Brooks Holland & Katie Meyers, Nursery Care

February 4 & 5 2012

Sat., Feb. 4 - 5 pm

Nancy Brannan, Lay Eucharistic Minister

Kerry Nelson, Lector

Vince & Kerry Nelson, Ushers

Sun., Feb 5 - 8 am

Bill Foster, Lay Eucharistic Ministers

Barbara Klugh & Charlene Allen, Lectors

Maxcie Latimer, Usher

Sun., Feb. 5 - 10 am

Bob Foote, Denny Meyers & Linnea Stifler, Lay Eucharistic Ministers

John & Betty Lewis, Lectors

Emily Hittner & Ella Bruining, Acolytes

Brad Will, Intercessor

Adam Gahn & Steve Wade, Ushers

John & Betty Lewis, Welcomers

Karen Libby, Nursery Care

Contact Information

Grace Episcopal Church

341 Washington St.
Traverse City, MI 49684

Phone:

231.947.2330

Website:
www.gracetc.org

Blogspot:

gracetc.blogspot.com

Scripture 202 class:

http://gracefullbible.com

Grace on Facebook

Sermon, Epiphany III, Year B, 22 January 2012 - Holy Dispassion or Seeing the Call above it All

2012-01-22T13:46:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards retells the story of Jonah (hilarious) as a bad example of Holy Dispassion, or not getting caught up in the swirl of emotions or other or lesser obligations. Once we can hear God, then we can follow where God in Christ calls us, leaving the nets behind.

Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62: 6-14
1 Corinthians 7: 29-31
Mark 1:14-20

*Copyright Source: http://www.heqiarts.com/
Copyright Permission: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to use and to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license compatible with this one. For uses other than the above, contact the Divinity Library at divref@vanderbilt.edu.
Attribution: He, Qi. Calling Disciples, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46099 [retrieved January 22, 2012].
Record Number: 46099 Last Updated: 2010-11-14 18:51:35 Record Created: 2006-06-24 00:00:00
Institution: Vanderbilt University Unit: Collection: Art in the Christian Tradition

Sermon, Epiphany II, Year B, 15 Jan 2012 - Listening, Laughing, and Being Attuned

2012-01-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

Young Samuel finds the high priest Eli asleep in the temple
Harmenszoon van Rijn REMBRANDT
C.1635-40

Sermon in which we are reminded to stop and take the time to listen to God, deep listening that goes beyond the laundry list and chit-chat prayers, that not all laughter is good and how to look for what is really wise and good, and finally that God is calling deep within us if we are attuned.

1 Samuel 3:1-20 Samuel and Eli, Samuel hears the voice of God for the first time
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.
John 1:43-51 Jesus calls Philip and meets Nathanael.

Sermon, First Sunday of Epiphany, Year B, 2012 - Three Priniciples of the Life - Magi, John, and the Holy Spirit

2012-01-08T13:44:00.000-05:00

Baptism of Jesus, Mosaic, Arian Baptistry in Ravenna, 500's.

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards explores three spiritual life principles for the life of the disciples of Jesus. The first principle is the Magi principle: You have to Go (and don't be Herod). The second principle is the John the Baptizer principle: you can work for a long time and see no results. The third principle is the Spirit principle: the Spirit does come and when she does, the heavens are torn open and everything is changed. And then, God speaks, and you are made new, given a new name, and sent out with a purpose: to be a part of the work of Christ, binding up the broken-hearted, healing the lame, setting captives free, and proclaiming the day of the Lord's Favor.

Genesis 1:1-5
Psalm 29
Acts 19:1-7
Mark 1:4-11

The Readings for the Epiphany on 6 January were:

Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Psalm 72:1-7,10-14

Sermon, Christmas Day, Year B, 25 December 2011 - Saint John's Christmas Gospel

2011-12-25T12:29:00.000-05:00

The Rev. Katheryn King explores John's Gospel Christmas story, the prologue. One of the most beautiful hymns in Scripture it lays out what the deep meaning of Christmas is. Rev. King shows us how that affects our Christmas and our lives.

Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)
John 1:1-14
Psalm 98

Christmas Eve Sermons from 7pm and 10pm

2011-12-25T01:09:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve Sermon at 7pm in which we are reminded that Christ comes into the backdoor of history like a small light into a darkened room, and our perception of the room is changed forever.

Isaiah 9:2-7
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Psalm 96

Christmas Eve Sermon at 10pm, the "real" sermon now that the kids are in bed about how having a baby changes everything like a light in a darkened room.

2011-12-18T13:42:00.002-05:00

Sermon on the Virgin Mary as not meek and mild Mary, but the prophet and hinge of history. From one side she accepts the Holy Spirit coming upon her and prophesies, and from the other side of history she is the first Christian and mother of the church because she bore the Holy Spirit and so Christ. And Jesus probably wasn't born in a barn.

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Canticle 3 or Canticle 15
or Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
Romans 16: 25-27
Luke 1: 26-38

Sermon, Advent III, Year B, 11 December 2011 - Not a Roman god but Emmanuel

2011-12-11T12:31:00.001-05:00

Sermon from Grace Episcopal Church in Traverse City, Michigan, for the Third Sunday of Advent. The Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards brings unearths our roman god who is distant and perfect and judging and names it and then calls us to the Hebrew God, the God of the prophets and of Jesus Christ who has a dream of humanity, but is close, intimate, and impassioned and merciful. A God in love. Then reminds of our call to the light of that God in the world, witnesses to that light and love.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm 126
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon, Advent II, Year B, 4 December 2011 - Baptism of Water, Baptism of the Holy Spirit

2011-12-04T12:34:00.001-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel Richards interprets John the Baptizer to be saying: "I can change your mind (metanoia/repent), but he will change who you are." The baptism of repentance is about change of mind and life (noia), but Jesus is offering a new Spirit abiding within, the Holy Spirit. All we do in our life of Worship, Study, and Service is preparing the way for the Spirit to come in, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to transform who we are.

Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8

Next week's readings are:

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm 126 or Canticle 3 or Canticle 15
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon, Advent I, Year B, 27 Nov 2011

2011-11-27T13:02:00.001-05:00

Sermon in which the darkness is explored with the small candles of faith. The pyramid of power and the spheres of influence that make up the bueracracy of heaven (otherwise known as the principalities and powers) are pulled down by the Gospel Promise of Emmanuel, God with us. The dark night of apocalypse is both destruction and mystery. In God's coming, we face judgement but with the assurance of salvation. We still though have work to do, an Abba-reality to remember, and baptisms to perform.

Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37

*Artwork is Advent Station One by Jonathan Grant

Advent

2011-11-20T13:48:00.001-05:00

A Season of Light and Mystery

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
John 1:9

Advent comes again this month, marking the change from one liturgical (worship) year to the next. Advent means beginning, and it marks both the beginning of the year and our wait from the coming of Christ. We wait.

In a culture that seems to rush right into Christmas sometime around July 5th, we the followers of Christ wait. In the view of the whole story, we are waiting for Christ to come again in the Resurrection. In the view of the story of Scripture, we are waiting in remembrance of the prophecies and people who waited for Jesus’ appearing.

Each year I have an arc for the year, a sort of basic theme that we keep coming back to in our worship and study. This past year we have looked consistently at Discipleship as a way of understanding Christian practice, stewardship, mission, and way of life. This coming year, we will be looking at Light and Mystery.

Advent always has an image for me of the faithful follower holding a candle, protecting it in the soft dark of early winter. The world is a world of mystery. The modern world defined itself in terms of rationalism and the sorting of truth and lie, fact and fiction, what we could figure out and what we could know with certainty. But the most secure fields of physics and astronomy, who lead the way into certainty, have become fields of mystery where forces move in unexpected ways and objects interact invisibly, leading us away from certainty toward postmodernity.

We live in a world of mystery. The light of faith can be understood as a “this I trust” statement in a world where knowing is felt out with little total vision. I trust the teachings of Jesus about the God, the world, and human beings, in a world where such trust seems dim and slight against all that we do not know.

It seems so, but faith tells us that a little light cannot be overcome by any darkness. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:5. So we gather in Advent around our small candles of faith in the midst of a world seeming to grow dark and discover a light stronger than our accumulation.

The light of Christ comes quietly and mysteriously into the world, in surprising places to surprised people who are willing to say "yes" to the Word that comes and to venture out into the adventures of faith.

The Advent study this year is again centered in the Book of Common Prayer, and I will be co-teaching with our director of adult formation Rosemary Hagan. I will teach the candle bits--the BCP parts, and Rosemary will show us how to carry that light into the mysteries of God’s presence in prayer. Please bring your Bible and Prayer Book for each class. Childcare and dinner will part of the program.

