April 11, 2020 – An Easter Message

Rev. Jamie wanted to give me an opportunity to preach an Easter message even though we aren’t celebrating the entire Easter Vigil, so here goes. When I was in high school, I went on something called the St. George Trek, sponsored by the Catholic Committee on Scouting. It was a bit of a pilgrimage. A […]

Continue reading

April 10, 2020 – GOD ON STRIKE

In his poem “If God Should Go On Strike,” Walt Huntley thanks the Lord that God has never stopped being God and shut off the sun, or the moon, or the oxygen. He concludes: Men say they want a better deal, and so on strike they go, But what a deal we’ve given God to […]

Continue reading

April 9, 2020 – Washing Feet!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself staying at home these days, which in turn has left me with a lot of time on my hands. Sometimes, oh who am I kidding, a lot of times I find myself scrolling through the feed of my Facebook page. There I can see all the […]

Continue reading

Good Morning. Welcome to Holy Cross’ video streamed March 15 service. If you are not a parishioner and are wondering what this video feed is about, all Episcopal churches in the Washington DC area are closed for two weeks because of the corona virus. So, we are streaming this service for our parishioners. But if […]

Continue reading

February 9, 2020 – The Law Fulfilled

God is achieving the purpose of the law by overturning it, demanding even more of God’s people and giving them the help they need. Imagine yourself a Hebrew in 1st Century Palestine listening to Jesus begin a Sermon on Mount Eremos. You and your family and neighbors are agitated. That’s an understatement if ever there […]

Continue reading

January 5, 2020 – The Gifts We Bear

“Ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him […]

Continue reading

Wars and insurrections. Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Great earthquakes. Famines. Plagues. Dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. The law that’s helping fuel Delhi’s deadly air pollution. [1] Vast brush fires rip across Australia. [2] The battle against one of the worst Ebola epidemics ever is in trouble. [3] Civilians rush to escape […]

Continue reading

October 13, 2019 – Walk in Love

Good morning. I’m Clare Beam, and I’m the chair of the stewardship committee. I thank you for the honor of welcoming me to this podium. In turn, I would like to welcome you into the excitement of stewardship, and specifically the annual pledge campaign, at Holy Cross. This is the second year I have overseen […]

Continue reading

October 6, 2019 A Smidgen of Faith

Good morning. Today I want to talk about two topics raised by this morning’s Gospel reading. The first topic is the question, “How can I find the strength to do all the things God has called on me to do?” And the second question flows from the first, “Can I actually make a difference?” You […]

Continue reading

August 25, 2019 Don’t Wait to Be Asked

Good morning. I’m glad to see everyone here in the congregation this morning. Especially because weather in Washington this week was brutal. It reminds me of the old joke that the motto of the Washington Chamber of Commerce is: “Come for the traffic—you’ll stay for the humidity.” Today’s Gospel reading has been the subject of […]

Continue reading