Sunday, December 10, 2023 – Advent 2
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; I Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1: 6-8, 19-28 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer When I was a little girl, I remember going to Pilcher McBride Drugs in downtown Selma with my mother. As we walked to the entrance of the store, I noticed a man standing on a box, holding a sign […]
Sunday, December 3, 2023 – Advent 1
Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Sam Wells, an Anglican priest and author and the vicar of St. Martin’s in the Fields in Trafalgar Square, London, says that there are two mistakes we make in how we understand the story the Bible tells us. First we think of the […]
Sunday, November 19, 2023 – Pentecost 25
Zephaniah 1:7,12-18; Psalm 90:1-8, 12; I Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer I had a friend in high school whose father gave him the equivalent of his college tuition and a choice. He could invest his money and pay for college, invest it and keep it, or spend it and not go to college. My […]
Sunday, November 5, 2023 – All Saints’ Sunday
Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34: 1-10, 22; I John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer One was a soldier, and one was a beast, and one was killed by a fierce wild priest! Or was that one was a priest, and one was killed by a fierce wild beast? I sing a song of the saints […]
Sunday, September 24, 2023 – Pentecost 17
Jonah 3:10-4:11; Psalm 145:1-8; Philippians 1:21-30; Matthew 20:1-16 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me guess I’ll go eat worms.” Growing up whenever my sister pouted about not getting her way, she would plop herself down at the dinner table and sing this song in response to being asked why she was unhappy. Over […]
Sunday, September 10, 2023 – Pentecost 15
Ezekiel 33:7-11; Psalm 119:33-40; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer For years I have lamented the billboard on I-65 North, “Go to church or the Devil will get you” as a sign of our backward, judgment-oriented relationship to God. It seems more threatening than inviting, making a claim that we should be more scared […]
Sunday, August 27, 2023 – Pentecost 13
Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Petunia, one of our basset hounds, has more nicknames than any dog we have ever had. As a puppy, all she did was tinkle and toot—so we called her “P-Toot”. We’ve read that dogs learn their names faster if they end in a “y” sound, […]
Sunday, August 13, 2023 – Pentecost 11
I Kings 19:9-18; Psalm 85:8-13; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer In the name of the One Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen Jesus and Moses head out to fish. They are about to rent a canoe when Moses says: “Jesus, can’t you still walk on water? Why not just walk out there?” So Jesus takes […]
Sunday, July 23, 2023 – Pentecost 8
Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Storytelling has always been a significant part of every culture. It is how we share our traditions, how we learn, and it is how we shape society. Jesus understood the power of stories in helping people to reframe their context. His parables were not meant […]
Sunday, July 2, 2023 – Pentecost 5
Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer My favorite childhood story book was The Tales of Winnie the Pooh. I love Pooh Bear and Tigger and Rabbit and all of those wonderful inhabitants of The Hundred Acre Wood. Hearing about their adventures, Pooh’s obsession with honey, Rabbit’s paranoia, Eeyore’s pessimism, and […]