I have been looking forward to Advent for several months now, with the greening of the church, a new Advent candelabra and stations, the blue of mystery and waiting, and the changes to liturgy. A new year in our worship together to discover how this light of Christ changes everything we see.

In His light,

daniel+

Sermon, Proper 29, Year A, 20 Nov 2011 - Christ the King

2011-11-20T12:57:00.001-05:00

Christ the King Sermon in which we are invited into the restaurant, not to eat only, but to learn to cook with Flo, because there is a hungry world out there. We are reminded that we are disciples who follow, stewards who do God's business in the world, because we are children of God through the Grace of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 95:1-7
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46

*A note that the story about the restaurant is fictional. I often obscure some of the personal information in stories so that the privacy of the people involved is maintained, but Flo is just plain made up. I thought that was clear, but some people at the early service were not sure.

daniel+

Thanksgiving Letter

2011-11-17T11:25:00.001-05:00

Dear People of Grace,

Another Thanksgiving arrives on a cool breeze, though a late one, with bare whispers of snow just yet as I write this in early November. We have spent another year together as a church family, some newer and many back for decades now. As we gather week after week for the Great Eucharist, I am reminded that "eucharist" is literally the Great Thanksgiving. Every Sunday we come together, and we worship God; we break open the Scriptures together, and we set out to serve in Christ’s name.

All this past year, we have been talking about discipleship and living a disciplined life. This has been a really fruitful time of study and growth. Let us give thanks for the changes in our lives and our community, small and great, that move us toward each other and Christ. I am struck every week by the Spirit’s work in our members’ lives. As we step toward God, we find him already there, waiting with open arms.

As we turn toward Advent, the liturgical (worship) year turns again, and our life together will grow again. This year we will be looking at Light and Mystery, beginning with entering the mystery of Advent and preparing to bear the Light of Christ with Mary, Elizabeth, Simeon, and John the Baptist.

It is a simple enough mission. We gather and go out. We pray and learn; and so we train to bear the Light of Christ in the world. It is this light that we prepare for in the mysteries of Advent. As the world arms its arsenals of consumerism to celebrate Christmore, that secular distortion of Christmas soaked in stuff and wrapping, we quietly open ourself to that subtle, simple being together where we discover the Rule of God between us (Luke 17:21). That comes in conversations and time, not noise and bustle. But how can we turn away from the world’s expectations? We turn toward each other and Scripture, laughter and tears, healing and hope that come from community and family and the one we wait for.

So slow down. Practice just a few minutes a day of quiet listening to God. Whether you begin with the daily office or a simple plea for direction and presence, spend a little of your morning just listening, present and quiet. Then listen to those around you. God is at work, are you paying attention?

As we close out the last of this year of discipleship together, let us commit to support Grace with our money, yes, but also with our time and deep engagement with God and each other: worshiping, studying and serving together in his Name. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to give. I am honored to be committed with you to this place, this time together.

Happy Thanksgiving,

daniel+

Advent Homework

2011-11-13T13:35:00.001-05:00

For those who like to prepare ahead of time, you A+ students, please read the Gospel of Mark for Advent. Online you can easily find several different translations. See GraceFullBible.com for some options on online Bible websites (under Resources).daniel+

Sermon, Proper 28, Year A, 14 Nov 2011 - Don Corleone Hands Out Talents

2011-11-13T13:17:00.001-05:00

We are all the One Percent in global terms, we who live in the United States, and today's sermon reminds us that we are to not be like the coward who sees evil and only cowers, but we are to live differently as the children of God. We are to be Grateful, live Generous, and to give Generatively. Don Corleone from Mario Puzzo's books and the film the Godfather has been used in a parable, shocking.Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18Psalm 90:1-121 Thessalonians 5:1-11Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon, Proper 27, Year A, 6 Nov 2011 - Wisdom, Virtues, and the Baptism of Haden Maria Wade

2011-11-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

Sermon on the developing virtue one decision at a time, with reference to the Rt. Rev. N. T. Wright's book After You Believe and Bailey's Jesus through Middle Easter Eyes. Amos 5:18-24Psalm 701 Thessalonians 4:13-18Matthew 25:1-13 The sermon was a small part of a beautiful service in which Grace and the Wade Family added a new member.

Sermon, Proper 26, Year A, 30 October 2011 - No Fathers just a Call to be the Children of God

2011-10-30T13:07:00.002-04:00

A sermon by the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards calling us to live as the children of God and not to give away our vocations to false gods that we put between us and the One who names us and makes us his own in Christ Jesus. Micah 3:5-12Psalm 431 Thessalonians 2:9-13Matthew 23:1-12Mrs. Barbara Klugh's very personal story of stewardship and learning to tithe within her marriage as well as an introduciton to stewardship as Discipleship.Our stewardship theme is Discipleship: Walking Courageously the Life of Grace. Included is the Welcome to the Table for 30 October 2011.

The Jubilee House meets the Press through a Patron

2011-10-24T16:35:00.003-04:00

Over the last week, a story has gone viral online about a patron of the Jubilee House and Traverse City's homeless community. The story reads as if the reporter began to write a story about a celebrity's brother and touched on several major issues before launching into the current Michigan governor and legislature.

http://michiganmessenger.com/53404/traverse-city-becomes-magnet-for-the-homeless

It is striking that in the article she mentions major story lines in passing without much comment in order to get to an unsupported shot at the current leadership in Michigan.

First, she mentions in passing and without attribution that Grace Church provides the services of the Jubilee House, and that it does so in concert with other local churches. We are a part of a vast local network of outreach for our community. Second she brings up, again in passing, that this network attracts homeless from downstate to Traverse City. We have seen this issue raised before and will again. It is a major concern for any small city and its network of outreach.

These two story lines alone are real and have a depth and reach about the nature of community care and what mission means in a day like ours, when we are reclaiming a vision of local ministry and working across traditional denominational and even religious lines to address needs together.

Among the pastors we talk about "the Church of Traverse City", and we mean it. We support each other even when there are real and substantial theological differences. We follow Jesus together in some amazing ways. I give a lot of credit to the senior and previous priests and ministers in the area for creating a vision of mission and obedience to Christ that is greater than any single church. The Rev. Ed Emmenheiser here at Grace before me and the Rev. Homer Nye, recently retired from the Presbyterian Church, deserve special mention for laying a foundation of cooperation and service that is a marvel.

The reporter Eartha Jane Melzer does offer a peek into the lives of those we serve with some compassion. Anthony has suffered from frostbite, and we did have a local man lose his toes last year. We make poverty and homelessness survivable, but by no means pleasant.

There are always issues with serving a homeless and poor population, as there are with any population. We are always questioning our motives and methods to be sure. But, we follow Jesus Christ as Lord and not just Savior. We must serve the poor. We continue to try to serve in better and more appropriate ways with boundaries and chances to support change, but we first and foremost serve our Lord in them here and now.

This article gives a little clue about one of their stories along the way to saying other things. She does not mention the Jubilee House or Grace Episcopal by name, but she doesn't have to. We know who we are and whom we serve.

And we are very thankful for those who serve with us.

In His name and to His glory,

daniel+

Sermon, Proper 25, Year A, 23 October 2011 - Re-Ordering Beyond Ourselves to Love of God and Others

2011-10-23T12:57:00.000-04:00

An exploration of the Greatest Commandment in which The Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards challenges our current western worldview of a world organized and ordered around the self to one that is driven by Worship and Service. We find our selves in living as we are created, the sons and daughters of God. This is the culmination of these "grow up" sermons before we turn to the prophecies that prepare us for Advent.

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
Psalm 1
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46

Finally, the Welcome to the Table is here as well, and Connie V. interrupts to sing Happy Birthday to the Very Rev. Priceless!

Welcome to the Table from 9 October 2011

2011-10-16T12:59:00.002-04:00

Every week I give a short welcome to the table that some have asked me to post. I cannot go back to cut them all out, but here is the one from last week. So if you aren't with us at Grace you can hear how we approach holding open the table for all who would be a part of the Body of Christ.

And for those who would say I should warn against receiving unworthily, we all receive unworthily, thank Christ, and I do give those warnings through the year as well.

Sermon, Proper 24, Year A, 16 Oct 2011 - Growing Up, Paying Taxes and the 10 Commandments

2011-10-16T12:47:00.000-04:00

A sermon by the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards in the series about growing up and bearing the image of God. Our gospel is not primarily about paying taxes, it is about how we give to God that which bears the image of God. The 10 Commandments give us principles on how to do that. They are more than laws; they are deep principles.

Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13)
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22

On page 350 of the Book of Common Prayer you will find the Decalogue or 10 Commandments for worship.

