Current

December 24, 2008 - "Come To Bethlehem And See"

In the hymn “Angels we have heard on high,” one can sort of sing along through the verses well enough but everyone knows that what we are really aiming for is the Glo-ooooo-ooooo-ooooo-ria. One can sing that with great gusto in the shower, don’t you think? Read more...

December 7, 2008, 2nd Sunday of Advent - "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People"

When listening to Handel’s second movement of Messiah, Comfort Ye My People there is in the beginning a wonderful sense of peace. I find my eyes closing and that my instinct is to take a very deep breath. At last that is the peace, that is the comfort, in which God enfolds us. Read more...

November 2008

November 30, 2008 - The First Sunday of Advent(B) - "The Year of Mark"

The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ the Son of God…” Wait! That’s not correct. Well it is correct in a sense, because this is the first Sunday of Advent which is the first day of the new church year. The first Sunday of Advent is when we change to the next Gospel in our three year cycle. Last year, which ended last week, we read from the Gospel of Matthew, so this year, known as Year B we read from Mark’s Gospel. Read more...

November 27, 2008 - "An Abundance of Thanksgiving"

I remember a day long ago. I don’t remember the year, only the day. I spent the morning outside riding my bike with friends. We met up at various intersections until everyone was gathered and then we decided which highlight to hit first. The creek, where we sat on the little foot bridge and tossed leaves and sticks in to judge the speed of the current, moving on only when our bottoms grew too cold to stay. Read more...

November 16, 2008 - "Will I have to give it back?"

Children’s Sermon: Which of you receive an allowance? How much do you receive? Alright well if you receive that much then let me give you, in Monopoly $, $350. And to you, let me give $100, and you $40. Now I’m wondering since I’ve given you all of that money to take care of, what will you do with it? Read more...

October 2008

October 26, 2008 - "I Am Because You Are"

I am because you are. Ubuntu. This is the theme for both our diocesan annual council for 2009 and for The Episcopal Church’s General Convention in the coming year. Ubuntu is a Zulu term and speaks to the interconnectedness of people. Read More....

September 2008

September 21, 2008 - "Save me from being a Jonah"

I can hear an old Rabbi teaching out of Jonah by saying, “God gives; God takes away, God forgives. Who are you to be angry at God?” The story of Jonah is read every year at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This Book relegated by many as a children’s story, is read in its entirety because of its primary teaching; God forgives those who repent. And I might add, whether we like it or not! Read more...

September 14, 2008 - "Holy Cross Day"

Today is Holy Cross Day, the day which commemorates the finding of Jesus’ original cross, but really more so a day set aside to contemplate the cross. I don’t have many feast dates committed to memory but I remember September 14th is Holy Cross Day. This is because the first day I observed Holy Cross Day was a powerful day for contemplating the cross. Read more...

September 7, 2008 - "A Service of Celebration"

Long ago, sometime in April perhaps, the Vestry asked me to preach a stewardship sermon on this particular Sunday. Well David and I took that ball and ran with it. Why just a sermon, why not a day? And so the idea took hold for this day of celebration. We quite literally crafted this service, so that the interpretation that we would give to stewardship can be found throughout the music and prayers of the day. Read more...

August 2008

August 31, 2008 - "Your preacher has been convicted"

Your preacher has been convicted! That is convicted in the spiritual sense. In reading Romans this week I thought about ways that I might preach this text. I read the passage in many different translations looking for points of spiritual connection. When I read the version from The Message, I heard this passage speaking to me in a new way. The passage seemed to be guiding me through my week, not my professional week, but my personal week. Read more...

August 17, 2008 - "Learning from the Rub"

Our students and teachers return to school this week and so our prayers and thoughts go with them. I myself was a student on Saturday at a Stewardship Conference and I realized that I wanted to say a word to our students about learning from this morning’s Gospel. Read more...

August 10, 2008 - "Get Out of the Boat"

Raise your hand if you know what this part of the church is called? The nave. Excellent! Who knows why we call this the nave? It comes from the Latin word “navis” meaning ship. Lovely to know, but why do you wonder churches are made to resemble boats? Read more...

August 3, 2008 - "Soul Food"

My sister in Christ Paula Greene got me thinking about this Gospel passage in a whole new way. In fact in a sort of, well why didn’t I think of that, kind of way. Paula proclaims this passage is about Soul Food. Now looking at my very white self with my German surname one would accurately guess that I was not reared on soul food. But one night, one great night I was a pilgrim into the world of soul food and fed like a welcomed guest. Read more...

July 2008

July 27, 2008 - "If God Is For Us"

“If God is for us, who is against us?” Have you ever pondered this question? I know that I have especially in times of trial. I have even been known to utter this scripture to myself in the form of a prayer as a test was handed to me in Church History class. “If God is for us, who is against us?” can become a mantra in times when we feel pressed upon, and we know that we must get through that which is before us. These words penned by Paul indeed may have been the author’s own mantra while in prison, or at the very least a gift of comfort from the Holy Spirit. Read more...

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Sermon 5th Sunday in Lent by Rev. Phyllis Speigel - Recorded March 25th - 5.7 MB

Sermon 2nd Sunday in Lent by Rev. Phyllis Speigel - Recorded March 4th - 10.3 MB