Homily Given at the Installation of the Reverend Brett Backus as Rector of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, Farragut, Tennessee The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess | November 28, 2018 I. Introduction: New Beginnings: Journeying with Father Brett. Father Brett, approximately ten years ago, you and I began our journey together as brother priests. To bring everyone up to speed, the story began like this. You were traveling through, not to, Knoxville where you had visited with your Bishop and your
Read MoreArchives for November 2018
May It Be Our Hope
Interfaith Climate Vigil – Meditation from the Rev. Claire Keene November 18, 2018 at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, Knoxville Last summer I went with my brother to Scotland, where our Scots-Irish ancestors hailed from before moving to Ulster and then to the colonies. We walked on hillsides and valleys, watched the wind blow rain, fog, and clouds across our group and the landscape we had come to explore. We visited sites that had meant much to many peoples, across millennia—ley
Read MoreJesus Appears To Be Ok With That
Sermon Given at St. James, Knoxville 26th Sunday after Pentecost 2018 | November 18, 2018 Mark 13:1-8 “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Amen. “It’s the end of the world as we know it. It’s the end of the world as we know it. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” When I was in college, the musical group, R.E.M., was a big deal. During my sophomore year, they came
Read MoreBishop Brian’s Thanksgiving Message
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. ~
Read MoreWe might just have it backwards
Sermon Given at St. Mark, Copperhill, November 11, 2018 Mark 12:38-44 First, let me say it would be quite tempting to suggest that the Gospel lesson on the widow’s mite is St. Mark’s way of saying to remember to turn in your pledge card. Remembering to turn in your pledge card is greatly appreciated, but it is not the point of this morning’s Gospel. Rather, I would ask that you allow me to describe a couple of scenes for you,
Read More‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’
Sermon Given at All Saints, Morristown on All Saints Day – November 4, 1028 Revelation 7:9-17 There are many saints we know primarily by their wounds. Sebastian has his arrows, Francis his stigmata and Catherine, her wheel. With them and so many other stories of the saints, we know there will be blood. It is not so with St. Alexis. St. Alexis, or St. Alexius as he is called from other accounts, is not remembered for his wounds, but rather
Read MoreWhat Does It Mean to Share a Common Life?
November 1, 2018 All Saints Day Dear East Tennessee Episcopal Friends, Below is an extended quotation from the Appendix of the Asian Journal of Thomas Merton. Merton, who had lived as a Trappist monk for 27 years in central Kentucky, was now fulfilling a long-held dream of traveling to the East. These remarks and prayer were given by Merton at the conclusion of the First Spiritual Summit Conference held in Calcutta, India, late in 1968, shortly before Merton’s untimely death.
Read More