I will continue my tradition of talking about strong, independent Christian women in our history. Many of these women had a religious experience that changed their path in life. One of these women is Sojourner Truth. If you are like I was, I knew she was important in the movement for women’s rights and women’s…
First, Second, and Third John The New Testament canon includes three books attributed to someone named John. These three very brief documents are sometimes referred to as letters or epistles. The first reads like a sermon or essay. The other two are more like memoranda. They appear to have been composed early in the second…
Elijah the Prophet For our Jewish friends, the Passover supper is the most important meal of the year. It is known as the Seder. At the table that evening there is always an empty chair and, on the table, an empty wine glass. This place is reserved for Elijah who just might come in…
Listening for the Voice of God The writers of the Old Testament included quite a few stories about a prophet named Samuel. One of those stories is our lectionary reading for today. The setting for this story is in a place called Shiloh. Long before Solomon built his famous temple in Jerusalem there were…
The Gospel of John includes several collections of the sayings of Jesus that are not found in the other three gospels. Some of these sayings are said to be from his public teaching but the audience for most of them consists exclusively of his inner circle of disciples. As we revisit these familiar…
The Gospel According to Francis of Assisi This is the day when we remember Saint Francis of Assisi or the as he was known in his day, “the Little Poor Man.” He was in fact fairly short. Francis was born in the town of Assisi in the year 1181. Assisi is a small hill-top town…
After several years of traveling from synagogue to synagogue in the part of the world we know as Greece and Turkey, the Apostle Paul was planning a preaching mission in Rome, the imperial capitol. He had received many reports of the growing Christian community in that city. Like all the other early Christian communities,…
Elizabeth Monroe Elizabeth Jane Kortright was born in New York City on June 30, 1768, which means it was British America at the time. Her father was a wealthy merchant who was also one of the founders of the New York Chamber of Commerce. He was also part owner in several privateers during…
My name is Jocelyn Schlegel. Today I will be joining you to share the children’s book I wrote and talk about some of the inspiration behind writing it. Some of you may know my dad, Chuck, who visits and serves here at All Saints. I grew up in Sunbury and am a lifetime…
Jacob, the Amazing Dreamer Today’s Old Testament reading is one of the stories of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. In fact, it is probably the best known of all the Jacob stories. It’s sometimes called “the story of Jacob’s ladder” — a story depicted in the art of several renaissance artists. In this story Jacob…