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As a hen gathers her brood under her wings

One thing have I asked of the Lord; one thing I seek; * that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter; * he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling and set me high […]

Worship and serve only God

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, * abides under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 He shall say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my stronghold, *my God in whom I put my trust.” A young boy had gone off to his Sunday Morning class where he heard the story […]

Knowing only in part

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; * let me never be ashamed. In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; * incline your ear to me and save me. (Psalm 71: 1-2) As a teacher at an Episcopal School I taught a course to sixth graders on world religions. I had a wonderful textbook […]

Turning water into wine

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her (Isaiah 62:3-4a) A water bearer had […]

You are God’s beloved

One of my favorite stories and one that I told almost every year at the start of school is a story about a young raccoon named Chester who tells his mother through big tears that he does not want to go to school. He wants to stay with her. He wants to play with his […]

Welcoming the refugee

With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back; I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; (Jeremiah 31:9) Many of us may remember seeing the face of the man desperately gripping his children as he steps out of a small dinghy onto […]

The First Sunday after Christmas: A sermon preached by Virginia Vogel-Polizzi

December 25th has come and gone. The angels have heralded the birth of our Lord. Jesus is born. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke begin with stories of the nativity of Jesus. The beginning of the Gospel of John, as was read this morning, is different however. It does not tell of Jesus’ conception or […]

Leaping for joy

Restore us, O God of hosts; * show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. (Psalm 80:3) A couple of weeks ago, Sey and I traveled to Albany to help our granddaughter, Beth celebrate her third birthday. She met us at the door dressed in a Barney the Dinosaur T-shirt, a tutu and […]

Participating in God’s Peace

In the South, where I come from, we have a phrase that can mean a wide variety of things. “It can mean “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?” It can mean, “Oh I am so sorry.” But it can also mean, “You brood of vipers!” But because we in the South often refine to the […]

God has come to his people and set them free.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free In her book Their eyes were watching God, Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of Janie and Teacake who find themselves in the midst of a great hurricane. Their shelter is shabby and unsafe in the howling […]