Calvary Episcopal Church - Memphis, TN

This Easter season I find myself most identifying with Jesus’s male disciples. Their first experience of the resurrection did not happen through the magnificent appearance of an angel or by falling at the feet of the risen Jesus himself. Instead, resurrection came to them as they were locked away in their homes, just as you are tonight.

In the Good Friday service in the Book of Common Prayer, after the reading of the Passion Gospel, a rubric states flatly: “The Sermon follows.” Rubric comes from the Latin word for red, the color that these directions used to be printed in to make sure they weren’t overlooked, or spoken aloud, I suppose. A liturgical planner will develop a keen eye for the little word may, since it makes the instr...

Maundy Thursday begins our Easter Triduum, the three holiest days of ritual in the Christian calendar. Let me start by saying to you, gathered at home: You are not missing out on the essence of Maundy Thursday.

“Hosanna!” the people cry. This is not another word of praise like Hallelujah; they had a word for that, and it was Hallelujah. Hosanna literally means Save — a cry for help. Save us! the people cry. There’s a sense of frantic joy mixed in, like the shipwrecked crew who spot a rescue helicopter — if only the helicopter would spot them. Hosanna. In April 2020, my Hosanna feels closer to true than i...

It strikes me that what’s different about the present crisis is that, while markets may be reeling, what worries us most deeply is that people, flesh and bone people, are not able to contribute their part to our common life. The images of actual lives being cut off from each other is even more vivid than plummeting market returns.

Even in this time of social distancing, we are still blessed with an abundance of social capital. We have so much love to offer one another! We have so much love to offer a whole world that needs it. Never has the Church needed to be the Church more than now.

Since any statutes of limitations should have expired by now, I’ll risk confessing to you that we didn’t own a television set when our kids were very young. At times we worried someone might report this neglect to Child Protective Services. But since we didn’t have a TV, some kind soul had pity on our son Alden and gave him a broken remote control to add to the small collection of rocks and sticks...

Father James Alison has been at the forefront of mining philosopher René Girard’s fecund writings for theology. He preaches the Gospel of grace that flows from Jesus the Forgiving Victim, with the paradigm shift that entails for basic Christianity. He is also known for having firmly but gently faced down the dishonesty of his own Church on matters related to LGBT and lived to tell the tale. He has...

Father James Alison has been at the forefront of mining philosopher René Girard’s fecund writings for theology. He preaches the Gospel of grace that flows from Jesus the Forgiving Victim, with the paradigm shift that entails for basic Christianity. He is also known for having firmly but gently faced down the dishonesty of his own Church on matters related to LGBT and lived to tell the tale. He has...

Since childhood, “Pastor Sonia” of First Congregational Church has been an observer of and a voice for social justice. Her platforms have changed through the years, but never her intentionality or persistence. Sometimes she raises searing questions; sometimes she is moved to act. Walker’s compassion and respect for the journey of childhood guided her to many arenas: quality education for all child...

Father James Alison has been at the forefront of mining philosopher René Girard’s fecund writings for theology. He preaches the Gospel of grace that flows from Jesus the Forgiving Victim, with the paradigm shift that entails for basic Christianity. He is also known for having firmly but gently faced down the dishonesty of his own Church on matters related to LGBT and lived to tell the tale. He has...

"Thanks to memorizing John 3:16 at age 8, three years later I would understand something about my favorite professional wrestler, the notorious Stone Cold Steve Austin, that I wouldn’t have otherwise."

The Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson, a homiletics professor at Virginia Theological Seminary, is an emerging scholar interested in the ways that consciousness and imagination inform preaching. His message is that Jesus came to confront our sinfulness, comfort us in our struggles, and also conform us into his image for the sake of our souls and for the future of creation. VTS is honoring its 200th annivers...

Obstacles abound in loving our neighbor; and understanding requires vulnerability, empathy, and courage. As an activist, Rabbi Judy Schindler is inspired by her relatives who resisted the Nazi regime. As a professor of philosophy and religious studies at Queens University, she is inspired by students who strive to build a better world rather than to pursue fancy job titles. As a rabbi and an autho...

The Rev. Meredith Day sits down with Rabbi Micah Greenstein and Rabbi Judy Schindler for a conversation about reconciliation, wilderness, and justice in the season of Lent.

Rabbi Micah Greenstein loves Torah no matter where it comes from. “Torah” in a broad Jewish sense refers to the teachings and wisdom of Judaism, but he treasures insights on goodness, love, justice, shalom, and compassion from every faith tradition and every reflection of God’s unity. What inspires him most about the Jewish legacy he lives and teaches is that it is not simply a tale of enduring pe...

Rabbi Micah Greenstein loves Torah no matter where it comes from. “Torah” in a broad Jewish sense refers to the teachings and wisdom of Judaism, but he treasures insights on goodness, love, justice, shalom, and compassion from every faith tradition and every reflection of God’s unity. What inspires him most about the Jewish legacy he lives and teaches is that it is not simply a tale of enduring pe...

We met Triff and Mary at the flower festival at St Mary’s Church in Topsham, a village in the southwest of England, which was identical to the image in your mind right now of a flower festival at St Mary’s Church in Topsham, in the southwest of England. Years ago Mary had seen their house, a place called Wixels, on holiday in Topsham while Triff was still a practicing architect in Norwich on the o...

As executive director of the Memphis region of Facing History and Ourselves, Marti Tippens Murphy is inspired by the stories of upstanders: extraordinary people who embraced the challenge to speak out, stand up for others, and make difficult decisions. Together, they helped to create a more inclusive, just, and compassionate Memphis. She led the commissioning of the Upstanders in Memphis History M...

Debbie Blue writes and preaches about the Bible’s seemingly endless capacity to reveal glimpses of God, what it is to be human, and things we might rather keep hidden. She loves rooting around in its stories (which often raise more questions than they answer) and in the layers of interpretation (which are often beautiful, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally terrible).

The outstretched hands of Tom Lee and the white man in the water, the outstretched hands of Jesus and Peter, are reminders that the story of our faith is God reaching out with hands of love to lift us up.

Being a child of the age, my morning newspaper ritual involves a cup of coffee and opening the Daily Memphian app on my phone. Which is where, on Wednesday, I saw that the final lineup for the Beale Street Music Festival had been announced.

Dear Jesus, son of Joseph, Congratulations on writing your first sermon and submitting it for publication here at Pulpit Press, Inc.

Getting a call late on Saturday afternoon to preach, I was relieved to remember that today we celebrate the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. It is a sweet story and one I need to hear. Though I don’t know about you, I expect you, as I do, feel the need of a story of hope and optimism, of promise and completion.

Peter was given a choice – a choice to do something different, a choice to follow and perhaps to help create a different way, a choice to go on an adventure that could change him and even change the world. Jesus gave Peter his first and only chance to go into the regions beyond.