St. Ed Said

THE ANNUNCIATION Lessons and Psalm Isaiah 7:10-14  Psalm 45 or Psalm 40:5-10 or Canticle 3 or Canticle 15 Hebrews 10:4-10  Luke 1:26-38 Collect of the Day Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. From Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2024 Today's feast commemorates how God made known to a young Jewish woman that she was to be the mother of God's Son. The Annunciation has been a major theme in Christian art, in both East and West, and innumerable sermons and poems have been composed about it. The term coined by Cyril of Alexandria for the Blessed Virgin, Theotokos (“the God-bearer”), was affirmed by the General Council of Ephesus in 431.  Many theologians stress that Mary accepted her vocation with perfect c...

So, I don't function under the illusion that anyone actually reads this blog, maybe someday I will say something that will really force me to be wise and inspirational on a more regular basis. But for whatever reason, I will continue to post and try to create some energy around communicating in this space. Yes, there are better platforms, yes, my blog looks like it has been run over by a truck, but hey, it helps me write, and think, and read and imagine, so I will keep it up. I was thinking about what the schedule is that I have been maintaining and I thought I would come up with some ideas for each days posts. So, what follows are silly titles for the days of the week. Mondays: Sermon Spotlight These will be my sermons, posted for posterity purposes and if I get permission from the person who preached instead of me, I will post their sermon as well. If there is no post on a Monday it is because I didn't preach and the person didn't tell me I could post their sermon. Usuall...

PATRICK OF IRELAND Bishop and Missionary, 461 Lessons and Psalm  Ezekiel 36:33-38  Psalm 97  1 Thessalonians 2:1-8  Matthew 28:16-20  COLLECT FOR PATRICK'S DAY Almighty God, in your providence you chose your servant Patrick to be the apostle to the Irish people, to bring those who were wandering in darkness and error to the true light and knowledge of you: Grant us so to walk in that way that we may come at last to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  FROM LESSER FEASTS AND FASTS 2023 Patrick was born into a Christian family somewhere on the northwest coast of Britain around 390. His grandfather had been a Christian priest and his father, Calpornius, a deacon. Calpornius was an important official in the late Roman imperial government of Britain.  When Patrick was about sixteen, he was captured by a band of Irish slave-raiders. He was carried o...

THURSDAY THOUGHTS I have gotten into the habit of bringing the dogs along with me to work. And one might think that the big Black Lab would be the biggest problem. Well, he is actually becoming trained, other than leaping up on people to give them hugs, he's coming along really well. No, the biggest problem of the two canine children is this little bugger.  This is her shortly after she climbed up on my desk, hiked across it to her pillow sitting on the side of the desk. Once there she sits and stares at me. Either telling me that the better place for her would be in my lap, or she's saying, don't move, I'm the boss of you and you must do what I tell you. I am about to go to sleep and if you leave, I will eat your toes. Then se promptly falls into a full body shaking sleep mode where she opens her eyes at every little sound that comes to her ears. Which are always raised and listening, or pulled back as they are in the next picture. Lastly, there is of course, this beas...

HARRIET ROSS TUBMAN, March 10 (Image by: By Powelson, Benjamin F. 1823 - 1885 - Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture shared with the Library of Congress, Public Domain) Lessons and Psalm  Judges 9:50-55  Psalm 102:18-28  James 2:14-17  Luke 11:5-10 COLLECT FOR HARRIET'S DAY O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servant Harriet Ross Tubman. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  FROM LESSER FEASTS AND FASTS, 2023 Slave births were recorded under property, not as persons with names, but we know that Harriet Ross was born sometime during 1820 on a Maryland Chesapeake Bay plantation, the sixth of eleven children born to Ben Ross and ...

SAINT OF THE DAY: Holy Men & Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints Chad of Lichfield  Bishop 672  Collect for Chad of Lichfield Heavenly Father, whose son our Lord Jesus Christ took the form of a servant for the sake of his brothers and sisters: Strengthen us with the prayers and example of your servant Chad, who became the least of all to minister to all; through the same Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns, with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Chad was born in Northern England around 634, one of four brothers dedicated to service in the church. Chad was trained by Aidan of Lindisfarne as a follower of the Celtic tradition in ritual. His elder brother Cedd had built a monastery at Lastingham, where he governed as abbot.  At his death, Cedd left the abbacy to Chad. According to Bede, Chad was “a holy man, modest in his ways, learned in the Scriptures, and zealous in carrying out their teaching.” Impressed by Chad’s qualities, the king appointed ...