This article is part of a series spotlighting nonprofit organizations that receive funding through our Grace Church Outreach Ministry. We seek to partner with organizations that work to make a meaningful difference in one or more of the following areas: Supporting individuals experiencing poverty and housing insecurity Expanding access to...
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this...
Set against the fear and insecurity that marks Herod’s empire, this Epiphany sermon contrasts the grasping of control with the courage of wonder. Through the journey of the magi, it proclaims a God who enters vulnerability and draws forth not fear, but joy and abundance. At the beginning of a...
Blessing of Doors & Homes at Epiphany Each year, many in the wider Christian community use chalk to write a blessing for our homes during Epiphany season. It is a longstanding custom to mark this Epiphany season, a time of celebrating the Light coming into the world, with a blessing...
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."...
During the Christmas season we retell the birth story of Jesus. The account from the Gospel of John, though, reminds us of the universality of Christ's incarnation and points out that "he came into this world and they didn't recognize him." Will we recognize Him? The Glimpses of Grace podcast...
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!This special episode includes the sermons from both the 4 p.m. youth Christmas pageant and the 10 p.m. Chorale service which included a concert with Gate City Brass, the Grace Episcopal choir and Bill Hildebrandt as organist.These sermons ask us to explore the fundamental vulnerability of...
Good News of Great Joy! Christmas at Grace First Sunday after Christmas: Sunday, December 28 Services will be held at their normal times of 8:15 and 10:45 AM on the First Sunday after Christmas. We will continue sharing in carols throughout Christmas Season, and the readings offer an opportunity for...
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and...
This sermon reflects on Joseph as a quiet, working-class man whose life is disrupted by God, revealing how holiness often emerges when our plans fall apart. Framed by Matthew’s theme of Immanuel—God with us—it invites listeners to see divine presence not in spectacle, but in the ordinary, maybe inconvenient moments...