Sermons from St. Paul's Memorial Church

The Rev. David McIlhiney

A Time for Dreaming

“The Rat was a self-sufficing sort of animal, rooted to the land, and, whoever went, he stayed; still, he could not help noticing what was in the air, and feeling some of its influence in his bones.” – Kenneth Grahame, "The Wind in the Willows" (1908)

Jeffrey Hensley

The Wilderness of Our Lives

It is a pleasure for me to be with you today, at the invitation of your rector and your former assistant and one of my former students Karin MacPhail. I teach theology at Karin’s alma mater Virginia Theological Seminary—one of the 11 Episcopal seminaries in the US.

The Rev. David Poist

Last Epiphany

Introduction: Over many years, this congregation has heard a number of stories about my hiking adventures in the mountains:

Like the parish hike up Old Rag Mountain when one of the faithful halfway up the mountain declared that she would not make it and began giving elaborate funeral instructions. (You may recall, she did make it, to the summit and back.)
Or my account of struggling between faith and fear when I became lost in a cloud near the top of Skiddow, the third highest mountain in England - I knew I was safe when near the top I came face to face with a sheep.

You have been very tolerant of mountain-top accounts and I was very tempted to add another on this last Sunday of Epiphany which is always marked by the account of Jesus and the disciples climbing the Mount of Transfiguration.

The Rev. David McIlhiney

Our Default Religion

Twenty years ago I was diagnosed as a diabetic. This came as a surprise to both my doctor and me, because I had no family history of the disease. And I certainly wasn’t fat, which is what can bring on diabetes in many middle-aged people. In fact, I had juvenile diabetes, the kind that isn’t supposed to strike you once you’re past twenty or so. But there it was: my body no longer produced any insulin, and I’d have to take shots for the rest of my life.

The Rev. Janet Hatfield Legro

Elbow Knowing

“A man with leprosy came up to Jesus and begged of him, ‘if you will – you can make me clean.’ Jesus, moved with pity, stretched out his hand and touched him – and said, ‘I will – be clean’ and immediately the leprosy left him.”(Mark 1:40)

The Rev. Paula Kettlewell

Epiphany 5

Our first reading this morning is a wonderful, colorful, expertly crafted story about a time when the prophet Elisha came up against a strong-minded and determined woman. In gratitude for the woman’s generous hospitality to him Elisha promises her the one thing she lacks - a son. The woman is skeptical but sure enough a year later just as Elisha promised a son is born. Joy and celebration soon turn to sorrow when the young child dies. The grief-stricken and now very angry mother finds Elisha and gives him a piece of her mind, “Did you give me a son just so he could die in my arms?” And she demands that Elisha come back to her house and do something. Elisha tries to appease her by sending his servant but the woman will have none of it. “Fine, send your servant, but I’m not leaving here without you.”

The Rev. David Poist

Epiphany 4

I. During the Epiphany season we hear various accounts of how Jesus was manifested or made known as the redeeming Christ of God. On the feast of the Epiphany Jesus is revealed to the Wise Men from the East as the one offering salvation to the Gentile world. In his baptism by John in the Jordan River Jesus is heralded as God’s beloved Son as he begins his public ministry to the chosen of Israel. Last Sunday’s gospel tells of Jesus being recognized as he called those simple fishermen to be his disciples. On January 25 we celebrated Christ made known to Paul in his conversion on the Damascus road.

The Rev. David McIlhiney

Christian Unity

Just before the turn of the previous century, a group of Episcopalians founded a monastery on the banks of the Hudson, about sixty miles north of New York City, calling it Graymoor Abbey. It was an early experiment in the revival of monasticism in our church, but it only remained our experiment for a scant generation. In 1909, all the monks converted to the Roman Church, and Graymoor Abbey switched sides, becoming a Roman Catholic house of the strict Franciscan observance. Maybe they thought we Episcopalians weren’t strict enough.

The Rev. Paula Kettlewell

Epiphany 2: Follow Me

The signs are everywhere, the message is clear, Christmas is over. The Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away, the tree has been recycled into mulch and the lights are back in the attic (where they will spend the next eleven months becoming hopelessly entangled again.) In the stores the shelves now sag under the weight of Valentine cards, candy and decorations; and a few enterprising stores have leapfrogged ahead with Easter baskets and plastic Easter eggs on display.

The Rev. David Poist

The Wise and the Simple

Introduction: Every Christmas season the Poist family places a miniature French crèche set, known as the santons on the fireplace mantel. The santons or ‘the little saints’ are only half an inch high and include not only the usual Nativity figures but also the residents of a nineteenth century French village. Each villager brings a gift of his or her trade or vocation to the Christ-child: the baker brings bread, the priest brings a prayer, the fisherwoman a fish, the mayor a speech. We always place the three wise men on the far end of the mantel, representing that by tradition they traveled a long distance to Bethlehem, not arriving until twelve days after Jesus’ birth, the Feast of the Epiphany.

St. Paul's Memorial Church - St. Paul's Memorial Church, Charlottesville, VA