Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson

The story isn’t finished.

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Christmas 1B, 31 December 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 61:10-62:3. You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.
  • Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7. So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
  • John 1:1-18. No one has ever seen God.

O God of our sacred story, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

First a poem by Irish theologian Padraig O Tuama, called “Narrative Theology #1”.  [1]

And I said to him
Are there answers to all of this?
And he said
The answer is in a story
and the story is being told.

And I said
But there is so much pain
And she answered, plainly,
Pain will happen.

Then I said
Will I ever find meaning?
And they said
You will find meaning
Where you give meaning.

The answer is in the story
And the story isn’t finished. Continue reading →

Sing a song of love.

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Advent 4B, 24 December 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16. I will not take my steadfast love from him.
  • Romans 16:25-27. The revelation of the mystery…is now disclosed.
  • Luke 1:26-38. But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

O God in whom is heaven, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

Every once in a while, our liturgical calendar gives us the Fourth Sunday of Advent in the morning and Christmas Eve in the evening. It always seems to take us by surprise even though it’s possible to see it coming for a long time. The last time was in 2017, and the next time will be in 2028. Plan accordingly!

Over the past weeks, our scripture readings have been full of prophetic calls to vast numbers of people for large scale relational and economic repair projects, leveling the playing fields and making it easier for all people to experience the love of God. Today, in a dramatic downshift, we are invited into intensely intimate scenes between David and Nathan, between Mary and Gabriel. You can almost hear our theological engine revving as we slow down to make this big turn. For the Gospel of Luke (and the Gospel of Matthew), this passage from Samuel about David and Nathan was essential to understanding just who Jesus would be. Continue reading →

Finding Magnification of the Lord

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Advent 3B, 17 December 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11. To give them a garland instead of ashes.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
  • John 1:6-8, 19-28. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

O God of hope, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

So, are you ready for Christmas? It’s hard for me to think of a more annoying question at this time of year. It jangles my nerves as it conjures up conversations to have, plans to make, places to go, bulletins to prepare, and sermons to write. It also conjures up the yawning gap between how I want the world to be and how it is at this moment – wracked by war and alienation, torn apart by greed and fear, peoples estranged from one another in hopes of finding safety and security. The question conjures up in me the recognition of the emotional freight of this tricky season. It conjures up those who are broken-hearted, captive, imprisoned, those who are being crushed by debt or other kinds of devastation, those who are huddled in doorways and alleyways without adequate and dignified shelter or even access to toilets. “No!” I want to shout. “No, we are not ready.” “How could we be ready?” And our scriptures smile and say, “Well, ready or not….” Continue reading →

Represent the goodness and love of God.

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Advent 2B, 10 December 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 40:1-11. Comfort, O comfort my people says your God.
  • 2 Peter 3:8-15a. New heavens and a new earth where righteousness is at home.
  • Mark 1:1-8. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah.

O God of the prophets, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

The season of Advent in the Church is meant to be more an annual pilgrimage than a shopping spree or a holiday frenzy. The observance of Advent is a spiritual, theological practice, and it’s also political, sociological, economic when we are paying attention to the scriptures. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it is also a pilgrimage in a season marked by darkness. For those of us in and around the city, true darkness is barely possible to experience, but the loss of sunlight is felt deeply, nonetheless. So many of us are unaccustomed to noticing the beauty of darkness. I have found that I need to slow down to notice the beauty of darkness, to appreciate the growth that occurs in the darkness, to identify the many blessings of darkness. It takes some slowing down and remembering that to the Divine, darkness and light are both alike. Continue reading →

If You Want to Hear the Truth

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Advent 1B, 3 December 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 64:1-9. O that you would tear open the heavens and come down….We are your people.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. So that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Mark 13:24-37. Keep awake.