Sermon, Proper 23, Year A, 9 Oct 2011 - Putting on the Wedding Robe

2011-10-09T12:53:00.000-04:00

We are called to a great feast, a wedding feast, and we had better come and wear the robe that is offered. This is a tough gospel message, based in another of Matthew's Terrible Parables. The Rule of God is a place where those first invited refuse and even when God brings in everyone from the streets, the good and the bad, there is a standard. We must be willing to put on the Wedding Robe, the Mantle of Christ, and be transformed.

The Gospel reading is included before the Sermon because the Sermon spins off of it.

The other readings are included below:

Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14

Great Conversation: STUDY The Questions

2011-09-25T14:19:00.000-04:00

For those who couldn't make it, feel free to post your thoughts and answers here.

1. What is meant by Christian study?

2. What are participants doing now in the way of Christian study?

3. What type of Christian study would be of interest to you?

4. What are the obstacles that preclude you from your interest in Christian study?

5. What could help you eliminate the obstacles you mentioned in Question 4, which
preclude you from Christian study?

The Great Conversation: partTwo STUDY

2011-09-25T14:15:00.000-04:00

I want to thank the 80 people who stayed for the Great Conversation on Study today. The turnout was greater than expected, and the conversation was fruitful.

The Great Conversation idea was to engage the church in the transformative work of being disciples by allowing the body to engage the great questions and help define the system as we envision what we will be at Grace. Intergenerational, spontaneous and structured, engaging and honest conversation in small groups about what we do and what we want to do together in this place about following Christ.

If you believe that the revelation is to the people, then you have to give the people a chance to be revealed to each other. What courage! among those who came. What insight! I heard at tables as I went around ease dropping.

Thank you in a big way to John and Judy Hoeffler who help me work out the structural pieces and formatting, to Ann Hackett as administrator who gets the important pieces in place, and to all on Parish Life and their volunteers who lay out such a space and meal that we can do the work in such comfort.

Thank you all for taking up the challenge of following him who opened for us the way of God. I am proud to serve with you.

daniel+

Sermon Notes for 25th of September 2011 - The Fifth Discipline or how a business book taught the world about metanoia

2011-09-25T14:07:00.000-04:00

Today the disc we record the service and sermon was corrupted, so I am giving you my notes in preparation the sermon. It is not a transcript, since generally I work without notes, but it should give a sense of what was said.

Systems Thinking - The Fifth Discipline and the Discipled Life
Sermon Notes for Proper 21, Year A, 2011

Our life for the last year has revolved around a growing sense of discipleship. And the sermons, classes, and worship have all centered in this one area. Why?

Discipline is based in the Latin for “to learn.” When we claim to be disciples of Jesus, we are making a statement about ourselves as learners in relation to a man, the Son of God, and to his set of teachings. This is an important thing to bring to light periodically, because we often think in terms of belonging to a religion or a group that has merely certain practices.

We are followers of Jesus, a community of disciples, or at least that is our vision of life here at Grace. We are human beings seeking the relationship with God as children of a parent whom we know through our Lord, our Rabbi, teacher.

So why do I read business books? Well, in part because it is essential to the future of the church to read what the greatest minds of our age are saying, and they are in business and marketing. We are a people of capital and packaging. But there is more being done and deeper philosophies arising in business books right now than among many of our academic philosophical writers. There is more practical application of Biblical principles in some business books than the “Inspiration” section of the bookstore.

Peter Block and his writings collecting the work of others and moving beyond the boardroom and workroom to developing whole communities has had a big impact on me and on our Great Conversations. Jim Collins on the vitality of wisdom and humility among leaders has helped us develop a mission that is about what we do and not what we think we do AND to stick to it when we’d rather run away. And now I am coming years late to the work of Peter Senge and the The Fifth Discipline: the art & practice of the learning organization. He is an MIT professor of business, but his work sounds like our vision here at Grace. So I am stealing it and sharing it with you this morning.

Peter says that there are several disciplines for learning organizations: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, and team learning. These disciplines, his word, are superseded by a single discipline: metanoia. Metanoia is maybe my favorite word in any language. The same word that we have interpreted in scripture as repent, thank you Latin Vulgate, really is about the shift or change of mind or knowing, and he points out that this shift is usually considered by the Greeks as transcendent. This isn’t one of those secret Christian books mind you. This is a hard core business book from MIT.

This year as we work our way through the terrible parables of Matthew, I have kept circling back around to the pervasive vision of a call to grow up, to be greater than we are, to be disciples. I think the call to grow up is a helpful one because it points to both personal mastery and natural ongoing metanoia.

This morning the priests come to challenge Jesus about his authority. By whose authority do you do these things, is one of the great underlying challenges of the New Testament. It is at the heart of most of the conflicts in the Gospels and Acts. Forgiveness of sins and healing, the grace of God, blessings, curses, were all the purview of the priests, or more accurately, the temple. God channeled his relationship to people through holy channels, official, and measurable by law. The problem is that this constricts God. “You don’t go into the reign of God yourselves, and you stand at the door and keep others from going in!” Jesus railed at the Pharisees and scribes.

Jesus comes along and heals and forgives sins, blesses, and exorcizes without the official sanction of the temple. He flaunts this. His teachings confirm that he is against the official channels that constrict God’s blessing to his people. They have become fruitless and corrupt. They are a law unto themselves, but a law which does not bind the religious rulers. So they ask the central question: By whose authority do you do these things? And here Jesus returns their challenge with his own. But they cannot answer honestly because they “fear the crowd.” They fear their external circumstance.

Then he names their righteousness as an external “yes” to God without internal obedience. They go to church but aren’t changed. They read the Bible but don’t love their neighbor. They focus on the external events and realities without actually becoming the children of God.

At MIT Senge and his colleagues created a lab where business leaders would come to learn about the fifth discipline concepts. In the lab, they were put in a system where they were one part of a retail distribution system, either brewery shipper, distributer, or retail outlet. Then they introduced a crisis, a change in ordering. And guess what the business leaders do?

Senge says that business leaders immediately blame events and enemies. Sound familiar? They don’t look inward or at the whole system. Thank goodness, that is only true of business leaders. Right?

We do the same thing. We do. We name events: 9/11, the Sixties, Constantine’s conversion, or the post-modern, relativist era. We blame others: Arabs, the French, the Greeks, the administration, popes, priests, poor people, absent fathers, bad children, unruly teens, old people, young people, media, culture, Jews, Germans, Lutherans, the people in the past or anyone over thirty-five. But we rarely look at our own behaviors, thoughts, and participation in a complex system.

In systems thinking, he says, in order for us to win, everyone must win. This is perhaps the greatest leap in thinking we can make in our maturity as human beings. Jesus says, Love God, love others as you love yourself. But we talked about that last week.

This week I want you to look at that simple phrase: self mastery. This is the path of discipleship. We do not blame others. We do not fear events. We don’t have to if we begin with self-knowledge as children of God. Wisdom’s Child is another name for Jesus. If we know who we are, then we don’t have to be afraid. We don’t have to be either silent passivitistas or reactionaries. We can be something greater.

We do not look to external events or to other people to define us and our relationships. We don’t judge. (Jesus again.) We ask how we participate in the system and how can we change ourselves in order to cause real change.

In conversation with some of the men of the parish, I have begun to articulate what I think is great about an older model of manliness. That is that it was a identity built in being virtuous, guided by a deep set of values, rather than power over others or competition or Monster Trucks, NASCAR, or ultimate fighting. It wasn’t about flexing muscles but about virtues. Deep seated habits of self leading to wisdom and a way of being in the world that was not dependent on exterior events.

That seems like a lost concept, no? I think this helps in understanding the discipled life. If we know who we are in Christ and who we are called to be before the crisis comes, then we know that our actions arrive from within. Personal mastery.

Personal mastery is the path of the disciple. As we learn from Jesus, we are called to look within at our actions, our beliefs, our loves. The path here is simple: worship, study, and serve. We worship to transform our hearts. We study to transform our minds. We serve to transform our wills. Well these actions put us on the path. It is the Spirit of God, the transcendent element, that really fires our metanoia.

This is why I stress Study so much as your priest. If I am to lead you closer to your own sense of self in relation to God in Christ, I have to insist that you do the work of being conformed to the image of Christ. You have to study what that image is. No one else can do that for you. I can tell you all about the Mona Lisa. I saw it in the Louvre once. But I can’t make you see it. You don’t become biblical people by listening to someone else tell you about the life. You read the Bible and live the life.

Peter Senge’s articulation of the discipled life is helpful.

We have to begin to look at the whole system, not just our desires and wants. That means taking on a larger vision of what is the good and who is involved as a child of God. The poor and the rich, the sinner and the saint.

