Nancy Springer

Peace

If you’ve ever attended an Episcopal worship service, you will have witnessed what we call “Passing the Peace,” a part of the service when we move from hearing and reflecting on God’s word to gathering at God’s table to give thanks and receive the gift of Holy Communion. In some churches, folks stand in theirContinue reading “Peace”

Not to be Difficult, but …

Sunday, December 6, 2020Isaiah 40:1-11Psalm 85:1-2, 8-132 Peter 3:8-15Mark 1:1-8http://lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Advent/BAdv2_RCL.html How’s your Advent journey going? What surprises has God revealed to you about how divine love comes into this world? How is your view of ‘normal’ being interrupted? In today’s Gospel reading, we jump back to the beginning of Mark’s version of the story andContinue reading “Not to be Difficult, but …”

Scrabble Theology

I love to play Scrabble. There’s just something exciting to me about the possibility of the words to be found, the anticipation as I watch what my companion spells out and discovering how I can build on that, and the revealing of the layout of all the words in an interconnected pattern created by ourContinue reading “Scrabble Theology”

Living in Anticipation

Sunday, November 29, 2020The first Sunday of AdventIsaiah 64:1-9Psalm 80:1-7, 16-181 Corinthians 1:3-9Mark 13:24-37 In the Episcopal Church, we follow a church calendar that begins each new year not on January 1 but four Sundays before Christmas Day (the date can be from November 27 to December 3, depending on which day of the weekContinue reading “Living in Anticipation”

Getting Thanks in Order (no, that’s not a typo)

Happy American Thanksgiving! Do you want to knock the “happy” out of that sentence? I have to admit it’s hard work to feel the “happy” even as I smell pumpkin bread in the oven. This isn’t the day any of us would have envisioned way back in January or even in May or June …Continue reading “Getting Thanks in Order (no, that’s not a typo)”

Who’s the Boss of You?

Sunday, November 22, 2020Christ the King SundayEzekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Psalm 100Ephesians 1:15-23Matthew 25:31-46http://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp29_RCL.html Every year, when this last Sunday after Pentecost rolls around, it seems I find it more and more challenging to talk about what it means not just to say Christ is King but to live it. In first century Palestine, when Jesus walkedContinue reading “Who’s the Boss of You?”

This is Personal

Coffee, prayer, and a fire – it’s a good morning, y’all. Can we talk about the Coronavirus, please? Nothing political, I promise. This is personal. Please don’t let statistics dehumanize the victims of this virus. In a family of four a .0004% national death rate becomes 25%, someone’s mother, father, child, or sibling. Every ‘case’Continue reading “This is Personal”

Do not be Afraid

Based on the RCL for Sunday, November 15, 2020Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus tells a parable of investing in relationships: a man goes away and leaves each of three servants with something to care for based on their abilities. Two of them take what they’ve been given and “traded” with it – I imagine a bustling marketplace,Continue reading “Do not be Afraid”

Further up and Further in

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” ― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle Here’s hearty and hardy question for us to ponder: How can we makeContinue reading “Further up and Further in”

Keeping our Lamps Ready

I’m late with this week’s Living Sunday School post (using the lectionary readings from November 8, 2020). I was hanging out with my 2 year old granddaughter (ok, and my son, too) so I know you’ll understand. But I didn’t want to skip it all together because this particular parable teaches us so much aboutContinue reading “Keeping our Lamps Ready”