St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair

Unlike every elementary school teacher I ever had, I believe that there are some stupid questions. Okay…maybe the questions aren’t stupid, but I do believe there are questions that get us farther from the truth rather than closer to it, and this morning’s gospel gives us an example of one of them.

Jesus loved people up close, and the promises we make and renew at baptism call us to do the same. To pay attention to what is happening in the world - especially to the people who are the most vulnerable - and do something about it.

As Christians we still mourn. We long for those we love but see no longer. We feel their loss in deep and profound ways. Even Jesus, God incarnate, wept at the tomb of his friend. But as Christians we do not need to fear death. We can mourn with the hope that we will see one another again. We mourn with a peace that passes understanding, because we may not know exactly what heaven looks like, but...

God doesn’t call us to do the impossible, but God does call us to move the dial on what we perceive to be possible. This is a powerful theology of stewardship. In the church we talk about stewardship as our responsibility to carefully and responsibly manage the gifts God has given us. Stewardship is an expression of gratitude: giving thanks for the time, talent, and treasure God has gifted us by u...

This week I’ve been reflecting on how just a little bit of faith is a powerful thing. In our gospel reading this morning, Jesus talks about having faith the size of a mustard seed. And I found these mustard seeds in my cabinet. They are very small! But the mustard plant is what we call invasive, which just means that from one very small seed the mustard plant will grow, spread, and fill a whole ga...

Sermon by Jeffery Blanford, Youth Coordinator

This past week's rummage sale was both fundraiser and community outreach. Both a means for us to support our music ministry and a means to offer support to our neighbors by offering clothing and home goods at discounted prices. Had we only tried to get the highest price for each item we could, not only would we not have made as much, we would have failed in our mission to help our neighbors get ac...

Perhaps all it takes to shift from “Is there no balm in Gilead” to proclaiming that there is a balm is recognizing that we have a part to play in healing the world. That we have a part to play in bringing about peace. Not because God is absent and disinterested, but because God is alive and working in and through us.

Sometimes getting lost isn’t our fault. And sometimes - perhaps most of the time - we can’t get ourselves unlost. At least not alone. That’s where God steps in. We worship a God whose love is so all-encompassing that God goes looking for us, even if - perhaps especially when - we don’t move a muscle.

How many of you have started work or school in the last two weeks? What did you do to get ready for this new year? Probably a lot of planning and preparation. Do you think everything will go exactly as you planned this year?

Like Jeremiah, we know it doesn’t have to be this way. That we do not need to live in a nation where the news of a school or house of worship shooting is so commonplace that it disappears from front page news in two days, without any hint of actionable response. So this morning, let us lean into lament a bit. Because as the old adage goes, we can only heal what we allow ourselves to feel.

Healing is not just the absence of the “identified problem;” it is a restoration of those things we long for but have been lost, or were previously unattainable. Jesus doesn’t just cure, he heals.

Baptisms are a celebration, but the earliest baptismal liturgies looked and sounded very similar to a funeral service. That is because they represented death to the ways of the world and rebirth into a life guided by Christ. The words and symbols we use speak to this tenuous connection between life and death.

Who is someone whose faith has shaped your own - someone whose walk with God made you want to walk closer too? In a word or short phrase, what about them inspires you? I wonder, what do you feel as you consider these role models in your faith?

We started thinking about creating our own Little Pantry. A place where people can take what they need, and give what they have. A place where people can come any time because it’s outside. A place where people can get some help without feeling embarrassed. So, Russ Gallo made and installed one last Saturday and it is beautiful. But the sign was delayed, so we didn’t advertise it; we didn’t really...

It’s not very often that we hear the word “whore” in church. The first time I preached this text I wondered if the reader would shy away from it. But no, he spoke with bravado, sounding out “whoredom” in a loud, low voice, each time. Needless to say, there were some nervous giggles. As both a priest and a therapist I’ve learned it can be helpful to talk about the things we tend to skirt around in...

Don’t judge a book by its cover, or as Amos would say, don’t judge a society by its fruits. Once again, this week we have an obscure vision from the prophet Amos, using imagery and the Hebrew language to paint a very critical image of the ways God’s people have strayed from God’s commandments. In today’s vision, Amos sees a basket of summer fruit. Usually the indicator of a plentiful and successfu...

On the seventh day God rested all from that creating and declared that day holy. God had worked for six long and hard days… but people? We had only just been created the day before. And yet, God commands humankind to rest, to honor the sabbath day and keep it holy. We don't have to earn rest, because we were made for it. When we keep the sabbath day holy, when we step off the hamster wheel of prod...

Every week we say to each other, "May the peace of God be with you." But when I hear and say that phrase, I have for many decades now equated the word Peace with Piece. And here in Luke we hear of Jesus sending out 70 followers, sending them out as lambs amidst the wolves. This gives an image of people passing out pieces of God. The way we consume the host when we celebrate Communion - these are p...

This concept of a "Rule of Life" comes from the Latin word "regula," which literally refers to a straight piece of wood. But many scholars also believe it was the word used to describe a trellis. The trellis provides support that lifts the vine off the ground and allows it to grow longer than it would otherwise. It guides the vine to grow in a desired direction and provides the support needed to b...

A sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost by the Rev. Abigail King at St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair.

It is a humbling honor to bear witness to a God who affirms the LGBQ+ community. We spoke to therapists who seek to create safe spaces for those who have been hurt by their faith communities, parents striving to make sure their kids know just how loved they are, young adults struggling to find affirming places to worship. And towards the end of the day, one of the drag queens who had been performi...

A Pentecost sermon by the Rev. Abigail King at St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair.

When God changes someone's heart, when that person says yes to following Jesus, it is a powerful thing. Because it can change not just that one person, but everyone they meet. I don't know if any of us would be here today if God hadn't changed Paul's heart to spread the good news of a loving God not only to the jailer in Philippi, but to churches around the Mediterranean. When God changes a heart...

When Jesus heals, he heals not only the body but the mind. He opens people up to possibilities they were unable to see before. He helps us to move our gaze from the kingdom in front of us - full of corruption, competition, and pain - to the kingdom of heaven, where all things are possible and God's grace is freely given.