We begin to master our selves, rather than others, in submission to Christ. That means we stop throwing blame around and judgement and begin to really study and change our behaviors. That is all we can control anyway. Influence through living the way is more powerful than anything that comes off our couches.

We examine our mental models and open ourselves to changing them to ones that are more biblical and Christlike. That means we control what gets to shape us. We choose our influences and our media. If you want a better mind, control what goes in and measure what comes out. Simple. Everlastingly difficult, sure. But what isn’t?

Finally. We develop a shared vision of our life as we converse together and begin to learn as a whole system through Great Conversations like the one this afternoon or through smaller ones within the Christian community here at Grace.

Or you can go home, curl up on the couch and watch people dress up and pretend at war so we can care about things that don’t matter and people’s games we aren’t touched by and fuel you self satisfaction with cable news, and they will provide you with plenty of people to blame, fear, and serve. All while insulating yourself from your true self as a living steward, heir of God, a child of the most high. That way leads to death.

Join us on the path to life, the way of discipleship, following Christ here at Grace.

Sermon, Pentecost XIV, Year A, 2011 - Jonah, Unfair and Fair in the Mind of God

2011-09-21T12:27:00.001-04:00

The Very Rev. Daniel Richards reminds us that the stories in this weeks lectionary call us beyond our own concerns to a greater love that is happy for others and more than that shaped by the mind of God. We all have to grow up. The stories of Jonah and the Unfair Wages point us to a God who is bigger than our limited conceptions. The Love of Christ in God is so far beyond our limited ability to love that we must be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. Thank God it is not left up to us, or we'd end up on a hill under a dead twig with FishBait.

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Jonah 3:10-4:11

When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." And the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

The LORD God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die than to live."

But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes, angry enough to die." Then the LORD said, "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"

Psalm 145:1-8 Page 801, BCP

Exaltabo te, Deus

1
I will exalt you, O God my King, *
and bless your Name for ever and ever.
2
Every day will I bless you *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.
3
Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; *
there is no end to his greatness.
4
One generation shall praise your works to another *
and shall declare your power.
5
I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty *
and all your marvelous works.
6
They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, *
and I will tell of your greatness.
7
They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; *
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.
8
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.

Philippians 1:21-30

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well-- since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, `You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, `Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, `Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

Sermon, Pentecost XIII, Proper 19, Year A, 2011 - September 11th and Forgiveness for the Disciple of Jesus

2011-09-11T13:31:00.000-04:00

Sermon on Forgiveness on the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. The Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards explains and explores the command of Jesus to forgive others. We must forgive the small sins and the great, even when we are deeply offended. It is an aching, hard work kind of sermon. I invite you to read the texts first. They are included below.

Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35

The Collect

O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson Genesis 50:15-21

Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?" So they approached Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this instruction before he died, `Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, "We are here as your slaves." But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

The Psalm
Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13 Page 733, BCP
Benedic, anima mea

1
[Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.

2
Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.

3
He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;

4
He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;

5
He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

6
The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.

7
He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.]

8
The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.

9
He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

11
For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

12
As far as the east is from the west, *
so far has he removed our sins from us.

13
As a father cares for his children, *
so does the LORD care for those who fear him.

The Epistle Romans 14:1-12

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God."
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

The Gospel Matthew 18:21-35

Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, `Pay what you owe.' Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

Mac vs. PC - Getting a New Operating System in Christ

2011-09-04T13:16:00.000-04:00

This sermon sprung off the Gospel text, but it is really coming straight out of the book of Romans. Paul's letter is about getting a new operating system, which he says is Spirit, and getting rid of the one of the flesh. But he means more like "God's at work in you versus the one that you get from the world."

Ezekiel 33:7-11
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

From Romans 8 in the New Revised Standard

9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit,* since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit* is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ* from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through* his Spirit that dwells in you.

12 So then, brothers and sisters,* we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!* Father!’ 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness* with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

So I was basically taking that Idea and translating it into computer speak. But now I have to face the challenge of growing into that too.

Sermon, Pentecost XI, Proper 17, Year A, 2011 - The List

2011-08-31T12:09:00.000-04:00

The Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards lays out the vision for discipleship here at Grace, beginning in Welcome, growing in Worship, then Study, and finally Service as we transform our hearts, minds, and wills to God's way in Christ.

*It should be noted that there is a serious lacuna of two minutes after about six minutes into the sermon. In the gap, he set up the next point, that the list helps us make sure that we have what we need and that our priorities are in order.

Sermon, Pentecost X, Proper 16, Year A, 2011 - What's in a Name?

2011-08-27T15:35:00.000-04:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Kathryn King explores what is in a name. Do we know the person behind the name?

Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon, Pentecost IX, Proper 15, Year A, 2011 - Backpacks and Growing Up

2011-08-15T15:38:00.001-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards reminds us that as Christians we are called to grow up and become adults, which means that we take responsibility for ourselves and for others, so we can't carry some little under-sized daypack in life. We must be able to carry more, empowered by Christ through his Spirit.

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Psalm 67
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Sermon, Pentecost VIII, Proper 14, Year A, 2011 - Head Coverings

2011-08-07T13:17:00.000-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards reminds us to go out prepared for the storms that come with faith like a headcovering. Using Elijah and Jesus walking on the water, he shows how faith calls us out into the storms and gets us through them; how Jesus calms us and the storm, if we have faith; and how to wear our identity as people of faith in life.

1 Kings 19:9-18
Psalm 85:8-13
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon, Pentecost VII, Proper 13, Year A, 2011 - Boots vs. Flip-flops

2011-07-31T12:31:00.001-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards prepares the congregation for life on the narrow path beyond what the flip-flops of faith can stand as baptized members of the church, and reminds us also that God's bounty is surprising and boundless even in the desert. See the readings for the day plus Psalm 23.

There is a great book from Graham Standish called Becoming a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power that is about this very way of living. Our vestry has read it, and I highly recommend it. He even has a book on Finding the Narrow Way.

Isaiah 55:1-5
Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-22
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon, Pentecost VI, Proper 12, Year A, 2011 - Water Filters and Plastic Bags

2011-07-24T13:21:00.001-04:00

Sermon on how God's presence is like water, drawing from both the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom traditions of the Hebrew Scriptures and early church. Surviving in the desert requires water, a knowledge of thirst, knowing where the water is, and drinking. God is all around us, so don't die of thirst. But even more we are called to be sources of the Living Water that Christ gives, so that we can bring life to thirsty world.

1 Kings 3:5-12
Psalm 119:129-136
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon, Pentecost V, Proper 11, Year A, 2011 - I.D.'s, Whistles, and Signal Mirrors

2011-07-17T12:17:00.002-04:00

Sermon in the Survival in the Faith Series - I.D., whistles, and signal mirrors. To survive in the faith we need to know who we are, let others know and be available to help, and to be in contact with God. These items help us to stay connected to ourselves, others, and God.

Isaiah 44:6-8
Psalm 86:11-17
Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon, Pentecost IV, Proper 10, Year A, 2011 - Survival Series - Pocket knives and Multitools

2011-07-10T12:36:00.002-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards introduces the Bible as the Swiss Army knife of the Christian life: daily, simple, useful, indispensable. But he suggests that when we are ready to move from being dirt to being sowers, we should move up to the multi-tool of the Faith: the Study Bible.

Isaiah 55:10-13
Psalm 65: 1-14
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon, Pentecost III, Proper 8, Year A, 2011 - Survival Seriers: Whistling for Jesus

2011-07-10T12:06:00.001-04:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Katheryn King reminds us that the buddy system is Biblical, we are yoked together in the service for Christ and with Christ. Great inspiring sermon.

Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 145: 8 - 15
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon, Pentecost I, Proper 8, Year A, 2011

2011-06-26T12:06:00.000-04:00

Sermon introducing the Summer Series on Survival Equipment of the Christian life. We begin with Auerbach's Guide to Wilderness Medicine, and his basic advice to begin with and the assumption that we are willing to act to be first responders. Just like the faith, we all are expected to the basics, but we are also called to go out into the world to do the work of Christ as Christians.

Sermon, Trinity Sunday, Year A, 2011

2011-06-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Katheryn King compares doctrine to Arugula, then explores the Trinity as a living doctrine of life in the Spirit with Christ.

Sermon, Pentecost, Year A, 2011, Baptism of Vida Maeve Pico-Benghauser, and Who We Are

2011-06-12T13:11:00.000-04:00

Sermon by the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards looking at who we are, how is our identity formed as Christians in Pentecost in terms of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and how that informs how we live and raise Vida and other children in the church.

