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This thing has feathers. (pinned post)
Tags: UncategorizedYeah, yeah, I misquoted Dickinson. (She wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” not “Hope’s the thing…” But this is a meme I made a while back that isn’t really a meme because it’s not meming, but it does seem, unfortunately, to be evergreen: Feel free to use it if you like, though.
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The Second Sunday after Christmas

Years A—January 4, 2026 Happy New Year! And Merry Christmas. The readings for this Sunday are: Since these are the same readings assigned to all three years of the lectionary cycle, I will use the first Gospel listed for today. (Additional note: I will cover the Feast of the Holy Name in a subsequent year.)…
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The First Sunday after Christmas
Year A—December 28, 2025 I feel for preachers. My instinct is to try to draw something out of each of these texts and weave it all together…but what hasn’t already been said about these passages? Not only does Christmas recycle John’s Prologue every year in multiple services, but it’s just so familiar. And yet, familiarity…
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Christmas Day

Selection I—All Years Merry Christmas! [There are three different sets of readings for Christmas Day. In my experience—admittedly, only with cathedrals—the first set is used on Christmas Eve, while the second and third are used in services on Christmas Day. Since they don’t change from year to year, my intention is to use one each…
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The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Year A—December 21, 2025 We are closing in on Christmas! This week’s readings are compact: they get to the point. Sort of. They hold out familiar words and images, and we can walk right in and take those words and images as if from the shelf, and move along our merry way to Christmas. Unless,…
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Advent 3

Year A – December 14, 2025 Lectionary readings:Isaiah 35:1-10James 5:7-10Matthew 11:2-11Psalm 146:4-9or Canticle 15 (the Magnificat, or Song of Mary) This icon type, Theotokos of the Sign, depicts the expectant Mary. Her posture is one of prayer, and while her son is still in her womb, we see him as God, arms extended in a gesture of…
Advent art baptism Bible body Call & Response Cathedral Church of St. Paul Christ Christian hope Christianity Christmas Church Communion crucifixion Detroit Easter empire Epiphany Eucharist faith God Good Friday Gospel Grosse Pointe Congregational Church Holy week hope icon Incarnation Isaiah Jesus John the Baptist Lectionary Lent Love Mary Music poem poetry Power Resurrection revised common lectionary Theological reflection theology Theotokos writing
