Weekly Reflections

Dearest Family and Friends of St. Margaret’s, Greetings in Christ!  It is bittersweet, to say the very least, for me, that this coming Sunday is my last Sunday serving at St. Margaret’s.  My time serving with you at St. Margaret’s has been one of the great blessings of my life.  Since beginning in July of […]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, A few years ago, one of my non-Episcopalian friends asked, “What is this COLLECT you keep talking about?” I hemmed and hawed and finally said, “It’s a very brief, formal  prayer, that brings together a number of thoughts addressed to God.” It wasn’t the time for a lesson on types of

Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Margaret’s! This week’s Collect is one of my favorites:  “O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy

Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Margaret’s! Blessings on this Labor Day Weekend! I have always considered Labor Day Weekend the beginning of fall. Maybe it’s because I was a student for many years and then a teacher for many more years after that.  I always smile to myself when I hear people in the

Dear Brothers and Sisters, This week’s Epistle reading is from the Book of James.  What strikes me so deeply is the phrase: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves”.   With all the perils our day, particularly the unimaginable humanitarian catastrophes in Afghanistan and Haiti, and the ongoing peril of

Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are in the midst of a series of Gospel readings where Jesus explains about “I am the Bread of Life.” These readings are foundational for our understanding of the Eucharist. For many years I have loved the great Communion hymn “Adoro te devote”, which is hymn #314 in our hymnal.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, What an incredibly special day we will celebrate this coming Sunday with the Baptism of baby Grace Cathy Steuerwalt, daughter of Jesika and Ben Steuerwalt and baby sister of James! It will be our first Baptism since COVID closed us down to public worship.  Let us rejoice and be glad in

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Recently, one of my clergy colleagues and I were in conversation about a trend we have been noticing. We’ve been seeing it in families, in small groups, in online groups, in our parishes.  People’s tempers are shorter than they used to be, there are many more misunderstandings, and feelings are hurt

Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is with great delight that I write this letter! Some of you may already have seen me in person, or on July 4th’s video. If so, you saw that I am walking without a cane. And, even more importantly, without a limp!! Recovery from my surgeries has been long, and

Dearest Sisters and Brothers in Christ, It was beyond wonderful to be back in church – “live and in-person” – for worship this past Sunday! We had a good crowd, and the music was so joyous. I do think the singing, even with masks on, was as lovely and lively as I have ever heard