Sermon, Easter VIII, Year A, 2011 - Fidelity, Chastity, and Innocence

2011-06-05T13:37:00.000-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards asks us to look at the Virtues of Purity: Fidelity, Chastity, and Innocence. These are held in tension with a Reverence for Christ at work within ourselves, others, and the world. We have to also protect ourselves from our own sin, others sins, and the world.

It is a tension that we don't like to admit, because we like to fall to either the side of fundamentalism that denies God's work outside of our selves and the church or the side of naive libertinism that denies that there is real evil in here or out there.

The balance is the Christian view that God is at work in Christ saving ourselves, others, and the whole Cosmos, as John says, but all of them sometimes rejects God and the work of Christ and does great evil. Only from here can we be both loving and safe, and we must be loving and safe in order to continue the work of Saving the World in Christ's name.

Thank God that Christ sends the Spirit to do that work in us and around us.

This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine.

Sermon, Easter VI, Year A, 2011 - Reverence

2011-05-29T12:38:00.000-04:00

Reverence as a Virtue and posture of life. As Christians, we are called to have Christ dwell within us and we hold that same view of others. We must learn to bow to Christ in ourselves, each other, and in the natural world that God has made. This is true reverence, and as a virtue it makes demands on us. As Richard Rohr and others have said, it takes an intentionally chosen "second naiveté." We must choose to live in a God-infused world, as God abides within us as the Spirit, and we trust that the world is redeemed in the work of the Son and our Lord. The readings for today all bear this out.

You can find the John John O'Donohue book on Amazon here.

Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

The Collect (Prayer) of the Day

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Courage and Humility - Sermon, Easter V, Year A, 2011

2011-05-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards continues to look at the virtues: this time courage and humility. If you want to test whether it is courage ask Does this require self-sacrifice or not. If you want to know if it is humility ask Is this the truth? Courage without self-sacrifice is not from the heart of a Christian. Humility without truth is not real. Christ calls us to a way that demands courage. If we are to be a royal priesthood, all of us need to show up and be great.

Fifth Sunday of Easter
Year A
RCL

Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

Sermon, Easter IV, Year A, 2011 - Hope

2011-05-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

Sermon on the Virtue of Hope, its loss in our culture and consequences. Ultimately we as Christians are called to be a people of hope in the midst of life, even despair, even the valley of death. No shortcuts, no cheating, no torture. Life for us must be rooted in Hope, because all of the virtues rely on it.

Sermon, Easter III, Year A, 2011, from the Baptism of Lola B. - Faith

2011-05-11T09:40:00.001-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards explores the intersection of the virtue of Faith and Conversation. Conversation is risky business because it means putting your own position on the line. Faith is the trust in God, in Jesus' teachings about God, the world, and us, and in the Spirit's abiding presence. In conversation being vulnerable enough to be human (incarnation at work) with another person requires the full maturity of our grace.

A note: I give a lot of credit to the Rev. Gil Stafford for being a partner in developing a program that we called Peregrini. Gil should also get credit for doing the work of getting it off the ground and moved into St. Augustine's in Tempe, Arizona. There it has grown into a couple of ministries, notably St. Brigid's Community.

Sermon, Easter II, Year A, 2011 - Love

2011-05-01T12:51:00.003-04:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Daniel P. Richards begins a series on the Virtues of the Resurrection. He begins with the virtue of Charity and the practice of Forgiveness, coming right out of the Gospel of the day from John. This resurrection story initiates us directly into the mission of Christ and commands us to forgive, as the Gospels do in many places. Charity, he defines as the virtue of seeing the other as a child of God, beloved, without earning it, just as God has made us his children in Christ without our earning it. Amazing Grace in deed.

Sermon, Easter Sunday 10am, Year A, 2011

2011-04-24T14:38:00.000-04:00

Easter Sunday Morning, 10 a.m., full house at Grace Episcopal Church in Traverse City, Michigan. Sermon on being disciples of the Crucified God and even more of the Resurrected Christ (though you can't be one without the other) and how that ought to change the way we speak and the way we know. This is a call to live into the Resurrection through our vocation of Worship, Study, Service and Welcome. It was a good Sunday with overflow seating and loud children. Enjoy.

PS. I use Peter Rollins parable at the beginning and have to give you his two titles that I have sitting in front of me, both excellent. The Fidelity of Betrayal and How (not) to Speak of God. You have to skip over the Emergent church stuff a little in the second (really his first book) and know that he is explaining his group Ikon a bit, but very helpful and fun to read little packages of dynamite.

Sermon, Palm & Passion Sunday, Year A, 2011

2011-04-17T13:24:00.000-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards reminds us of the Genius of Pilate, the Call of Violence, and the Grace of a God who bears His very heart to us on the Cross, opening the Way of Peace and being true to the Word proclaimed by the Word made flesh. The sermon sweeps up whole themes of text from Job and the Prophets to Paul and Peter and all four Gospels. Bring your best, we are the Via de la Rosa.

Sermon, EDWM Convention 2011, Mark Bozzuti Jones

2011-04-12T19:38:00.000-04:00

Fantastic reflection on the Gospel of John, Jesus teaching on the vine and the branches. The Rev. Mark Bozzutti-Jones is animated and poetic and rich and deep.

Sermon, Lent V, Year A, 2011

2011-04-12T17:38:00.000-04:00

The Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards explores the Gospel of John's account of the Raising of Lazarus from the dead. He calls us to not pretend that we are the dead, but consider ourselves like Mary, Martha, and the congregation at the tomb. We are called into relationship with God who responds to us individually, and loves us each uniquely, but also calls us beyond ourselves to set others free, to get our hands dirty, to unbind the once dead.

Sermon, Lent IV, Year A, 2011

2011-04-08T16:55:00.003-04:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Katheryn King leads us to reflect on the healing of the blind man from John's Gospel.

1 Samuel 16:1-13
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
Psalm 23

A Book of Common Prayer / Benedictine Vision of Church: part One

2011-03-30T09:26:00.000-04:00

When I first arrived in the Diocese of Western Michigan, the Bishop was known already to the people at Grace as thinking of himself as an abbot, or monk as some said. This was seen variously as a way to understand him and his choices and as a character defect that explained his distance from the church. When I sat in his office the first time with the Rt. Rev. Robert Gepert he had understandable questions about this vastly under-qualified and young priest who was being nominated to work at Grace. He repeated that he saw himself this way; and it made me want to work for him and not just for this particular congregation. It has also hung around in the back of my mind for the last two years as I have prayed and sought God's vision for me and this parish.

Then this year as I studied Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) and his vision for the church when he wrote the first Books of Common Prayer and prepared to teach a class on the Rule of St. Benedict from the fourth century that something new began to form. It was a vocabulary for church leadership based in the Rule of God and articulated in our tradition's Book of Common Prayer and shaped by a strain of tradition of Benedictine formation. It is influenced by the work of Peter Block and Marvin Weisbord. It is all about being a community following Jesus. It has taken a definite solidity finally while reading Joan Chittister's reflections on the Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century.

If you have been following the sermons here, you have been listening to these ideas coalesce for the last two years - and before for those from Phoenix. I have carried a deep concern for the leadership of the church for my entire career. I strongly believe that the leadership of the Episcopal Church is, like every church, always tempted to be something primarily that is not of essential importance, but just off. We are social activists as a result of our following Jesus. We are a place of sanctuary and acceptance because of our obedience to Christ. We are moral because we are faithful. Yet everywhere I look, people get the impression that they should be activists or inclusive or morally pure and that the church agrees with them so they should be a part of the church. But that is backwards and distorts the faith. We are first and foremost followers of Jesus. The first pastor I worked for and my first spiritual director, Rev. Tom Wiles and the Rev. Gil Stafford, set that ideal deep in my vision of ministry through Eugene Peterson and Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen.

Follow Jesus. It seems like such a straightforward thing to proclaim, but anyone who has tried to do it has discovered that the nuances take a lifetime. So, I am beginning here to articulate that my job at Grace, the job of a rector in the Episcopal tradition, is to be abbot to a holy community of people under orders. In the vision of Cranmer, those orders are monastic but originate with Baptism, not with Holy Orders or Ordination. Orders are merely orders within that primary vocation.

You, O member of Grace, O Christian, are called and set aside as a holy person within a holy community, knowing that neither you nor your church ever meet that descriptor within yourselves. Your holiness is Christ's (see Romans). As an Episcopalian with Book of Common Prayer in hand with the Bible, you are to pray Morning and Evening at least, and to be shaped in communion at the table of common meal and Holy Eucharist.

