September 15, 2024 – The Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
17 Pentecost 19B: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 116:1-8; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer In the name of the one Holy and Undivided Trinity, Amen. Caesarea Phillipi was a difficult and somewhat dangerous place for Jesus and his disciples to have a conversation about his identity. It was outside of the Galilean district, way up […]
September 8, 2024 – The Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Isaiah 35:4-7a; Psalm 146; James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17; Mark 7:24-37 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer In the name of the one Holy and Undivided Trinity, Amen. In scripture we read about two men who betray Jesus. One of which is Judas. Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He turns him in to the […]
August 25, 2024 – The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34: 9-14; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-6 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Jesus and Judas–we don’t talk that much about this combination outside of Holy Week mainly because we associate the betrayal of Jesus with the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane when Judas arrives with the Temple authority to arrest […]
August 11, 2024 – The Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost
I Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:1-8; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Ephesus was one of the premier cities of Asia Minor—modern day Turkey. It hosted a major economic port, a cultural and intellectual center, and a significantly wealthy population. For an ancient city it knew significant comforts like running water, clean streets, and good […]
July 21, 2024 – The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 23, Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer “They were like sheep without a shepherd” … “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter”… “The Lord is my shepherd.” I wonder if we are catching on to a theme here. The use of shepherding language in the Old Testament is […]
July 14, 2024 – The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Amos 7:7-15; Psalm 85:8-13; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Every so often, as I am sitting in the living room and reading a book, I will begin to hear the high-pitched, scritchy emanations of Joel Osteen. It usually takes a few seconds for the realization to set in—Joel Osteen has somehow wandered into […]
June 30, 2024 – The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Lamentations 3:21-33; Psalm 30; II Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Marquese wanted to be known as Mark. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his name, on the contrary, he was rather proud of it and proud of his mother who had named him Marquese. But he did feel that “quese” made him sound […]
June 16, 2024 – The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14; II Corinthians 5: 6-17; Mark 4:26-34 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Several years ago, I lead a youth pilgrimage to Rome. We modeled it as best we could off of the ancient medieval pilgrimage to Rome—visiting various churches, the catacombs, and (of course) the Vatican. We hired a tour guide to lead us […]
June 9, 2024 – The Third Sunday After Pentecost
Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; II Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Most people have a story or have seen a video of an entitled traveler. Just recently a video of a woman in first class went viral when she insisted she had paid for both seats and would not allow a fellow passenger to […]
May 26, 2024 – Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer It is said that music can move men to acts of love and to acts of war. I’m pretty sure there is a lot of truth in that. Music is a powerful motivator, and it speaks deeply to our souls. I was brought up listening to […]