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

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.  ~

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,

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

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.

The University of the South Sewanee has announced that the Rt. Rev. Brian Lee Cole, bishop of the Episcopal Church in East Tennessee will be presented with an honorary doctor of divinity degree at the university’s winter convocation January 19, 2019. A southeast Missouri native, Bishop Cole graduated from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1989. In 1992, he earned a Master of Divinity at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (October 24, 2018) | by Thad Oliver — Tom Swearingen, internationally acclaimed woodcarver and sculptor based in Cohutta, Georgia, has reproduced a statue of Jesus on the Cross which he originally crafted from 1987 to 1988. The sculpture will replace HIS ORIGINAL crucifix in front of St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church on East Brainerd Road. The new 28-foot tall sculpture will be installed on Monday, October 29th, Between 9:00 and 10:00 AM on the church lawn. The

I hope all y’all can feel the big hug I’m sending across the pond to the great folks in the Diocese of East Tennessee!! Maybe it was a slow news story day, but I was invited to send an update on my life across the pond – the life of a rural vicar in the wilds of North Devon where most other folks in the county of Devon believe the inhabitants of my beloved new home are “wild, hairy savages”!