Rev Chris Roth

  Isaiah 40:27-31; Psalm 91; Heb 10:19-25; Jn 14:25-31 A couple months ago the clergy of the diocese had a virtual meeting with a psychologist who gave us some strategies for weathering the strange times we are in. He gave a lot of helpful advice. Most clergy have done a bit of training in mental health, and most have at least a bit of experience with mental health challenges. So, a lot of the advice was known, but a review is always a good idea. I think C.S. Lewis once said that we need reminding more than we need to be taught new information. So, it is good to be reminded of these things we can do to strengthen our mental health. To deal with the stress that comes with all the consequences of dealing with the pandemic, he suggested things like- keeping active (e.g. going for walks everyday that are at least half an hour), talking to others about how your are feeling (rather than bottling your feelings up), eating well (rather than eating junk food, even if it is temporarily comfo...

  Gen 45:1-15; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 23:32-43 We are continuing with our sermon series on practices that strengthen community, and today we are looking at forgiveness and reconciliation. In some parts of social media, the value of forgiveness seems to be being challenged. Every word that is written can be preserved and combed over, even from decades earlier. If someone chooses to do so, they can probably find something to be critical of. Perhaps a word that now has different connotations and is no longer to be used in polite conversation. This can lead to a call to “cancel" this person. To “cancel” someone, according to urbandictionary.com,  “means to stop giving support to that person. The act of canceling could entail boycotting an actor's movies or no longer reading or promoting a writer's works.”  But it is not just for the famous. There are restaurant owners and small business owners and professors who have felt the consequences of being “cancelled” a...

  Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 78:1-8; Col 3:1-17; Matt 5:13-20 Today we are starting a sermon series on the theme of community. We won’t be exhaustive in this, but for the next four Sundays we are going to be looking at practices that are important for strengthening community. … Today we are looking at the theme of living truthfully, and we will also look at the opposite, deception. Our Old Testament reading is one of two places where we find the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5 is the other). Since 1552, in the Book of Common Prayer, at the beginning of the Holy Eucharist service we are instructed to read the Ten Commandments at least one Sunday per month in a kind of responsive reading. The minister is instructed to say: “Hear the Law of God which was given to Israel in old time. God spake these words and said: I am the LORD thy God; Thou shalt have none other gods but me.” And the people respond to each commandment: “Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law....

  Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11 We entered into Epiphany on January 6th , which is when we think about Christ being revealed to the nations as represented by the Magi. An epiphany in a manifestation or a revealing. When we suddenly realize something, we say we have had an epiphany. During the season of Epiphany, we look at how Jesus is revealed to the world. It is a season when we consider the ways God sheds light and reveals Himself. It seems a bit odd to have this reading today because usually we associate John the Baptist with the season of Advent as we “prepare the way of the Lord” as we remember how he did come on Christmas, but also how he will come when he comes again. As we progress through the church year through Christmas and now into Epiphany, it can be a bit funny to circle back and see John again. The focus in this season, though, is not on John’s word’s of preparation. The focus is on the baptism of Jesus, which reveals the Trinity. … In Mark 1, J...

  Sirach 24:1-12;  Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21;  Ephesians 1:3-14;  John 1:1-18 Our readings today include some from a couple books you might not recognize. They are from a group of books called the Apocrypha. (Learn more about the Apocrypha here.)  … In the back of the Book of Common Prayer you will find the 39 articles . The articles were the essential beliefs of the Anglican Church that were written in the 16th century. In the 6th article it speaks about the books of the Bible, and it says that reading the Apocryphal books is profitable, but they aren’t to be used to establish doctrine. Which is just to say, they are good and important, but not equal to Scripture. … There is a historical reason they aren’t included in protestant Bibles, that has to do with the reformation and the desire to get back to original languages. It does seem like the early Christians valued these books, though they weren’t all in agreement about them belonging in the Bible. I should ...