Sermons

Homily: St. Peter’s Proper 24: Oct. 22, 2017 Opening I love it when I can get a clear sense from the reading of scripture that these people about whom we read were real flesh and blood people – just like you and me – only more so. I get that sense in today’s readings. Exodus On first reading or hearing this passage I can be confused. That’s the first caution. Being confused. Because how can you know someone’s name but not know who they are? Back in chapter 3 God introduces himself by name to Moses in that wonderful scene in the cave where Moses is instructed to take off his shoes and a bush doesn’t burn. But here we have him later in Exodus saying I don’t know who you really are. And God says to him, “Alright already. I’ll let you see me my backside as I pass by. So hide behind this rock.” The scene is a classic text demonstrating how the understanding was deep-seated in ancient Israel that to see the Lord was to risk death. God was a powerful thing not something we genuflected t...

Anglican Reformation The Oratory The Rev. Dale C. Hathaway Oct. 17, 2017 Introduction By way of introduction let me tell you a little about myself. At the beginning, though, I would say that I don’t speak for all Anglicans. Just me. I was ordained a priest in 1982 and served as a parish priest in Wisconsin. I returned to Notre Dame in 1984 to continue graduate studies in theology, Hebrew Studies, and liturgy. I have served parishes in Indiana and Hawaii and am currently supplying on Sundays in congregations in South and North Carolina. My wife, Mary Pat Sjostrom is here tonight. She teaches Math Education at Winthrop University and is the reason we moved to Rock Hill in 2014. I am canonically a Priest of the Diocese of Hawaii, and I started out my journey as an Episcopalian in the state of Colorado. Currently I am retired as a parish priest and teach courses in the Religion Department at Winthrop. Dr. Judge, well-known to you all, is, of course, the chair of the department. op...

Sermon: Oct. 1, 2017: ✤ St. Paul’s, Monroe, NC Opening image: Tony Campolo’s story There is a well-known story told by Tony Campolo that you may even have heard. I’ve told it before. In fact I never get tired of telling it. I heard Campolo tell this story. It went like this: He found himself unable to sleep after his arrival in Hawai’i to take part in what became Hawaiian Island Ministries. It’s a long ways from Pennsylvania to Honolulu and it often takes a day or so to get adjusted to the time difference. Late, long after midnight, he found himself out on the streets, looking for a place to a snack or something to drink. There was a bar tender behind the counter who came over and asked him, “What d’ya want?” He said he wanted a cup of coffee and a donut. As he sat there munching on his donut and sipping his coffee at 3:30 in the morning, the door of the place suddenly swung open and in marched eight or nine provocative and boisterous prostitutes. Their talk was loud and crude....