All over our region, congregations are embracing new ways of working on behalf of the Gospel. If you have a story to tell about work your community is doing, please email us.
“Jesus begins his ministry by calling people out and then by pulling people in,” said the Rev. Canon Cathy Dempesy-Sims in her sermon for the third Sunday after the Epiphany. “He proclaims the time of repentance is now and then calls on folks to follow him — not alone, but in community. To usher in…
In his sermon on John 1:43-51, Canon Alfred Price said, “Jesus didn’t ask us to succeed—he asked us to try. The message in the first chapter of John, indeed throughout the gospels, is that God’s love is extended to us through our brother, through our friend, through our Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous … We…
January 13, 2021 Dear People of God: Earlier this week, the FBI warned that armed protests are being planned for Washington D.C. and all 50 state capitals sometime between Saturday, January 16, and the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20. As your bishops, we write today imploring you to stay away from these…
In his sermon this morning on the Baptism of Jesus, Jim Naughton, a partner at Canticle Communications, said, “I don’t need to tell you that John the Baptist was a controversial figure. Herod saw him as a threat, and it cost John his life. He was a strident, anti-establishment, ‘I am calling you to be…
Dear People of God in the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York: Like many of you, I watched with disbelief today as an armed insurrection agitated by the President of the United States occupied the U.S. Capitol. I am particularly appalled that some members of this mob, still at large, are displaying flags…
In today’s sermon, Canon Twila Smith considers the story of the Magi who traveled to find the Christ Child. Like us, she says, they were “people seeking to understand what is beyond them.” “The good news is that God keeps appearing,” she says. “God does not send us on this journey alone.”
“In these uncertain times, may the children of God remember to grab hold of that truth, that grace and that light that are ours,” said Canon Vanessa Butler in her sermon for the First Sunday After Christmas. “And may we not keep it to ourselves.”
Bishop Sean Rowe preached at this online Christmas Eve service, which included music from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Fairview, the Cathedral of St. Paul in Erie, and St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo. The service begins at 12:15 in the video after a singalong including favorite Christmas carols.
In his Christmas message, Bishop Sean reminds us that God is with us, right in the middle of all of the difficulty, sorrow, and pain that 2020 has brought. Look for a surprise guest at the end of the video!
