St. Ed Said

The following is the weekly Happenings email lead article that was sent to the St. Ed's Community. If you would like to join the email list, please send a note to office@stedwards-mn.org. ---------------------- What a trip it was! I had so much fun in Ireland and in England. I am deeply moved by what the Church of England in London is accomplishing. They have made a concerted effort to move from a mindset of scarcity and managing decline to a mindset of abundance. One could say they are telling Alleluia stories in every corner of the city. I have a ton of ideas that are percolating in my mind and in my heart for how we can continue to deepen our relationship with God as a community of faith in the place we are. But before we dive into those things, I want you all to know how deeply grateful I am for your own spiritual depth and your willingness to share the story of how God is at work in your lives. The students I was with, mostly clergy types, do not have the joy of hearing the st...

I was in England and Ireland for the past 10 days or so, and got to see a ton of great preachers and churches and programs and fresh expressions. I didn't say anything, because others I was with didn't like it, but it was the best sermon I heard on June 14th. I haven't read it again to see if I am crazy, but it really seemed like a good one done by Mark Birch, more details can be found below about him. Hope all is well with you! A+ __________________________________________________________________________________ Sermon preached at Evensong on the Second Sunday after Trinity 2026 ‘Will you gather or scatter; will you divide or reconcile?’ The Reverend Mark Birch MVO Canon in Residence Sunday, 14th June 2026 at 3.00 PM --- There is a lot of division in our readings this evening. In the first lesson, the famous division between David and Saul is getting more and more dangerous. David has fled from the King, who is furious at his son Jonathan for siding with this young, handso...

The Rev. Aron Kramer, Rector St Edward's Episcopal Church Sunday, May 10, 2026 Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:7-18 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 Last week I asked: what if the God you are waiting to meet is already outside? Outside the walls, the building, the places we have designated as holy. Already in the street, the wrong places, the off-center places, in the Galilees of our lives. Today's Epistle has been niggling at my brain for years. I always find myself unsettled by this text. But I had a revelation this week, and I wonder if we have in this story an answer to that question. Paul is standing in the middle of Athens, and he is upset. Acts tells us Paul was distressed — the Greek word is paroxynō. It is a visceral word, meaning agitation, close to rage. He has walked through this city and the sheer number of religious shrines and devotion has undone him. Every corner, every street, another shrine. Ancient writers said Athens had more gods than people, and something about it uns...

As many of you know, the Alleluia Booklet was distributed at Easter to everyone who attended the service. It was also sent to many others via mail. Today, May 7th, 2026 is the day the story of Eliot's desire for a hug comes up. I wanted to share this with you all and suggest that you start thinking about an Alleluia story for the 2027 booklet. Here is my story from today, May 7th, 2026: _____________________________________________________________________________________ It was the longest moment of my life; I hope I never have to experience it again. When the Dr, the fellow actually, finished telling us about Leukemia, words that went in one ear and out the other and how this disease was affecting Eliot’s blood and bone marrow, the Fellow finished by explaining how they would cure it. The words “cure it” screamed through my head, when he finished and had left the room, I remember this feeling of great elation, great joy, great relief and I hugged Sara, Eliot’s Mom, lin a big bear ...

Did you all notice the small offhanded note in the Acts reading today? Not the vision of heaven Steven has at this moment. It’s not the stones being prepared to be thrown. Not the prayer of forgiveness that ends the story. It’s the coats, the coats given to one of the most important biblical characters in all of the New Testament. Acts tells us that when the crowd rushed Stephen, the witnesses, the men who had testified against him, the men whose job it was to throw the first stones, these men laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. It seems like such a small detail in the middle of a murder. I tried to do a little research about stoning, because as we hear over and over, the Jews did not put people to death. They did not have a method of capital punishment. However, stoning was not a chaotic mob throwing whatever was at hand. I am not sure what you all know about this process, but it is much more methodical and intentional than we think. Stoning was a procedure. It ...

FROM YOUR SENIOR WARDEN: FRITZ WRIGHT TURF & TEFLON The Minnesota Twins played baseball in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2009 in downtown Minneapolis. Indoor baseball on artificial turf and under a Teflon roof on a nice summer’s day was about as uninspiring as it gets. This stadium has been well documented for its shortcomings, but there were at least three good things that came out of it. Two World Series championships which are now a generation ago, and the appreciation for beautiful outdoor stadiums. In 1992 Baltimore opened Camden Yards, a retro style ballpark for the Orioles, that changed everything in stadium design. No more cookie cutter stadiums that all looked alike. More cool ballparks were built because the fans would come out to see the facility and the team. The Chicago White Sox built the last cookie cutter stadium in 1991 and kind of missed the boat on fabulous retro ballparks. A new hobby for Twins fans was born: How many of the other 29 stadiums can...