When the world seems out of control, words like the ones from our reading in Isaiah soothe me. At one time or another, all of us get a little carried away with our importance—surely with God, we must know just how important we are, how profoundly loved we are.
SUNDAY, January 10                           1 Epiphany
Two distinct theologies have developed around baptism. One, I call magic, and the other, I call decision. Magic requires no real change. Magic is terrible theology. God loves the unbaptized person—and indeed everyone, entirely, now, already—no matter what we do.
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SATURDAY, January 9                   Julia Chester Emery
Julia Chester Emery served as the national secretary of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Board of Missions for forty years, from 1876 to 1916. For the Episcopal Church, perhaps her most significant and longest-lasting legacy is the United Thank Offering.
The ....
FRIDAY, January 8                  Harriet Bedell
Harriet Bedell was an Episcopal deaconess, first working with the Cheyenne people in Oklahoma. Later, she continued her work with indigenous people in Alaska, where she started a school in the small village of Tanana, a town I was blessed to visit several years ago. At the time, I had no idea Harrie....
THURSDAY, January 7
Our guide in Cana told us this joke: “The wine is so bad in Cana that if Jesus were here today, he would turn the wine back into water.” I am not prepared to debate the truth of that statement, but Cana, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Jericho, and Hebron are all still cities—thriving, struggling, living....
WEDNESDAY, January 6 The Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Epiphany of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a celebration often missed in the flurry and exhaustion of Advent and Christmas. Nevertheless, the Feast of the Epiphany is the culmination of Christmas.
The magi went home, the story says, but they went b....
TUESDAY, January 5                  [Sarah, Theodora, and Syncletica of Egypt]
The word abide is defined as “to accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation).” Abiding with Jesus means more than merely accepting or agreeing to spend time with him—it means living into and out of the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus.
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MONDAY, January 4                  [Elizabeth Ann Seton]
Born in 1774 in New York City, Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first person from the United States of America to be beatified by the Vatican. Mother Seton founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first order of nuns in the United States. Seton’s name is on many schools and hospitals to this d....
SUNDAY, January 3                  2 Christmas
As a youth, I stayed out way past my curfew. When I arrived in our neighborhood, I had my buddy turn off the headlights about a block away from my house. I slunk out of the car, tiptoed up the sidewalk, and gingerly opened our front door.
Just as I was abou....
SATURDAY, January 2
Faith is a word that carries a lot of baggage in the religious world. It is bandied around easily by some and carefully avoided by others. Faith comes from the Greek word
pistis, which (I would argue) is more akin to trust.
We have faith in many thi....
FRIDAY, January 1
The Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Mary treasuring and pondering all words she’d been hearing since her son’s birth may be one of the most loaded lines in scripture. “Treasuring the words” is an interesting take. “Pondering them,” even more. She treasured and pondered them, right up to the foot of the cross.
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THURSDAY, December 31         Frances Joseph Gaudet
If you knew Jerri, you knew one of the faces of Jesus. She was a beloved woman in our congregation who loved life and willingly gave herself to God and the service of God’s people.
Jerri was the first person to step up for anything. She joyfully decorated....
WEDNESDAY, December 30
Camp Barnabas was a place I loved visiting as a child and young adult. A camp for disabled children and adults, Camp Barnabas was a place where many of us could feel relaxed and free to be ourselves, together with other disabled people. Some of us also served as staff volunteers, which I genuinely e....