Sunday, May 7, 2023 – Easter 5
Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5,15-16 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Stephen Is not one of the original disciples. He seems to have converted after Jesus’ ascension. He knows the Jewish story well and when challenged by the religious authority, retells the story of the Patriarchs pointing out the failings of man while highlighting […]
Sunday, April 9, 2023 – Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer He is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Easter is a joyous and triumphant occasion of celebration and good cheer. And rightly so—it is the day when we declare Jesus’ defeat over death and sin. The early Church Fathers declared it the day God played […]
Sunday, April 2, 2023 – Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew’s Passion The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Palm Sunday to Passion Sunday—we take the single most impactful event of Jesus’ life and ministry and squash it into this one day. It starts out pretty good—Jesus comes riding in on a donkey. And since we are reading Matthew’s Gospel—we get to imagine […]
Sunday, March 19, 2023 – Lent 4
I Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Several years ago, before I even thought about going to seminary and becoming a priest, I was a youth minister at St. Paul’s in Selma. One particular group of teens had grown up with Harry Potter and we had woven the series into […]
Sunday, March 5, 2023 – Lent 2
Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Sometimes we get so distracted by Lent and the build up to Holy Week with Jesus’ death and resurrection on the line that we forget to live into the season. Story after story in the season of Lent is focused on Jesus revealing […]
Sunday, February 26, 2023 – Lent 1
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Serpent in the garden, Satan in the wilderness—every year most of us approach Lent from the place of temptation believing we are not enough and that God can only love us if we give something up or take something on or be […]
Sunday, February 5, 2023 – 5 Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12); Psalm 112:1-10; I Corinthians 2:1-16; Matthew 5:13-20 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Whenever Steve and I return home from a trip—be it down to the beach or over to Selma or coming back from Birmingham—and it is after dark, we always make a point to turn down Lawrence St. off the interstate so […]
Sunday, January 22, 2023 – 3 Epiphany
Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 5-13; I Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer One need only turn on the news, open the paper, or click a few keys on the keyboard to learn of the next disastrous event happening in the world. Unfortunately, the last couple of weeks has hit home to many of […]
Sunday, January 8, 2023 – 1 Epiphany
Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Every so often, when Steve and I are watching tv, he will flip through the channels while I’m reading a book or playing with my phone and stop on Joel Olsteen. Now Steve doesn’t particularly like to watch Joel Olsteen, what he enjoys […]
Sunday, January 1, 2023 – Lessons & Carols
Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 8; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:15-21 The Rev. Candice B. Frazer Most of us remember the Grimms brothers’ fairy tale in which a mean, little gnome spins straw into gold for a beautiful peasant girl on the condition that she give him her first-born child. Once the girl, now a queen, gives birth […]