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The following is my lead-in to the sermon preached by Sophie Fosmire, a member of our youth who attended EYE17 as a delegate.

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The Episcopal Church loves it meetings. We have all sorts of local meetings of various committees and we have our vestry meetings, the vestry being the governing body of St. Matthew’s. On the Diocesan level, we have even more meetings. Commission on Ministry, Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, etc. Then there is what we call the National Church, our Presiding Bishop is the head. The National Church also has meetings, with the grand Episcopal Church meeting being the General Convention, which is held every three years. The last one was held in Salt Lake City in 2015. Continue reading “Sermon: Proper 11 – “EYE17””

In 1915, the king of the silent movies was “The Tramp” – Charlie Chaplin. He wore his baggy pants, tight fitting jacket, bowler hat, oversize shoes and carried a cane. His pale skin and mustache were also a part of his trademark, but you could always tell it was him by his walk. He was so popular that communities began to have Charlie Chaplin lookalike contests, the goal to not only look like Chaplin, but to be one who had mastered, who could imitate that iconic walk.

San Francisco was one town that joined in the fun. They were line up around the block to participate. It worked by having several elimination rounds leading up to the finals. Many were cut in that first round, but finally the winner was named. Sounds like fun; however, what made it so comical was the fact that the real Charlie Chaplin had also entered the contest and had been eliminated before the final round.

It is reported, following the competition, that Chaplin was “tempted to give lessons in the Chaplin walk, out of pity as well as in the desire to see the thing done correctly.” Continue reading “Sermon: Proper 10 RCL A – “Imitate””

John Kenneth Galbraith was an economist and diplomat serving under four different presidents. In his book, Name-Dropping: From F.D.R. on, Galbraith speaks about the loyalty of Emily Gloria Wilson, his housekeeper of forty years. It had been a wearying day and he had an evening engagement, and had asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while he had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. It was President Lyndon Johnson calling from the White House. It was the president’s custom to make most of his own calls.

“Lyndon Johnson here. Get me Ken Galbraith. I want to talk to him.”

Emily responded, “He’s resting, Mr. President.”

“Well, get him up. I need to talk to him.”

“No, I’m sorry, I can’t. I work for him, not for you, Mr. President.” Continue reading “Sermon: Proper 7 RCL A – “Allegiance””

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.”

“I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”

“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.” Continue reading “Sermon: Proper 6 RCL A – “Called and Obedient””

God created the dog and said: ‘Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.’

The dog said: ‘That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?’

So God agreed.

God created the monkey and said: ‘Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.’

The monkey said: ‘Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?’

And God agreed. Continue reading “Sermon: Easter 7 RCL A – “Giving Glory””

For years a particular church had been growing. Folks from every walk of life were attending. The music was good, the coffee was good, they were adding to their numbers every week, but what was the best was the preaching. That preacher could take to the pulpit and the congregation was like putty. We he wanted them to cry, they bawled. When he wanted them to laugh, it was comedy central. When he wanted them to give, they couldn’t give enough. Word of this church made its way all the way to heaven, so Jesus decided that he would like to see it for himself. Choosing a Sunday at random he showed up. No one recognized him, but he remembered that the disciples had a hard enough time recognizing him after the resurrection also, so he wasn’t concerned. No one welcomed him, but my goodness, they were busy, so that was OK too. Intent on seeing it all, he made his way to the front pew and sat dead center (he stuck out there, as no one else was in the first several pews, preferring to gather towards the back). Continue reading “Sermon: Easter 6 RCL A – “Seek””