Hello – This Sunday we do two things to mark the shift toward remembering the birth of our Lord. First, we honor one of the Old Testament images for Jesus, the Wisdom from on high, by the choir chanting at the beginning of the service and an image on a small banner. Each Sunday we…
Hello – There seems to be a particularly tricky email going out right now that pretends to be from me. Please always check the email that it’s coming from. If it’s not cmartin@stpaualssanrafael.org or c.h.mrtn@gmail.com, it’s not from me. If you got one of these, I don’t think you’ve been hacked. Rather people hunt around to find emails…
Hello – Three things: 1. At tomorrow’s 10am Bible Study we will begin to wrap our minds and hearts around one of the three most important events in the Old Testament, the Babylonian Captivity. We’re going to be reading both portions of the histories and six of the minor prophets. At least one new person will be…
Hello – One of the most moving and powerful things we do each year is to read aloud the list of all who have died in the last year on All Saints’ Sunday. All Saints’ Sunday is a week from this Sunday, on November 3rd. If you have had a family member or someone very close…
Hello – Two weeks from the time I am writing these words, our hearts and minds will likely be consumed with the unfolding of the election. At St. Paul’s, we offer hope and prayer to help us all stay clear and centered through the coming months. Here are three invitations: 1. Hope. This Saturday at 8:45am in…
Hello – I’d like to share with you a daily practice for living in hope. A week from Saturday, on October 26th at 9am in Duncan Hall, I’ll be offering a stand-alone teaching for a practice first thing in the morning to orient your day toward living in hope. The teaching is based classic understandings of…
Hello – Some hard news appeared this morning in many of our email in boxes. Our new Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Austin Rios, shared with us that our previous Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, has been issued a restriction on ministry by the national church due to a credible allegation that he had an…
Hello – Next Sunday, October 13th, we are going to be serving one of the best foods in Marin County: the breakfast burritos from Picante. Next Sunday is our Consecration Sunday, the celebration of generosity that serves as our Stewardship Sunday. If you haven’t already sent in a card indicating you will be coming, will…
Hello – At St. Paul’s this weekend the Transcending Contempt Practice Group begins, we celebrate the life of Betty Hardin and Godly Play returns on Sunday morning. At 8:45am on Saturday morning I begin to lead the Transcending Contempt Practice Group. I offer this series as a way for us to stay grounded and behave as Christian…
Hello – This coming Saturday, at 8:45am in Duncan Hall, the Transcending Contempt Practice Group begins. The goal of this fall’s Practice Group is to train each of us to inhabit hope. Hope heals despair, which is the dark font of contempt in each of us. By the end of the Practice Group on Saturday, November…