Blog

This past Tuesday, on the feast of the Confession of St. Peter, I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. I have always taken great comfort in being ordained on this feast. On one hand, Peter recognized and confessed that Jesus was the messiah, the son of the living God. On theRead more

Ever since my seminary days in the mid-90s I have begun Advent by reading a short reflection by the writer and minister, Frederick Buechner. It was originally published in 1988, and while it shows its age, I still feel it evokes the expectation of Advent and the importance of attending to Advent at a timeRead more

St. John’s parishioners first met Fr. Francis Matumba in 2004 during a visit to an AIDS support organization operated by him in Malawi’s central region. Since then, St. John’s parishioners visited him twice, once while he was the rector of St. John’s, Salima in 2011 and again in 2013 when he worked for the AnglicanRead more

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH CORE VALUES The fundamental essence of St. John’s core values is this church CARES about its congregation, community, environment and civic responsibilities. How this church and its congregation care is what makes St. John’s special. Here is how St. John’s CARES: Connect – St. John’s connects with people no matter where theyRead more

Every priest I know is asking the question, “Will people come back to church?” Based on last Sunday, the answer for St. John’s is a resounding yes! Our in person and online attendance were about twice what they have been. It was a glorious Sunday with the start of our new Music Director, John KarlRead more

In my sermon last Sunday I preached about Elijah despairing in the wilderness and praying that God would take away his life (1 Kings 19:4-8.) My focus was on what we learn about faith and resilience from the story of Elijah. The sermon is available on our live stream page and starts at minute 21:00. The audioRead more

Last week I met with my clergy group for the first time since November of 2019. Prior to the pandemic we have met twice a year since 2002. We met at one of the members summer home in the 1000 Islands on the St. Lawrence River in New York and that is only accessible byRead more

This Sunday is the start of the Merry Mary Month of May at St. John’s. During this annual observance we celebrate Mary, mothers, and women. During May all our hymns, offertory anthems and instrumental music will highlight women’s texts and compositions. Many of the prayers we will use are written by women, and women fromRead more

I recently received a letter from a parishioner responding to our annual fund appeal and commending the church for how we have kept our faith community together during the pandemic. The letter is shared below with permission, but with the name removed. It is so moving to read how people have felt connected to and comforted byRead more

I am so happy to announce that we will hold our first outdoor, in-person worship services for the Great Vigil of Easter at 7pm on Saturday, April 3 and 5pm on Easter Sunday. I can’t image a more beautiful symbol of the resurrection than gathering for our first in-person worship services at Easter. Attendance atRead more