St. Mark's New Canaan

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Freedom is one of America's defining ideals. But what if the deepest freedom can't be found in unlimited choices? Fr. John explores St. Paul's surprising vision of freedom, the example of Jesus, and why becoming "a slave to love" may be the most liberating invitation we'll ever receive.

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost What does Jesus mean when he says we must love him more than our own families? In this Father's Day sermon, Fr. Peter reflects on parenthood, divine love, and one of Jesus' most difficult teachings. Discover why Jesus isn't calling us to love our families less, but inviting us into a love so expansive that it transforms every relationship we have.

The Third Sunday after Pentecost (Youth Sunday) What shapes a person's faith? On Youth Sunday, graduating senior Chloe Perkins reflects on growing up at St. Mark's, navigating the pressures of achievement, discovering faith as her own, and learning that God is often found in the quiet moments we usually overlook.

The Second Sunday after Pentecost Why do Christians sometimes look so little like Christ? Fr. John explores Christianity's "alignment problem": the gap between the teachings of Christ and the behavior of his followers. What if the greatest obstacle to faith isn't disbelief, but religious people who have forgotten mercy?

The First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday The Trinity has confused Christians for centuries. But what if we're asking the wrong question? This Sunday, Rev. Elizabeth explores how the Trinity began not as a doctrine, but as an experience of divine love that transformed the disciples and continues to transform us today. Discover why the Trinity may be less about understanding God and mor...

The Feast of Pentecost “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” On Pentecost, Fr. Peter explores spiritual thirst, the flow of the Holy Spirit, and the living water Christ offers in a restless world. From ancient Temple rituals to powerful stories of transformation inside Sing Sing prison, this message asks: What is flowing through your life?

The Seventh Sunday of Easter What if eternal life is not just something waiting for us after death… but something we can awaken to right now? This week’s sermon explores Jesus’ radical definition of eternal life in John 17 and challenges distorted images of God built on fear, division, and exclusion. Instead, we encounter the God revealed in Jesus: a God of mercy, compassion, justice, and love. Et...

What if the Christian life could be distilled down to five simple truths? In this joyful and deeply grounding sermon for Confirmation, Bishop Laura Ahrens offers “five things you need to know to get your day going” — reminders about love, forgiveness, courage, new life, and community that speak not only to those being confirmed, but to anyone trying to navigate a complicated world with faith and h...

The Sixth Sunday of Easter What if love isn’t just something we feel, but something that shapes an entire community? On Mother’s Day, Fr. John explores Jesus’ command to “love one another,” the culture of grace created through relationships, and the quiet magnetism of communities rooted in compassion.

The Fifth Sunday of Easter What do you say when it’s the last conversation you’ll ever have with someone you love? In this deeply personal and tender reflection, Fr. Peter invites us into a sacred space—the kind where words carry weight, silence speaks, and love is laid bare. Drawing from Jesus’ final moments with his disciples, this sermon explores what it means to really believe—not just in our...

The Fourth Sunday of Easter What if abundant life is found not in getting ahead, but in helping someone else rise? On St. Mark’s feast day, we hear Jesus call himself the Good Shepherd, not the kind who uses others, but the kind who protects, heals, and stands in the gap for the vulnerable. From ancient sheepfolds to the Boston Marathon, this sermon explores how love becomes visible when ordinary...

The Third Sunday of Easter What if resurrection is not only something to believe, but a new way to see? Explore how Christ meets us in ordinary things and awakens us to the sacred web of creation. Fr. John gives offers a surprising, thought-provoking reflection on wonder, communion, and what it means to become who we were made to be. 

The Second Sunday of Easter What does it really mean to be alive? On a baptism Sunday, Fr. Peter explores the staggering gift of existence itself, the difference between merely existing and truly living, and the divine life Christ offers to the world. From peace that outlasts chaos to forgiveness that breaks cycles of harm, you’re invited beyond survival and into something deeper, brighter, and et...

The Great Vigil of Easter What if Holy Saturday is not empty at all, but charged with holy mystery? Rev. Elizabeth explores the great silence between crucifixion and resurrection, the strange, sacred in-between where God is already at work. This is a message about liminal space, baptism, awakening, and the fierce hope that Christ still calls us out of every tomb.

Easter Day What if Easter isn’t just about finding Jesus…but about being found? In this imaginative and deeply moving sermon, Fr. Peter reframes the resurrection story as a kind of “Where’s Waldo” search—except the real surprise is who finds whom. Through Mary Magdalene’s grief, Peter’s reasoning, and the beloved disciple’s love, we’re invited into a different way of knowing: not through proof, bu...

Maundy Thursday On Maundy Thursday, Jesus does not leave his disciples with abstract ideas. He leaves them with actions: wash, share, stay awake, love. What does it mean to become the body of Christ in a hurting world? What does love look like when it must take on flesh? Rev. Elizabeth invites us beyond admiration of Jesus and into imitation.

Good Friday What if the cross isn’t just something that happened… but something still happening? Fr. John invites us into a deeper, more unsettling truth: the suffering of Christ is not confined to the past, but woven through the pain of the world today. From ancient prophecy to modern heartbreak, from personal wounds to global crises, we are asked not to look away—but to face it. And in doing so,...

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday On Palm Sunday, Jesus doesn’t just ride into Jerusalem...he confronts everything we think power, kingship, and strength should look like. This is a kingdom turned inside out. A King who empties himself. A God who steps directly into the world’s deepest wounds. Fr. Peter invites us into the heart of Holy Week—not as spectators, but as participants. Not casuall...

The Fifth Sunday in Lent What if eternal life isn’t something waiting for you someday… but something breaking in right now? Rev. Elizabeth challenges us to rethink resurrection entirely. Not as a future miracle, but as a daily awakening. A letting go. A coming alive. What if the real question isn’t how long we live… but how fully?

The Fourth Sunday in Lent What does it mean to truly see? In the powerful story of the man born blind in John’s Gospel, what begins as a miraculous healing becomes something much deeper: a journey from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight. Learn how this story mirrors the Christian path of transformation that moves from awakening to illumination and ultimately into union with God.

The Third Sunday in Lent. Water runs like a hidden current through this week’s scriptures as Fr. John explores the surprising spiritual model we find in the Samaritan woman. While overlooked in much of Western Christianity, she becomes one of the first evangelists in the Gospel of John. Her story reminds us of a paradox of faith: the things that give us status in the world can sometimes make it ha...

The Second Sunday in Lent. The world feels uncertain. War, upheaval, and shifting ground can leave us feeling unmoored. But what if the deeper problem isn’t a lack of information, but a lack of wisdom? Explore the nighttime encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Through this encounter, we discover that faith is not about mastering certainty, but about entering the holy mystery where transformation...

The First Sunday in Lent Before Jesus preached a sermon, healed a body, or called a disciple… he was famished. In the wilderness between baptism and ministry, Jesus faced testing that revealed not only who he was — but who we are called to be. What happens when Scripture is bent? What does it mean to be “led into the wilderness”? And how do we live as little Jesus people in a world obsessed with p...

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany. What does a death-defying skyscraper climb have to do with the Transfiguration of Jesus? Explore what it means to be fully alive, what it means to shine with Christ’s light, and how Lent calls us to become who we were created to be.

Ash Wednesday. What if Ash Wednesday is less about guilt… and more about getting real? Are we living for God — or for applause? Ash Wednesday invites us into a reality check. The ashes remind us that we are dust. The cross reminds us who our true center is. This Lent, it may be time to give up more than chocolate. It may be time to give up the act.