The Society of Ordained Scientists ~Fr. Michael This past month, I was admitted into a group which is at the vanguard of one of the most important conversations in the world: the Society of Ordained Scientists. The group was founded in the early 1970s in the UK by Professor Arthur Peacocke, a luminary in the…
What is a Sabbatical? ~Fr. Michael This year, after planning and preparing since my arrival at the Cathedral, the vestry has agreed to allow me to take three months of sabbatical time in 2018, my seventh year with the congregation. While this is a regular practice in every major denomination, and is encouraged practice throughout the…
A hundred deep breaths….. ~Fr. Michael Christmas is nearly here, and Advent is upon us. Every year we are challenged by the church’s call to keep a time of penitent, joyful expectation, especially as the world around us has no place for waiting or expectation. Perhaps it feels a little difficult to try to be…
How to Be an Evangelist Everyday ~Fr. Michael There’s a lot of talk these days about how the church needs to evangelize the world around us better if the church is going to survive. Books get written about it and we have conferences where we are told how badly its needed, and maybe get some…
Into Greater Silence ~Fr. Michael The Hebrew word “Selah” has no direct English translation. It is often completely omitted from English translations. It occurs mostly in our Bible in the Book of Psalms, which we know was a worship book used in the Jerusalem Temple and Jewish Synagogues of Jesus’ time and beyond. It is likely that it is…
6th Easter 2017 ~Fr. Michael May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be ever acceptable in thy sight oh Lord my strength & my redeemer. How many of us when we were children heard our parents say that if we were good kids and loved them, then we would…
Building a Temple with Living Stones ~Fr. Michael The Cathedral has been a profound delight for me to pray in since I first visited here to discern the call to be dean some six years ago. Like many people who come to visit, I was rather overwhelmed by the simple grandeur of the High Altar,…
April: Fools for Christ ~Fr. Michael April has a peculiar tradition. We make jokes and play pranks on April first, because it’s “April Fool’s Day”. Most people suppose this is just a silly recent phenomenon, maybe something that some joke shop somewhere invented to increase sales. But, it’s actually very old, and like many things…
Lent is a Time for Health and Healing ~Fr. Michael One thing is abundantly clear from the Gospels, no matter how you read them or interpret them, this point is solid: Jesus was a healer. ‘Everywhere he went’ we’re told over and over again, ‘everyone brought the sick and infirm to see him.’ It seems…
A Practical Way to Grow in Your Relationship with God: Develop a Daily Habit ~Fr. Michael If you have read any of my reflections in the Spirit in the past five years, or perhaps hear one of my sermons, you will very likely have heard me talk about thanksgiving and gratitude. This is because I believe…