I promise not to demean your vocation. I hope that other leaders in the church will take this same pledge. I promise to begin to see your vocation as the holy calling it is. As your abbot here, I will call you to him whose name is Grace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sermon, Lent III, Year A, 2011

2011-03-28T13:23:00.000-04:00

Jesus meets a Woman at a Well and She becomes a GraceSpring

Sermon in which the Rev. Daniel Richards tells the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at the well and her becoming the ideal disciple. She engages with Jesus in a very different way with Jesus than Nicodemus, her complete opposite. She is playful and light, and he comes in the dark, serious but unable to see within. She has faith, and her trust in Jesus allows her to become a spring of Grace for all of her city. She is open and draws others to the deep waters too.

This week's readings:
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42

How to be an Episcopal Christian - Homework Assignment

2011-03-23T16:55:00.000-04:00

Worship The Episcopal church has a rich tradition of Daily Prayer and Weekly Eucharist. This week, try one of the forms of the office that you haven't before. The Church of England (otherwise known as Mother around here) has a contemporary version that I like, but keep our readings from a Contemporary Daily Office Book that is too expensive to mention in polite company. You can find the CofE morning prayer here or evening prayer here.

Study Read the affirmation of Baptismal Covenant with vows in the Confirmation Service, Book of Common Prayer page 416 and 417, also see 305-306.

Read the Catechism that starts on page 845. Discuss with someone.

Oh, and keep up with the Readings for Sunday. The Romans 5 readings may be my favorite passage from all of the letters.

And we get a female hero in the Gospels. Female Samaratin hero.

Service Where have you served God, a loved one, and a stranger this week?

I am sorry there is no class this week, but it looks like a snow globe outside my office. And this should get you closer. You could do all of this in the time for one class. And then we will talk about order and the Way of Christ next week.

Peace,

daniel

Sermon, Lent II, Year A, 2011

2011-03-22T10:04:00.000-04:00

Shedding Some Light on John 3:16Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards looks at the story of Nicodemus and especially John 3:16, perhaps the most well-known memory verse in the Western World, and offers hope for all of us and a vocation for those who come to Christ. This is a radical sermon about Grace and our role in the world as little brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus. It offers a way to approach other faiths and still have integrity as a follower of the Way and begins to offer a way to live with other Christians as well.

Readings
Genesis 12:1-4a
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17
Psalm 121

Sermon, Lent I, Year A, 2011

2011-03-13T13:52:00.001-04:00

Sin, Grace, the Vocation of being the Body of Christ, and three of the Temptations that we face when we follow Jesus. There is an awful lot packed into the Readings for Lent I. The Garden of Eden (you really should read all of Genesis 2 and 3 for the sermon), Paul's view of the work of Christ in making us justified before God, and the Temptation of Jesus in the Garden. The temptations to take care of ourselves and not to trust God, to be spectacular and not faithful, and to be powerful and not loving and humble. Real power is the power of being rooted in God in Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Then our identity is power, and our actions can be subtle and loving.

Sermon, Last Sunday of Epiphany, Year A, 2011

2011-03-06T13:09:00.001-05:00

On Being Transfigured or Get Up and Don't Be Afraid

The people who light me up year after year are the people like the woman* I talk about here who choose after long lives or in great suffering to stand up and follow Jesus.

We are called to let our lights shine before others. Jesus is calling us to be lights in the darkness. This Lent let us seek the presence of the Living God who is with us now, being neither fearful nor clinging to some other holy time, so that we like our Lord may shine with that Light that comes from him. Let us be a city on a hill. Let us get up and not be afraid to stand before God and the world as a holy people known for their radical, self-giving love.

*The woman in my story from Phoenix is a composite of three people, but all three of them are super-Christians because they chose to follow Christ despite their other wants.

Sermon, Epiphany VIII, Year A, 2011.

2011-03-01T11:50:00.000-05:00

Sermon on the Mount. We are to show the love of God, Grace, in our way of being in the world. This is a hot sermon. Spicy. And should not be eaten on a full stomach or without powerful antacids. Daniel really names our local god as defining our lives and it is uncomfortable. The hope he offers is the hope of God, and of responding to the call of Jesus to be free, free to love others and receive the love of the One whose name is above every name.

This recording includes the Reading of the Gospel.

Sermon, VII Epiphany, Year A, 2011

2011-02-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Katheryn King invites the hearer into the Sermon on the Mount's outrageous demands. "Did anyone else shut down between Be Holy and Be Perfect?" How can we hear these demands and still hold our own place in the world? Can love win in our world, or are we left to compromise away the meaning of our faith? Rev. King brings these texts to life and challenges us to be on the side of a real love. Along the way she takes a side-trip through Mitford to visit Father Tim in order to explore the possibility of forgiveness.

She invites us into the hard work of living into the kingdom.

Sermon, Epiphany VI, Year A, 2011

2011-02-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards continues to teach on the Sermon on the Mount, reminding us that the Law of God is not about simply "turning off the lights," but is about the ethic of how God wants us to live into his Rule, his Way of Life in Christ. The Sermon leads us from simple reptillian ethics of survival, don't go to prison, to love of God, keep the rules, to love of God through neighbor, which is the Kingdom the Rule of God. Along the way he besmirches Batman and lauds the Lone Ranger.

daniel+ adds: I don't think we should go out and be lone rangers, but we do need the Lone Ranger's virtue of service. For us this arrives out of a Law of Love in the Rule of God. And yes, I still tell my kids to turn off the lights. And yes, I still think Batman is cool. And I know the storyline at the end of Dark Knight shows him living into just this sort of ethic, but it was a takeoff that I thought was uncharacteristic of the comics.

Sermon, Epiphany V, Year A, 2011

2011-02-12T20:01:00.001-05:00

The Second in the Series on the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon is about being a holy people; we become holy by seeking the approval of a God who loves the world, by loving the world.

Sermon, Epiphany IV, Year A, 2011

2011-01-31T14:08:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards brings us into the Sermon on the Mount through the Beatitudes. Taking just a couple of the Beatitudes and looking at what Jesus is promising and introducing in the whole Sermon, Daniel opens up the text with stories and examples from life.

A Note from Daniel: I didn't really test drive the car over 120 mph, the pastor in the "poor in spirit" story was the Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Jr., whom I still honor.

You really should read Matthew 5-7 to be ready for the next few weeks.

Daily Office Link

2011-01-30T12:49:00.000-05:00

Click here for Mission St. Clare's Daily Office.

Sermon, Epiphany III, Year A, 2011

2011-01-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel Richards reminds us that we are called to repent, to change our minds, to grow up in our being, to be the children of God, to be Grace. At the same time, we are also called by God to be more ourselves, the fisherman are still fishing, even as they become more than they are.

Third Epiphany Prayer Guide

2011-01-23T09:40:00.000-05:00

Here are this week's prayer guides.

Sermon, Epiphany II, Year A, 2011

2011-01-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards calls us back to an understanding of the Atonement of Christ that is based in Passover and Covenant. Using the Gospel story of John the Baptist declaring that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, he looks at how we are to keep the Covenant extended to us in Christ through testimony and discipleship now that our sin is taken away. This calls us to live freely into our gratitude and community. I Corinthians shows us how to live in community called, as Isaiah reminds us not to save ourselves but to be salvation to the nations. But we must testify for our light to shine. So remember and tell the story of how God has set you free.

Daily Prayer Guides for Next Week

2011-01-13T16:03:00.001-05:00

You can get them here.

Note: these include Paul's teaching to the church at Corinth on Spiritual Gifts. If you are part of the class on Wednesdays, read I Corinthians 10 - 16 for next week.

Sermon, Christmas Day, Year A, 2011

2011-01-12T20:26:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Katheryn King of Grace Episcopal Church, Traverse City, Michigan, reminds us that it is the Christ that we hold in our arms.

Sermon, Epiphany I, Year A, 2011

2011-01-09T12:43:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards reminds us that we are part of the New Covenant in Christ, who in his Baptism modeled for us how to live and how God works through us as we are made God's children through the work of the Spirit. He starts out in the seeming cul-de-sac of medieval theology taking us from early Orthodoxy celebration of Theophany through Anselm and Augustine through Abelard to an atonement/salvation theology of Covenant.

This was also the Sunday of the Induction of two Daughters of the King, Dottie Williams and Marion Talbot, and the Holy Baptism of Parker John-Leroy Rassel. It was a fantastic Sunday morning.

Sermon, Epiphany, Year A, 2011

2011-01-09T07:40:00.000-05:00

Sermon which starts out really disjointed and then focuses on what the Epiphany means to us as reason to celebrate and to get to work, lifting up one of the principal feasts of the Christian year, and most often ignored these days.

This sermon was after a really fantastic potluck.

