Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter. The leaflet for today's service is here. Readings for today: Acts 17:22-31 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 Psalm 66:7-18 Collect of the Day: O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Sermon for Today: Father Manny's Sermon is available for reading here.

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The leaflet for today's service is here. Readings for today: Acts 1:6-14 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36 Collect of the Day: O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. The Sermon for Today: Father Manny's Sermon is available for reading here.

Today is Pentecost Sunday. At Christ Church, it is also Youth Sunday. Our youth help deliver the liturgy and lessons of the day, and we invite you to watch the service below. The service leaflet for today is here. Readings for today: Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:25-35, 37 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 20:19-23 Collect of the Day: Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Sermon for Today: The Sermon for today was given by our Christ Church youth. You can watch them in the video above, and their text is available for reading here.

Today is Trinity Sunday. The service leaflet for today is here. Readings for today: Genesis 1:1-2:4a Canticle 13 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20 Collect of the Day: Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Sermon for Today: The Sermon text is available for reading here.

Today is the Second Sunday of Pentecost. The service leaflet for today is here. Readings for today: Exodus 19:2-8a Psalm 100 Romans 5:1-8 Matthew 9:35-10:8(9-23) Collect of the Day: Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today is the Third Sunday of Pentecost. The service leaflet for today is here. Readings for today: Jeremiah 20:7-13 Psalm 69: 8-11, (12-17), 18-20 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39 Collect of the Day: OLord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Pentecost. The service leaflet for today is here. Readings for today: Jeremiah 28:5-9 Psalm 89:1-4,15-18 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 Collect of the Day: Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

History has always been a favorite subject of mine. When I was in high school, if I wasn’t talking about English Literature, I would be talking about history. My fascination with history is more than simply recounting the stories of old, but rather reflecting on how we could live into a glorious future devoid of the mistakes of the past. From my view, without the guidance of history, without our ability to remember the stories of old, guess what? History has an interesting way of repeating itself. Over the past several years and more recently, we have all been witnesses to the racial tensions and demonstrations going on throughout the country. Some of these demonstrations have been violent and some have been peaceful, but that is the nature of demonstrations. One notable escalation since the demonstrations started a few weeks ago has been the toppling of statues of some historical figures who had some questionable characteristics and who, some believe, are not deserving of a statue in a public square. For many people, the idea of the statues is so repugnant that it is of firm belief that having these statues in the public square is akin to either glorifying these individuals and/or their core beliefs. It is true that the world has moved on from the atrocities that these individuals perpetuated. But we tend to forget, quite tragically, that the world is not far removed from the views of those people whose statues we are so eager to pull down. Yes, the intended purpose of the statues was to glorify those individuals for what some in their time, and even presently, refer to as heroic acts. But whether heroic or not, our time-tested values have an opinion on that, and as far as I am concerned those aren't heroic acts. The enduring question is, if statues are only meant for holy and righteous people, how do we represent the worst of humans? Are we suggesting that we look up to only the good, and not reflect on what the dark side of human can be? Any attempt at sanitizing history robs both present and future generations of the ability to learn from the lessons of history. A sanitized history suggests that human depravity isn't even an issue worth thinking about. I haven’t been to the Holocaust Memorial in Auschwitz, and so I cannot tell if there are statutes there or not. Maybe those of you who have done so will tell me more about it, or if in the