Pentecost XIVSeptember 14, 2025Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10 Our two little parables from Luke’s gospel are very appropriate for Rentrée Sunday today. Not only do they talk about finding something that was lost or gone astray. More specifically in the case of the lost sheep, we hear a story about coming home.…
English – Click to open Pentecost XIIAugust 31, 2025Jeremiah 2:4-13 Hebrews 13:1-16 Luke 14:1, 7-14 Most encounters with angels and the voices delivering their messages are a little more obvious than those recommended to us in the reading from the book of Hebrews. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that,…
Pentecost XAugust 17, 2025Isaiah 5:1-7 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 I have been trying to grow a grapevine in a corner of the little roof garden above my apartment. I had a vision of sitting underneath its shade; making stuffed vine leaves, and maybe picking a bunch of grapes or two. Nearly twenty years ago, I…
Pentecost 8August 3, 2025Hosea 11:1-11 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 Do you remember the story of Midas? He may (or may not..) have been the king of the Phrygians in Turkey at the time of the second Assyrian Empire. Dionysus, (the god of merrymaking) had a foster father, Silenus. Silenus became so drunk that he fell…
Pentecost 7 / Afrique fêteJuly 27, 2025Hosea 1:2-10 Colossians 2:6-19 Luke 11:1-13 When or where do you find it easiest to pray? Does it depend on your mood? Do you have to feel relaxed to pray, or do you pray only when you feel a pressing need for God’s help? The answer is different for…
Pentecost IV July 6, 2025 2 Kings 5 :1-14 Galatians 6 :1-16 Luke 10 :1-20 I have to admit that one of my least favorite experiences of my seminary education was the annual mission. Every summer, we were sent out from Oxford in teams of five people to parishes or chaplaincies throughout England: in theory, to bring new…
Pentecost IIIJune 29, 20252 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62 We have all experienced pain or shame related to our bodies. Due to the judgments we make about ourselves and the judgments society makes about us, it is often our physical appearance or mannerisms that cause us to feel ashamed. Our weight, height,…
Pentecost IIJune 22, 20251 Kings 19:1-15 Galatians 3:23-39 Luke 8:26-39 There are a few tricky things in the miracle story Joris just read to us from the gospel of Luke. Firstly, it’s topic. It is about demonic possession; something our modern minds find difficult to accept at all. Secondly, there is the problematic means through…
Pentecost June 8, 2025 Romans 8:22-27 Acts 2:1-21 John 14:8-1 After the church service next Sunday, a group of volunteers will come together to begin work on the little garden that we plan to make next door. Tending a garden in a shaded yard in the middle of Manhattan surrounded by skyscrapers is not an…
Easter VI May 25, 2025 Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10-22:5 John 14:23-29 Once every few years, our spring schedule of services means that we celebrate four big Sundays in a row: Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Huguenot Sunday and the Sunday of the Annual General Meeting. Almost every year, we celebrate those last two occasions during the…