O God of repentance, repair, and reconciliation, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

Hello! Happy Advent! Happy Churchy New Year! I’m so glad to be back with you after four months of time away.  I’m eager to hear about how you’ve changed and grown while we’ve been apart.  I hope you’ll find a time to talk with me so we can catch up; or if you’re new to Emmanuel, so that we can get to know one another. I have stories to tell you about my adventures learning about my Maryland ancestors and my Civil Rights pilgrimage with my wife Joy across the deep South – from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. I’ve been learning about and reflecting more deeply on my family’s relationship with racial oppression, my Church’s (big C) relationship with racial oppression, and my government’s relationship with racial oppression. Along the way, I’ve been building new relationships with folks who are engaging in racial reckoning by learning and practicing restorative and reparative justice in meaningful and sustainable ways. My heart is full of gratitude for Emmanuel Church’s gift to me of time away for rest and restoration, and for education and inspiration. Continue reading →

2024

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  • 6 Jan. Our Candidate for Holy Orders, The Rev. Joshua Padraig (Paddy) Cavanaugh, was ordained to the priesthood at All Saints Church, Richmond VA.
  • 4 Feb.  Senior Warden Elizabeth (Liz) Levin retired after an eventful three-year tenure.  She ably steered us through the Covid pandemic, our rector’s sabbatical, and much more.  May her successor Rebekah Shore fill her big shoes!

  • The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray & The Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris on our Sanctuary’s pulpit

    28 April.  The Rt. Rev. Dr. Carol J. Gallagher, Assistant Bishop of our diocese, presided at our Sunday service for the dedication of Ted Southwick’s statue of the late Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris.

  • May. With funding from Hanna and James Bartlett, John Tiedemann’s crew cleaned our Sanctuary’s reredos and walls below its clerestory.  Jim Anderson designed a replacement herald for a window that had been broken in 2000 by firefighters.

    Photo by Julian Bullitt

    Charles Connick had designed its original to match Kempe’s heralds in the south clerestory.  Its banner reads in Latin:  with angels and archangels.  We thank Jill Zunshine, who funded it in memory of her husband Zach and in thanksgiving for her faith and hope.

  • 28 Sept.  The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates preached and presided at a service commemorating the Centennial of Lindsey Chapel.

    Thanks to the generosity of Hanna and James Bartlett the walls of our apse were cleaned.

Initiatives of Episcopal Dioceses & City of Boston

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When we met last July in Chapel Camp, Emmanuelites said that they would welcome learning more about resources related to repair, reconciliation, and reparations. Last week, we offered a glimpse of Diomass’s journey on the topic. We’ve begun to explore other dioceses’ postings about discussions and/or commitments to ongoing processes and approaches to restoration and healing. We are gradually learning, too, about other local churches’ processes of inquiry and action in this regard. Continue reading →

Our Journey into Reparations

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As we begin our shared journey into Reparations, we need to assess how far we have come, both individually and as a faith community. Last Fall in a historic vote, the 237th Annual Diocesan Convention created a Reparations Fund with a goal of $11.1 million, “as part of our effort to address our legacy of wealth accumulated through the enslaved labor of Africans and Afro-Caribbeans on our behalf and for our use today.” More information is here.

We will draw on our diocesan Tool Kit for Reparations in Community, as we explore our response to reparations. Before any talk of specific reparations, however, we must explore some basic questions together from that Tool Kit.

Continue reading →

Chapel Camp Devoted to Repairing the Breach

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Our Chapel Camp on July 30, 2023 was devoted to a discussion of our study and thoughts about the Church’s moral obligation and opportunity to engage in reparations. This responsibility rightly involves a relational approach that includes, but also goes beyond, focusing entirely on cash payouts toward addressing ongoing economic, educational, and health inequities.

Our Rector and other parishioners gathered to share initial thoughts on how we might, during sabbatical time this fall, offer resources to broaden our understanding of the moral and spiritual dimensions of reparations. To begin, our vestry discussed Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zacchaeus.

In addition, here are two resources recommended to vestry members during our introductory conversations:

We will continue this column as our exploration continues and will include other voices from our congregation.

–Mary Beth Clack, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol

Published in This Week @Emmanuel Church August 30, 2023; Sept. 7, 2023

Embracing the Teachings of Jesus

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Proper 11A, 30 July 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Genesis 29:15-28. When morning came, it was Leah!
  • Romans 8:26-39.  We do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
  • Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. Have you understood all this? They answered, “Yes.”

O God of mercy, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Whenever the story of Jacob’s procurement of Leah and Rachel gets told in our appointed lessons, I’m tempted to preach about the biblical model of marriage illustrated in the book of Genesis, just so we’re all clear what “Biblical marriage” is. It’s especially true this year in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the bigoted-website case. Instead, I’m going to trust that the Spirit is interceding with sighs too deep for words. Continue reading →