Sermon, Christmas II, Year A, 2011

2011-01-02T14:10:00.001-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards reminds us that bearing the name of Christ should be like putting on a uniform as a Christian, a perpetual reminder that we are to live differently, to be different, and to represent God in Christ in all that we do and are. He makes reference in the sermon to the Rev. Gil Stafford whose blog you can find here and here.

Daniel says: "Gil's speech about respecting the uniform that he gave to the baseball players at Grand Canyon University still rings for me as I look for a way to understand our vocation as bearers of the name of Jesus."

Sermon, Christmas I, Year A, 2011

2011-01-02T13:18:00.001-05:00

Sermon in which the Rev. Katheryn King brings us to the Christmas story of John's Gospel, which is more mystical and theological, and she does a wonderful job grounding it in our common life.

P.S. She has some wonderful notes in her introduction about Christmas eve at Grace for those who may have missed it.

Christmas to Epiphany Prayer Guides

2011-01-01T18:37:00.000-05:00

This Prayer Guide for 2 January to 9 January 2011. It is drawn directly from the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (1979) for the parishioners of Grace Episcopal in Traverse City, Michigan. You are welcome to come with us as we seek to deepen our life in Christ to reflect his Grace.

Christmas to Epiphany Prayer Guides

Sermon, Christmas Eve, Year A, 2010

2010-12-25T00:51:00.000-05:00

Sermon on Christmas Eve 2010 at Grace Episcopal Church in Traverse City, Michigan, in which the Very Rev. Daniel Richards reminds us who the shepherds were, what they found, and how they got it, that baby was God's grace for all of us. And having a baby, just like Grace, demands everything. We change everything in response to Him.

Christmas Eve the Children's Pageant

2010-12-25T00:42:00.000-05:00

I want to give great credit to the job done by Laura Mittelstaedt and the children, and the hosts of volunteers and parents who helped out.

Christmas Prayer Guides

2010-12-24T15:18:00.000-05:00

Here is the Guide to Daily Prayer for after Christmas Sunday.

You, and everyone else have a day or two to wing the readings after Sunday, so I suggest reading the opening 3 Chapters of each Gospel and compare and contrast.

Grace: It's Our Way of Life

2010-12-22T16:24:00.000-05:00

As Episcopal Christians we
Worship at home daily and together weekly;
Study the Scriptures, our tradition, and what it means to be a disciple today;
Serve our families, our parish, and our world in the name of Christ.

Everything we do is done with an ethic of Welcome
because we are only here by Grace.

Sermon, Advent IV, Year A, 2010

2010-12-19T14:04:00.001-05:00

Sermon in which we are called to keep God's purpose, to return all creation to our original relationship with God. As we wait for God's return in the person of the Son of God, we wait as ambassador's, beacon's of God's character, Grace. We must keep God's larger purpose in mind when making what seem to be small everyday choices. This is explained by referencing my parents and their horrendous habit of telling us why they made us do things.

Advent Prayer Guides - Week Four

2010-12-19T07:41:00.000-05:00

Hey, if these are useful to you and you'd like me to continue producing them, let me know.

Advent Prayer Guide Week Four

Christmas Letter

2010-12-18T18:35:00.000-05:00

Dear People of Grace,

In a little village two thousand years ago, a child was born that changed history. My story has been profoundly changed by His birth. My family, my way of being in the world, my vision of what is important, and what isn’t, are all shaped by a life begun in that humble birth in a far corner of the world so long ago.

I often think of Mary this time of year. She was simply courageous to trust that God was going to work out all of the impossible realities of her life: living under Roman occupation, a young woman engaged and now pregnant with a promise that sounded inflated and strange.

How many Mary’s say no? If an angel (a messenger in Greek) showed up and proposed the impossible to you, would you say yes? Would you follow the promises of God? Would you be so courageous?

We are well trained pragmatists. We want assurances and guarantees. We buy name brands because they imply reliability. We probe our politicians, and we hedge our bets. We just don’t leap into the arms of faith very often. But Mary did.

What if you leapt this year? You are being called by God to do extraordinary things. Maybe they are not great or spectacular things, but you are called to play a part in the great play of God. Be courageous!

Here at Grace we prepare our hearts by our Welcome, Worship, Study, and Service. We say our routine yeses in our faithful devotion to these areas of church life, but they are always a preparation for the day when you wake up and an angel is sitting at the foot of the bed, and it is your turn to leap.

When Gabriel comes, I want to be prepared. Whether he comes with a trumpet next time or a whisper, I want to have ears that can hear. I want to be ready to receive God’s joy.

Come and join us for our Christmas services. Christmas Eve begins at 4:00 p.m. The service is preceded by carols and includes a children’s pageant Gospel and full Eucharist. Grace Harmony will provide the music. At 8:00p.m. and 10:30p.m., there will be more formal Christmas Eucharist led by choir and brass, with all the rich formality of the Episcopal Church. I first came to the Anglican tradition at All Saints in Phoenix, Arizona, bright with poinsettias and the trumpets of the midnight service, and I still love it. On Christmas morning there will be our 10 a.m. service of simple Christmas joy.

As we mark a simple birth so distant and ancient, we commit ourselves to incarnating, making flesh the Grace of God coming to us here and now, shaping our lives, our families, and our ways of being. Our worship overflows with joy as we celebrate God’s Grace. It’s our way of life.

In Christ,

The Very Rev. Daniel P. Richards

It isn't new, but it is cool.

2010-12-15T20:41:00.000-05:00

Advent Prayer Guide: Week Four

2010-12-15T15:23:00.000-05:00

Advent Prayer Guide Week Four

Here is the new daily prayer guide with a short poem of mine on waiting as an act of faith. There is a mania to being defined by waiting that makes for both holiness and madness. To be defined by absence alone would be devastating, but we are also indwelt by the Spirit, so our waiting is a waiting for realization of reality. It is both/and. And that is not maddening but creative, or at least it has the potential to be creative, if only we act and don't merely sit in our folding chairs waiting on the Rapture like a promised tornado.

Sermon, Advent III, Year A, 2010

2010-12-15T09:24:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which associate rector the Rev. Katheryn King reminds us that Laudette Sunday is all about joy. Then she turns to John the Baptist and the work of Jesus as the heart of God. John's struggle to grasp the messiah that Jesus is rather than the one he wants and expects is paralleled to our struggle to accept the God who comes rather than the one we want. Who is Jesus? The answer to that question changes everything.

Advent Prayer Guide Week Three

2010-12-07T16:49:00.000-05:00

Advent Prayer Guide for Week Three

Okay, so here is the Week Three Guide to Daily Prayer for Advent with a reflection on Mary and Identity in Christ. Pray often. Study deeply. Act courageously. Be Christian.

Sermon, Advent II, Year A, 2010

2010-12-05T14:36:00.000-05:00

Sermon, the second in the Advent Series, in which the Very Rev. Daniel Richards reminds us that we are to be a people of the Logic of Hope. Hope is a virtue that must be earned and practiced through our prayer, study, and service. We must learn to think and act with hope. This thinking and acting are borne out in our laying all things at the feet of Christ, study of the Scriptures that remind us of our identity and future reality, and our serving the lost and hopeless as a sign of God's grace to us being passed out by us.

Advent Prayer Guides - Week Two and Homework for Book of Common Prayer Class

2010-12-04T18:21:00.000-05:00

Okay, here is week two.

Advent Daily Prayer Guides - Week Two

Please do note the notes below with Week One.

For the Book of Common Prayer Class, read through the Daily Prayer Offices in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, 1979.

Daily Office forms a major part of the prayer and worship life of the Anglican/Episcopal tradition, far more than most people would know from the last few decades of Eucharist-centered liturgies. I love the ancient form of the Eucharist and all of its sacramental glory, but I would be a different Christian without the daily offices.

The cycle of hours found in the BCP are Morning, Noon, and Evening, and Compline. Morning and Evening Prayer are considered the two main offices, and the normative expectation is that they are kept in Episcopal churches. We keep Morning Prayer pretty confidently, at least one or two do daily, and we have a men's prayer group on Wednesdays. We do not practice Evening Prayer or Compline as part of Grace. We should. At the very least, as a people seeking the heart of God, we should be marking our hours.

So read through them and try even the directions, called rubrics since they were originally printed in red. On Wednesday, we will be doing Evening Prayer and Compline together.

If we get really brave, we'll sing Compline.

daniel+

Sermon, Advent I, Year A, 2010

2010-11-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel Richards lays out an agenda for Advent. We are servants and children waiting for our Master to return home from a long journey. While we wait, we are to be a people shaped by the logic of hope, a people of identity in the unfolding mystery of Christ, and a people of fairness at home and justice in the world.

