The other day, one of my sons asked, “Why did Mary Magdalene follow Jesus, but she wasn’t one of the disciples?” He was referring to the depiction of Jesus and the disciples in The Chosen, where Mary and other women are very much part of the traveling group that served with Jesus, but she was…
My congregation just completed another year’s involvement in the Angel Tree program, giving Christmas gifts to children of an incarcerated parent. In my several years of involvement with Angel Tree it seems that inmate families are almost always poor. That raises the question: Do they break the law because they are poor, or are they…
The following article was written by Fr. Paul Scalia, published on November 27th, 2022 on the website www.thecatholicthing.org. The picture is Our Lord Jesus Christ by James Tissot, c. 1890 [Brooklyn Museum] The Lord of History Fr. Paul D. Scalia The so-called Respect for Marriage Act has pushed the issue of gay marriage back into…
To Our Epworth Family, How do we begin to say “thank you” for the wonderful privilege it has been to serve with all of you for more than two decades? I am also grateful to the original Epworthies who supported me and my family and who are no longer with us, and to all of…
In case you are wondering what All Saints Day is all about, here is an updated version of a previous blog explainer: Every December, the secular and cultural celebration of Christmas overshadows the religious holiday on which it is based. Essentially the same thing happens at the end of October, when the way American culture celebrates…
Harvest Festival will be celebrated at Epworth following the Sunday service on October 9th, 2022. While the Anglican tradition of holding harvest festivals dates back to 1843, Epworth has held one each October starting in 2004. Harvest Festival is both a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision, and of generosity because we recognize that human…
Read the original article Love God, Care for Creation “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your…
What is the “dividing line” in our society? If you were to turn on your tv or radio for any length of time, you would probably get the impression that politics is the dividing line. Left vs right or Republican vs Democrat. There’s also racial dividing lines, socio-economic dividing lines, and generational dividing lines that…
Let’s be honest; if you’re like me, your gut reaction to the Ten Commandments is here is a reminder of what we are supposed to do or not do, which is also a reminder of how far I fall short on a regular basis. While the Ten Commandments does show us how we are utterly…
This photo by unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind” (1 Samuel 15:29). This is how most of us think about God. We praise His “eternal changelessness”. But…