future I happen to go there myself, I will see what they have built that represents a dark part of human history. The point of the memorial - which Jews advocated for its building so to serve as a reminder that never, never again should human beings be baked in the furnaces of hatred, bigotry, arrogance, and false superiority - is a memorial, but it serves as a reminder as well. There’s a story in scripture where the prophet Nathan goes to King David, and narrates a rather despicable story about a rich man. According to the prophet, there was a rich man who had many sheep, cattle, and goats. In the same town was another man who had one sheep. The man with the one sheep adored his sheep so much so that he would cuddle the sheep to sleep. One day, the rich man had a guest, and in his desire to serve the guest he asked that the sheep of that one man be slaughtered for the guest. When King David heard the story, he was beside himself with rage, and promised that the rich man must be punished. The prophet looked at King David tear his garments, and in response said to him, “You are the man.” As Israel’s king you had available to you many, many women, but you obviously forgot your own history, decided to take the wife of another man, and not only that but engineered his killing. Read 2 Samuel 12 The point is that good living breeds forgetfulness; we are so eager to forget our challenging stories when life begins to look upward. That is primarily why God charged the people of Israel to always REMEMBER. I am the Lord who brought you out of Egypt - ‘REMEMBER.’ I am the Lord who brought you to the land of milk and honey - ‘REMEMBER.’ If you are to recall the genesis of how the Israelites were turned into slaves in Egypt, you will come to find out that it was primarily because there was a Pharaoh who did not know about Joseph. The story of how Joseph saved the people of Egypt had been long forgotten because people have moved on. People move on, and when they do, they tend to forget the stories of old that give meaning to their lives. Do I want to see Confederate flags fly around? No, I don't. Not at all. But seeing those flags reminds me of the extent of human depravity. Do I want to see the Nazi flag fly around? Of course not. But whenever I see the flag, I am reminded of the extent of human depravity. Do I want to see statues of Robert Lee, or of any of the leaders of the Confederacy fall down? No. Not at all. Seeing those statues also reminds me of the extent of human depravity. Do I want to see the cross of Christ wherever I go? Yes, I do. For that also reminds me both of human depravity, and of the power of God to rescue us from even ourselves. Not every single one of us might sit in a classroom and study the history of our forbearers. Not everyone may visit a museum to learn about our collective history. And so when we begin to act as arbiters of history and pull down statues, then where do we start, and with which statue? Do we erase the entire history of the Founding Fathers since almost all of them owned slaves? I am as confused as you might be. There’s this sense of comfort or satisfaction in those who pull down statues, that the act in and of itself satisfies the grievances of the past, or even attempt to do so. I beg to differ. They don’t solve the systemic racism that many people of color do face. It may be a gesture, a momentary satisfaction. But the real work of solving our problems lies somewhere else, and not with the statues or the evil they may represent. From my point of view, whether a statue is in a public square or museum, it is important that it is recognized as a part of the human story that always has to be told, always has to be remembered, and always as to be retold - just as it is, for we should not sanitize history. I am sure you remember America’s favorite hymn, Amazing Grace. The author was a slave trader who later chanced upon a deeper meaning of God’s grace. The fact that the author was a slave trader doesn’t mean that we should stop signing that hymn. At the barest minimum, what we’re saying when we sing with all enthusiasm and vigor, even at the most solemn of occasions, is that we embrace the God of whose grace the former slave trader sings about. To me, true freedom is living in community with God and with others, and that means looking at the statue of that one man who represents, to you, the very worst of human character. A sanitized history, in my view, rejects human depravity. Each of us has a dark side, as I've learned. And mainly because of our dark side, we dare not sanitize our history. We can yet look at the Confederate soldier and sing Amazing Grace because he needs as much grace as we do. ~Manny

