Sermons

Today we celebrate the blessing of the animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and creation. St. Francis, who’s feast day is observed on October 4th, to commemorate his death, was born into a wealthy family in Italy in 1181. He enjoyed the “good life” during his early years until…

Those of you who have been coming to Holy Trinity for some period of time know that this particular community of faith is on a journey – discerning where the Holy Spirit is leading this community in this time of pastoral transition. This is a slow journey, a steady journey, a journey of many steps. It’s…

Some of you know that I live in Holliston, about 20 miles north of here. Holliston is a small town. We don’t even have a grocery store! Downtown Holliston, as we lovingly like to call it, is a 1/2 mile stretch of state highway (routes 16 and 126) intersected by side roads. There are local stores,…

We have come to the midpoint in the gospel of Mark. We have come to the point where Jesus begins to turn his focus to Jerusalem, where his mission will be fulfilled. Now Jesus begins to prepare his disciples, his followers, for the difficult days that are to come. For the first time, Jesus tells his…

For much of my adult life, my vocation – that is, the work that God has called me and gifted me to do in the world – has centered around serving people with disabilities. I have worked with and supported people who have a variety disabilities – intellectual or physical or emotional or whatever – in…

Imagine, for a moment, that you are a disciple of Jesus back in the day when Jesus lived on this earth. Imagine that you first heard Jesus speak and saw him healing people somewhere in your home land of Galilee, perhaps somewhere along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Imagine you were so captivated and…

These words are not easy to comprehend. I was challenged. About a year ago, I went back to the church where I served for over 20 years, up in Newton. It was good to see those people again. It was particularly nice to see the children whom I had baptized coming up for the children’s message.…

I wonder if you have noticed the quotation that has been on Holy Trinity’s sign out front on the lawn this summer. The sign says “Only love can drive out hate”. The sign attributes this quote to Martin Luther King, Jr. and that is true. According to Google, it’s a paraphrase of something Dr.King originally said…

I am not much of a baker. I bake cookies for the Christmas season, of course, to carry on that  family tradition. Other than that, I do very little baking.   Except for pumpkin bread. Years ago I found a great recipe for pumpkin bread and I bake that on a  regular basis. It’s a simple recipe…

For many of us, Psalm 23 is a familiar and beloved psalm. Perhaps you remember learning it by  heart when you were a child. Perhaps you can still recite all (or most!) of the words even now –  probably in the King James Version, no less! Perhaps you have heard it many times at the funerals …

It’s always good when sisters and brothers and siblings of different faith traditions gather to worship God together. It reminds me of these words from Psalm 133: 1 How good and how pleasant it is,when kindred live together in unity!2 It is like fine oil upon the head, flowing down upon the beard,upon the beard of…

My spouse and I spent this past week camping in southern Maine. It has been our yearly practice for many years to go camping for the week of July 4th; always at the same campground; always at the same campsite. It’s a ritual of rest and relaxation and connecting with the outdoors. As in past years,…

I begin in the name of Jesus Christ + and proclaim my faith and trust that the Holy Spirit is among us to give us ears to hear and hearts to know God’s living and loving Word for us in this place and time. Amen The two main people in Mark’s reading today are both desperate…

It is good for us to gather together this morning, as people of God, to worship and praise God in this season after Pentecost; this Ordinary Time. During this long summer-into-autumn season of growth, the scripture readings take us deeper into the story of how the first disciples live out their calling to follow Jesus, to…

We are in the growing season of the church year. It’s the time in the liturgical calendar that we call “time after Pentecost”. Some folks in the church call it “Ordinary Time”. I like the simplicity of that. This time after Pentecost – this Ordinary Time – in the church year is a long season –…