Towards Easter

All the pain, difficulty, turmoil, drudgery, unease and restlessness in our lives are real. God uses it all to pull us toward Easter. God does not cause the discomfort – let’s be real clear – but God uses it to stretch our hearts, awaken our minds, and empty our souls so that we can be filled with the love and presence of the risen Jesus we celebrate at Easter.

This is the Gospel promise. The Divine is on our side and desires only the best for each of us. God uses all the death and ache

Embracing the Unexpected

We have already experienced many twists and turns during this brand new year of grace, 2010. The Memphis weather has been harsh, windy, bright and beautiful. The epic earthquake in Haiti has been utterly heart-breaking. Simple everyday 21st century living is dramatic and accelerated enough. Then pack on worldly trauma, and we find

Looking Forward, Looking Up

This year of grace 2010 holds limitless promises for us. God is profoundly good and faithful, and we are deeply blessed to have each other united as a Cathedral family. We are bound together by bread, wine, and Spirit; and Jesus call us all to look forward and to look up.

St. Mary’s continues to swell with vibrancy, joy and grace. I am so grateful for all of you. You are a sign to me of what generosity and courage really means.

In this month's issue of THE CHIMES we have a wonderful slate of new candidates for the Chapter. You will select six of them at the Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 24. We will gather in the Crypt/Undercroft at 9:30 AM and the meeting begins at 9:45 lasting an hour. Continue to be your prayerful, discerning self as we select new leadership to help guide us into God’s beautiful future.

- Andy

Enter Darkness with Confidence

“In a dark time,” the late American poet Theodore Roethke wrote, “the eye begins to see.” The dark times in life are not our enemy. Dark times empty the world of things that otherwise distract us from seeing the important things. Advent is dark – a season of little natural light. Enter the darkness with confidence. This dark season invites us to drain

Going Beyond Limitations

Everything that happens to us has the potential to deepen us.  The birth of the human heart is an unceasing enterprise.  Each moment brings to birth within us new territories if we allow it.  God is always drawing us beyond our limitations.  Life is an ongoing process of discovery.  We are never complete.  Our destiny is Christian perfection – fully alive human beings empowered by the benevolent Holy Spirit.

We believe the beautiful sacrament of baptism thrust us along in our sacred journey,

Guest blogger: the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori: her sermon given at St. Mary's in March

I was in Costa Rica last week for a meeting of Anglicans from all the American provinces of the Communion:  Canada, TEC, Mexico, IARCA, Brazil, and Uruguay and Peru of the Southern Cone.  Only the West Indies wasn’t there.  We were there to talk about mission, and how we can be more effective partners. 

We were standing around in the middle of San Jose in the early afternoon of Ash Wednesday, waiting to walk to the downtown church, when I heard a noise behind me.  It sounded like a hard piece of plastic skittering across the cobblestones.  I turned, and at first I wasn’t sure what I was seeing.  It turned out to be a snub nosed pistol, and the older gentleman who had dropped it was trying to gather it up as quickly as he could.