Reflections

Waters of Baptism stained glass
Reflections
"Baptism: Water of Creation - Destruction - Regeneration," stained glass at St. Andrew's Church, Ayer Many congregations in the Diocese of Massachusetts observe a "Creation Care Season" beginning with the Feast of St. Francis, Oct. 4 through the last Sunday after Pentecost,…
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Bocca della Verita
Reflections

Sermon given by Bishop Alan M. Gates at the Holy Tuesday Renewal of Ordination Vows and Blessing of Holy Oils service on April 16, 2019, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston.

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"Eggshell on Fabric" by Amy Lewandowski
Reflections
“Eggshell on Fabric,” original watercolor painting by Amy Lewandowski Framed on my kitchen wall has long been a small watercolor depicting a single brown egg.  The shell is lying open, its white interior empty as a winter’s nest.  I have tended to think of it simply…
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Nativity scene
Reflections

"The achingly joyous moments of our lives are part of the same journey that includes our deepest fears and sorrows.  God has joined heaven and earth by this Child, and so are we promised God’s abiding presence, from birth to death, and beyond."

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B-PEACE youth coverage
Reflections
Being a young person in the U.S., I can safely say that the March for Our Lives movement has been the most inspiring movement in my teenage years. Not only do I full-heartedly agree with the goals of this movement, but I am also encouraged by the extent to which youth voices have galvanized people…
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Reflections

In Lent, we followers of Jesus are asked to lift up our chins, set our faces toward Jerusalem and lead with this cross we bear on our foreheads.  The invisible cross of our Baptism, traced by some long ago thumb, and the ashen cross of our mortality that marks each one of us, these days, as a bit of a fool for claiming this truth:  that we follow a God who shoulders with us our every condition, our every affliction our every delight.

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Geese in flight
Reflections
My parishioner, Ed, was an electrical engineer. During World War II he worked on a highly secret project involving long-wave radio technology. Later he learned the purpose of the technology he’d helped to perfect. It was used to construct navigational beacons placed throughout the Pacific theater,…
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Reflections
Creation Care Season greetings in Christ, for Christ and for all creation. At the 2010 Diocesan Convention we asked that the diocese endorse and encourage all congregations to celebrate Creation Care Season from St. Francis Day in early October to the first Sunday of Advent. Over the years we…
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"Unholy Trinity" peacemakers "challenged to be more courageous"
Reflections
“…seek peace, and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14)In pursuit of peace, 14 people from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts traveled to Chicago April 20-22 for a conference entitled "The Unholy Trinity:  Poverty, Racism and Gun Violence."  The three-day event was the second conference convened…
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A tale of two houses: An Easter message from Bishop Gates
Reflections
"There are voices in our world, and perhaps even sometimes within our own frightened hearts, which will tell us that our Easter rejoicing is foolishness; that life really is meaningless; that celebrating the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is folly; that the fellowship and strength…
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