Please take a few minutes to read Father Manny's Sermon for today. Heavenly Father, I surrender to you every aspect of my mind, my will and my life to You. This day, I choose to dwell in your goodness and faithfulness. May those seeds you have long planted in me take root and grow. Keep me close to you, like a father would his child, and direct my steps like a father would his child. Amen. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re now dealing with racial tensions. There are daily demonstrations over issues of justice that have been simmering for a very long time. It looks like our world and life is on the edge. There’s this unsettling feeling wherever you turn. Today’s gospel doesn’t make things any easy for us. It has placed the gospel burden on us-that, like our master Jesus, we have to disturb the apple cart-we have to take up the cross-lose our lives for the sake of the cross-by standing up for what is Godly and right- that each of us is of more value than any sparrow. The charge then is to stand up and let your voice be heard. Let not the fears of the morrow cripple what you know to be right. Let not the fear of a repercussion weigh so heavily on you, to the extent that you choose to ignore what you know to be right and descent, for the convenience of fellowship with those who can destroy the body but cannot destroy the soul. Stand up and be counted. Let your faith be bigger than your fear. On this Father’s Day morning, my charge to you is to stand up and be counted. Remember Paul’s question, should we continue to sin so that grace may abound? Not so. He says. You and I both know that the failure to stand up and be counted is in itself an endorsement of the sins of the pastshould we continue in that sin? By no means. As manifold as God’s grace maybe, we should not take that grace for granted and believe that we can continue to give life to the sins of yester years. As great as the mercy of God may be, we cannot take God’s mercy for granted. And so, I implore you to stand up and be counted. Stand up and shake any remnant of fear that has consumed you and weakened you from taking a stand. My beloved, stand up and boldly proclaim the gracious favor of the God who dared to reconcile with us in Christ Jesus. Stand up and proclaim in the light what you hear in the dark. Stand up and proclaim from the housetops what is whispered to you. Stand up and be counted, let your faith be bigger than your fear. What we need to understand is today’s gospel story isn’t about peace or unity or some kumbaya event. Jesus says to the twelve, do not for once think that I brought peace to the earth. No, not at all. I brought the sword. I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your foes will be from your own household. This is all because you will have to stand up, and beginning from your own household, counter any prevailing narrative that seeks to place more value on the sparrow than your fellow man. You will have to stand up and counter any narrative that seeks to injure the dignity of another person. You will have to stand up, and beginning from your own household offer a compelling vision of a future rooted in the newness of life. This is how you make enemies in your own household, you decide to reject all that which is not of God. You decide to reject the caricature into which others have been created since the summer of 1619 along the shores of Jamestown, Virginia. Last year there was a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia. Those were innocent souls who had no idea what awaited them in this strange but beautiful land. The tragedy is that right from the very beginning, Africans were not counted or recognized as being fully human. There’s a story of an Anglican priest in Virginia, who before the baptism of each Black person, would have them take an oath, that the Baptism doesn’t confer upon him or her, the right of being equal with his/her owner. The priest knew that all who have been baptized into Christ, are also baptized into his death, and just as Christ rose from the dead, they will rise with him. The priest was aware that baptism confers the power of equality, dignity and grace on each person. That power is two-fold, one, it is on the person who has been baptized, and two, it is also required of the baptized to extend the grace which he or she has received to even those who have not been baptized. It is imperative on the baptized to make real and tangible the intrinsic value of everyone. But for fear of disrupting the status quo, the priest could not stand up and uphold the virtues of the baptismal narrative. The problem is, the failure to stand up and proclaim what we believe to be right, the failure to acknowledge Christ before others and the myopic benefit of denying Christ before others makes Christianity unattractive. We wonder why our pews are empty. We wonder why sanctuaries, places of solace, places where the good news of Christ is shared has to close down because there aren’t people coming to worship-when the harvest is plentiful. I am yet to come across any one person who doesn’t like good news. We all like good news, but the question is, what is good about the news which is being shared by someone who doesn’t believe that people who look like George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and myself deserve to be? The news may be good in and of itself, but 3 who is sharing that good news? Who is it? Is it someone who believes in finding his own life or someone daring to lose the life for the sake of the gospel, just so by the grace of God, they may find it? My former Rector told me a story about a parishioner who decided not to honor his pledge. The Rector had called the parishioner to remind him about his pledge because he had not paid for some time. The Rector knew that he was an honorable faithful man. But when he called, this is what the honorable parishioner told him “I am not going to pay the pledge.” He said. “Why. What happened?” Asked the bemused Rector. “I am not paying because you brought a Black man on staff.” His jaw dropped. He knew him to be an honorable man. He knew him to be a faithful man. The shocked Rector simply replied. “Thank you very much. We will do just fine.” This is how you create enemies in your household. You set yourself against any narrative that places more value on a sparrow than a person, you decide to stand up because your faith is bigger than your fear. In no uncertain terms, my former Rector rejected the bigotry of a man-a Christian man who shares the same baptismal death with Christ, the Rector and me, the person he sought to denigrate with his money. I have such a deep and abiding respect for this priest because he did not fall into the trap of having to choose between money and dignity. He did not allow himself to buy into a destructive narrative which perpetrated a myth about the inferiority of African Americans. He stood up to a man for whom Black lives were not even worth his faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He stood up for a Race and a people who have suffered for so long simply because of the color of their skin. Stand up, and let your faith be bigger than your fear. To stand up and be counted may be synonymous with bearing the cross. Remember what Jesus said, whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. To be worthy is to take up the cross with all its pain, suffering and shame. To take up the cross is to be committed to the vision of the one who calls us to lose our lives for his sake. More than that, to take up the cross is to take a stand of commitment to the one who calls us to walk in newness of life. Today, this Father’s Day, I invite you to begin that walk. To stand up, like a father who stands up for his children and stands up against those who may seek to injure those children. Today, like a father, I invite you to begin the walk of newness of life, where your motivation isn’t about what’s in it for you, but rather what you can give. The new life and meaning that you can give to another I learned from Eugene Peterson that “Anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.” I think it is about time we stand up, let go of life as is, and be profligate in sharing God’s love and justice for your faith is bigger than your fear. Amen.