A Note from the Rector

Happy Advent,

A couple months ago now, we had the Great Conversation: partOne Worship, and there were a couple of practical suggestions that came to be implemented this week. We went back to a simpler bulletin format (one page), and we simplified the Prayers of the People and referred the congregation back to the list in their one page bulletins for concerns. Lastly we began Advent with a children's sermon by Laura Mittelstaedt, our director of Children and Youth Ministries. We also introduced the new music in the service before we began. So it was a little longer than you can normally expect, but what a week.

I just wanted to point out that the conversation matters. We cannot do everything everyone wants, of course. But your voice does matter in our community. Grace bends like wheat in the abundant field, first this way then that, bowing to one and then another.

In Grace,

daniel+

P.S. Here is the Children's Sermon

Advent Prayer Guides - Grace Episcopal Church

2010-11-27T18:34:00.004-05:00

Homework: Daily Prayer and The Book of Common Prayer
Advent Daily Prayer Guide: Week One

Here is a .pdf of the Advent Prayer Guides for Week One with Confession, Prayers, and Readings for each day this week. I am asking the whole parish to try daily prayer, even if for the first time, and yes, I know, we are all too busy to do it. But there you go.

If you are already doing a daily prayer, please continue, especially if you are doing the Daily Offices from the BCP. You can find them on page 75 the Morning Office, Prayer Two, page 103 Noonday, page 115 Evening Prayer, and Compline on 127. I love the Book, but it can be frustrating to work your way through Daily Prayer for the first two or three hundred times. So try these small guides if you are unfamiliar. If you want to try the fuller Daily Office on-line try www.missionstclare.com. It provides a great way to get into the rhythm of the BCP without remembering what Canticles go where.

I want to note that the Guides are based on the BCP, but I have chosen a Confession from the Book of Common Worship: Daily Prayer Compline service because it is written with an implied Absolution rather than needing a separate prayer. I have also used an opening prayer from the same book's Advent Morning Prayer service, and you can see why. It is wonderful.

The Daily Offices are called offices because they are the daily obligations of common life, which is what the word office originally meant. They are our anchors in the daily stream of life, our school of prayer, and our basic rhythm of interaction with Scripture as Sacred text of the soul. Listen for the Word of God at work in the words' work within you.

The class on the Book of Common Prayer begins this week, and I want to invite you to join us by reading the introduction to the BCP. There is this tendency to see our Anglican tradition as a continuation of the catholic tradition, and it is, but it is also very much a Reformation tradition. You can see that in the sheer democracy of the move to put into the hands of each believer the whole resources of the Church. You can be a part of every line of prayer and not be dependent on the clergy or the hierarchy for your life of prayer. It is a remarkable book still. And the great Anglican ideal was that you would have everything you would need as a Christian with a Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.

So carry your Prayer Book and Bible with you. Be a proud follower of Christ in our Episcopal tradition. It will help you find that true vocation in the Rule of God as a citizen of the nation of priests, a beacon of Grace in a world that needs light desperately.

The Episcopal Bookstore (www.episcopalbookstore.com) is a great place to find a BCP and get it embossed. Look for the Reader's Version if you need larger print. You can get one combined with an NRSV Bible, but they have tiny print I have to warn you, or even with a Hymnal, which I carry in services. You can find them all over the place, locally Horizon usually has them. But look for the ones that have the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) because we use it every week for our readings.

This year, don't just be a consumer, but use Advent to become a more faithful follower of Christ, a deeper well of hope, mystery, and justice.

Sermon + Stewardship, Christ the King Sunday, Proper 29, Year C, 2010

2010-11-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

Consecration Sunday Sermon where parishioners of Grace are encouraged to turn in their pledges for 2011. This year's preacher was Dave Eitland, Director of Development and Marketing for the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. Dave points us to his own story of God's gifts and ultimately on Christ the King Sunday to the gift of life in the death of his Son.

It has been a real honor to have Dave Eitland preach at Grace, and he has been a real Barnabas for me this last year, getting the vision of this place and pointing beyond me to that vision and God's call for both Grace and for me. I am a fan and you will be too.

Sermon + Stewardship, Pentecost XXV, Proper 28, Year C, 2010

2010-11-14T12:38:00.001-05:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel Richards sweeps up the last four weeks of teaching about the mission of Grace Episcopal Church as a place of Worship, Study, and Service, all with an ethic of Welcome, under a vision of the Kingdom of God, or Rule of God, here and now and our ultimate hope in the Resurrection in Christ. Then parishioner Ellen Schrader tells us about her journey to the tithe as part of her journey to Grace.

Sermon + Stewardship, Pentecost XXIV, Proper 27, Year C, 2010

2010-11-07T13:04:00.000-05:00

Sermon in which The Rev. Daniel Richards reminds Grace that our Study is part of our Welcome as a parish. We are to do the quiet work of shaping our ways of thinking through study so that we are able to be Christians when the time comes for us to step up.

Sermon + Stewardship, Pentecost XXIII, Proper 26, Year C, 2010

2010-11-01T22:15:00.000-04:00

The Rev. Daniel Richards preaches about the Zaccheaus story and our need to have an ethic of Welcome as part of our Christian life and our mission as Grace Episcopal Church. Dr. Robert Foote, O.D., talks about stewardship and how God gifts us, leads us, and gives back to us for service and stewardship. Dr. Foote leads eye missions throughout Central America.

Sermon, Pentecost XXII, Proper 25, Year C, 2010

2010-10-24T14:16:00.000-04:00

Sermon on the mission of Grace. We are to be living examples of God's grace to a lost and hurting world. As a body we Worship, Study, and Serve together. All of these actions are done with an ethic of Welcome. Grace is God's free gift to us. It places a demand on us to live grace to others.

Grace: It's a Way of Life.

Dr. Paulina Muchina - UNAids, Kenyan Woman, and Guest Speaker

2010-10-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

Here at Grace, we were graced with the presence of Dr. Paulina Muchina of UNAIDS came to Traverse City, Michigan, to speak about women's health and AIDS. She was hosted by one of our parishioners, Sandy Seppala, and she spoke to us about her journey of faith. She tells about her father's treatment of women and girls and how that led her to faith in Jesus and service to women and children in Kenya and throughout the world.

From the Very Reverend Daniel P. Richards

2010-10-17T13:02:00.000-04:00

I would like to announce the hiring of Laura Ames Mittelstaedt to be the new director of children and youth ministries at Grace Episcopal Church, Traverse City. Laura comes with a strong history of theatre and working with children of various ages in performance and education. She and her husband Mike have been faithful members, and Laura is stepping down from serving on the Vestry to take this position.

Please join in welcoming her to her new ministry here among us.

From the Office of Bishop Robert Gephert, Diocese of Western Michigan

2010-10-17T12:57:00.000-04:00

To: Clergy, Parishes, Standing Committee, Executive Council, Diocesan Staff
From: +Robert R. Gepert
Date: October 5, 2010

The appointment of deans has been finalized. Attached is the job description. As of October 1, 2010, the deans appointed are as follows:

The Very Reverends

* Rebecca Crise, St. Joseph Deanery
* Laurel Dahill, Grand Valley Deanery
* Gretchen Weller, Eastern Deanery
* Daniel Richards, Traverse Deanery
* Jared Cramer, Lakeshore Deanery

I am delighted that each has agreed to this special ministry and will relieve me of some of the burden of my office, enabling more ministry on my behalf and more creative endeavors from my office.

Please join me in offering your congratulations and prayers as they begin this ministry.

+Robert

attachment

Sermon, Pentecost XXI, Proper 24, Year C, 2010

2010-10-17T12:46:00.001-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel laments that Episcopalians have given away their Bibles and miss the benefits of the school of life, the school of faith, and the school of prayer found there, wrestling in the dark with God who blesses us in the reading, but also leaves us limping and with a new name.

Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 121
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8

Homework
Before Advent:
Read the Gospel of Luke
Read one of Paul's letters closely
Pray the Psalms

Next Week's Readings
Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Psalm 84:1-6
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

Sermon, Pentecost XX, Proper 23, Year C, 2010

2010-10-10T12:54:00.000-04:00

Sermon in which the Very Rev. Daniel reminds us that our lives are to be thanksgiving shaped lives, eucharistic lives, as followers of Christ. Along the way he also explains standing and kneeling in the Episcopal church, both as a tradition and why.

Sermon, Pentecost XIX, Proper 22, Year C, 2010

2010-10-03T16:37:00.000-04:00

Sermon on the Mustard Seed and the Command of Jesus to say, "We are only slaves and we have only done what we ought to have done." We are reminded that our duty is to be servants of God, and that demands humility. Only when we are humble are we lifted up. The first shall be last and the last shall be first.