This month, the men of Christ Church were invited to send in photos of themselves wearing their favorite hats in celebration of Father's Day.... and we received a lot of photos! Thank you to the Christ Church men, and a huge THANK YOU to all fathers, wherever you may be on this day. Whether by birth or by choice, we are thankful for you who step up to lead, support, teach, and nurture. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY. “A father is the one friend upon whom we can always rely. In the hour of need, when all else fails, we remember him upon whose knees we sat when children, and who soothed our sorrows; and even though he may be unable to assist us, his mere presence serves to comfort and strengthen us.” —Émile Gaboriau

Like many of you, I have been wondering about all that is going on in our country. For good reason, I have greatly limited the time I spend watching television. I read the news online, though, and anytime I read the news or watch TV, I cringe. These days, there are frequent stories and videos about what police officers have done, or are doing, to the very people they have sworn an oath to protect. There was one video where the police officer released a dog on the suspect. This dog kept biting and biting the suspect, inflicting needless pain on him. Again, I asked myself, "Why? Is this law enforcement, or are we on some battlefield? Why should dogs even be used in such manner against citizens?" In many cases, I end up asking myself, "Why should any of these interactions even end in tragedy?" I cringe. Think about being anywhere in our own community. In your travels, you may see a police officer. Whenever I now see any one of them, all that I see is an individual loaded and primed for battle. "Against whom?" I ask myself. Granted, they must deal with some level of violence in the performance of their duty, but why do some even dress up as if any of our neighborhoods is a battlefield? Are they police officers, or peace officers? It simply beats my imagination. Prior to smartphones, we mostly heard about, or read, stories about police brutality. Those stories did not get as much reaction because they appeared more distant. Moreover, many were those who felt powerless to usher in any lasting change or bring to the world’s attention to some of the grotesque and insidious tactics that the police - in the name of law enforcement - use against their own citizens, these people they have taken an oath to defend. But as we can all tell, there is a different way in which videos can tell the same story, and these stories of police brutality have been pitiful, riveting, shocking, insulting, demeaning, or make me cringe. Amid all the demonstrations across the world over the way George Floyd died, there was also a demonstration in Buffalo, New York, where a peaceful demonstrator was shoved down by police. This gentleman fell backwards, with his head hitting the pavement. Save for the officers who attended to him and tried to offer help, the rest acted indifferently to the plight of the man. This act was perpetrated against a White man in full view of the whole world. It is now my understanding that this man has a fractured skull and is not able to walk. If the police can behave in such a way in broad daylight, what might they do under the cover of darkness? This, too, makes me cringe. To add insult to injury, we had another incident - this time in Atlanta - where Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot. He had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-through. He then had a conversation with the police for 41 minutes, during which he wasn’t accused of doing anything wrong. All of a sudden, he got into an altercation with the police officers with whom he had been having a conversation, managed to take one officer’s taser, and as he ran away, directed the taser at the officer. The Officer in response, shoots him dead. The video of the scene is painful and hurtful to watch. But what makes me cringe is that even after Mr. Brooks had been shot, one officer kicked him while another stood on top of him, and did not offer any kind of aid. Whatever it is that Mr. Brooks may have done, it did not warrant his death. And this makes me cringe. I cringe over the pattern of indifference and abject desecration of human bodies, especially that of African Americans by police officers, but please do not get me wrong. I am not, in any way, suggesting that every police officer harbors within himself or herself a racist bias towards every African American. Far from that. I have been pulled over by police officers before, and there is one particular story that I share of an officer who pulled me over. He walked over to my window, and asked for my driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. I then gave him the documents he requested. And then, out of nowhere, he asked, “What do you do for a living?” “I am a priest,” I responded. “A Roman Catholic priest?” he asked. “No. An Episcopal priest,” I answered. He then took a long pause and said to me, “Father, wherever you are going, I will need you to slow down.” And then, surprisingly, he handed over my documents, and said I could leave. This Sunday is Father’s Day. George Floyd will not be with his children on Father’s Day. He will never again hear his children wish him "Happy Father’s Day." Martin Gugino may have to spend Father’s Day dealing with a fractured skull. Rayshard Brooks will not celebrate his daughter’s birthday nor will he hear his children wish him "Happy Father’s Day" any more. This makes me cringe. A few weeks ago, I received an email from a parishioner with the subject line, I am optimistic. Upon reflection of this the email, I said to myself, "How can one not be optimistic?" Without that sense of optimism, you will be consumed by fear, desolation, and hopelessness. More than that, you will always feel this sense of spite, hatred, and revenge - even against those who have done nothing to hurt or demean you. I am always reminded by Dr. King’s words: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” For that reason, in as much as I cringe over some of the actions of our police officers, I am optimistic about a future where mutual trust between citizens and citizens - and citizens and police - would usher in a future devoid of the fear and attitude that causes me to cringe... a future enveloped in justice. ~Manny