Faith and Weather

It is Wednesday May 6. I am officially in my 5th day on staff at Trinity Church. Yesterday was a brilliant taste of summer with temperatures in the 80s. Today is cooler with a soft spring rain falling. Tomorrow calls for seasonal temperatures, which seems to be the pattern going forward. Or is it? There are times we look at the forecast and then we look outside and what we read and what we see are different. We expect to see what we read in the forecast. After all, forecasting the weather is a science and science is about facts which lead to solid conclusions.

            For some people, there is an expectation that faith works like the weather. To have faith means there is a prescribed or “forecasted” path to follow and if we do all that is asked we will be rewarded. If only it was that clear. Much like the weather, there is the “forecasted” life of faith and then there is the one we “see out the window,” the one we live every day. There are days when the prescribed path of our faith is difficult to see, understand, or follow. There are days when what we thought was happening turns out to be the opposite of our expectations. And there are radiant days when all is as it should be.

            We are in the joy and glow of the Easter Season. A season of faith when our voices rise with alleluias and our is hope renewed. The Franciscan theologian Richard Rohr writes: “We must honestly admit that we don’t always understand the seemingly random forces at play, but if we believe that the Risen Jesus is the full and trustworthy unveiling of the nature of God, then we live in a safe and love-filled universe.”  This is the solid foundation of our faith that sustains us through the days of our lives whether they are calm or stormy for we our surrounded by a “love-filled universe.”

In Gratitude,

Rev. Stephen J. Connor

Onward—and Welcome to the Rev. Stephen Connor

Dear Friends,

I am overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude for the outpouring of kind words and support since last week’s announcement of my upcoming retirement. I am profoundly thankful for your encouragement, appreciation, and love.

But, dear ones, there is still much to do — nine more months to serve together as the people of Trinity Church. As we enter this time of transition, we will not be idle, but rather this will be a season of reflection, discernment, and preparation.

With that in mind, it is my great pleasure to introduce our new Associate Rector, the Rev. Stephen Connor. Stephen is already part of our Trinity community. He and his husband, Ron, have been members of our church for many years. He will be joining Kara and me as a much-needed third priest on our staff.

Onward, dear ones! There is work to be done, prayers to be lifted, songs to be sung, love to be shared, and Good News to be proclaimed.

Peace and Blessings!

Paul+

An Important Word from the Rector

A Word From our Wardens

The Gift of Joy and Wonder

Dear Beloved of Trinity,

Thursday was “Take Your Child to Work Day.” For those who could, it meant a day away from school and an adventure alongside a parent—getting a glimpse into their world. I remember going to work with my dad during the summertime. It was always such a joy to spend that time with him. I was “Little Paul” and entrusted with my own special tasks, helping with whatever project was at hand.

This week, we were blessed with the presence of Lily McCarther, whose mom, Alicia, serves as my administrative assistant. As it happened, the day of her visit was also the ninth anniversary of her baptism!

We prepared a “Letter of Agreement” for her first official day in the working world. (See below!) For those who know me well, no further explanation is needed.

Her presence was truly a gift to all of us. Throughout the day, I found myself returning again and again to the prayer we say at baptism:

Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.

I have long held this prayer close to my heart—not only for my own children, but for all of us. This is who we are called to be as the people of God at Trinity Church: sustained by the Spirit, inquisitive and discerning, courageous and persevering, always growing in our desire to know and love God—and one another—more fully.

And alongside all of this, we are invited to keep our souls open: open to the abundance of God’s joy, open to awe and wonder, open to the sacred gift of creation and of life itself.

For me, Lily embodied that beautifully.

Thanks be to God for the gift of our children, who so naturally and generously reveal joy and wonder to us. Perhaps we really should have more “Take Your Child to Work” days—we might all be better for it.

Peace and blessings,

Paul+

P.S. This Sunday, there will be a special surprise in the bulletins—courtesy of Lily!

The God of Surprises (A Sermon Spoiler)

One of my favorite stained glass windows at Duke University Chapel shows the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The disciples are walking down the road, and Jesus is walking up behind them, looking like he’s about to tap one of them on the shoulder: boo! Jesus’ appearance to his friends comes as a surprise-a welcome surprise, a world changing surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.

In our Gospel for Sunday, the disciples find out that the resurrection isn’t just a rumor – it’s real. And they discover that it’s real in a tangible way as Jesus breaks bread with them. In Jesus, God shows himself to us as not just able to be seen, but able to be touched. And God chooses to be known that way. God gains nothing by being seen or touched. God would be God regardless of how we experience God. But God chooses to be with us, to share Scripture and bread with us, to be perceived. The fact that God chooses to be there on the road with us, that God breaks bread with us, shows us that this is a God who can be trusted in the absence of perception as well as in its presence. God chooses to be in that kind of intimate relationship with us, and that tells us how much God loves us, how safe we are in God’s hands. God chooses to invite us into a relationship of new life - a new life of peace.  This is the new life that Jesus invites us to share in, through baptism and every time we share the Eucharist with each other. Our faith isn’t ethereal and theoretical, it’s something that we touch and that touches us.

Join us this Sunday to be surprised once more by grace, and to find out how this story ends!

Yours in Christ, and in Christ alone,

Kara+

Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Dear beloved of Trinity Church,

Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

What a glorious Easter it was! The church was filled, the music was beautiful, and the vibrant, joyful spirit was palpable. I could not have been more proud of our beloved community. Thank you to all who made our Easter celebration so meaningful and radiant.

Now we enter the Great Fifty Days of Easter, leading us to the feast of Pentecost. In these days, I invite us to live more deeply into the fullness of Easter’s power. While the liturgical calendar names this a season, Easter is far more than a moment in time—it is a way of life. It is the defining truth of our faith: that love is stronger than death, and life will have the final word.

Inspired by St. Augustine, Pope John Paul II reminds us, “We are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song.”

I invite you to prayerfully consider how you might embody Easter in your daily life. How might resurrection take shape in your words and deeds, in your intentions and desires? Where is God calling new life to emerge in you?

Our world is in deep need of Easter—not only within the Church, but for all people. We long for hope, for renewal, and for the assurance of God’s never-failing love.

Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Easter blessings,

Paul+

Jesus Christ is Risen Today—Alleluia!

Dear Friends,

“Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!” With these joyful words, we awaken once more to the song that has echoed through the centuries—the song of life stronger than death, hope stronger than fear, love stronger than anything that would hold us back.

Easter is not simply a day we celebrate; it is a reality we are invited to enter. As the hymn proclaims, “our triumphant holy day” calls us to lift our hearts and voices, to join creation itself in praise. The stone is rolled away. The tomb is empty. Christ is alive—and because he lives, we are given new life as well.

Easter joy is not shallow or fleeting. It is born out of the depths of Good Friday and carried through the silence of Holy Saturday. And so our “hymns of praise then let us sing” are not naïve, but courageous—rooted in the promise that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God.

I invite you to join us this Sunday, as we gather to celebrate the resurrection. Come and hear the Good News again. Come and sing “Alleluia.” Come and be renewed in the life that the Risen Christ offers to all.

Easter Blessings,           

Paul+

Blessed Holy Week

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

This Sunday, we begin our Holy Week journey.

We lift our palm branches high, waving and crying out,
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest.”

For a brief moment, we try to place ourselves among the crowd some two thousand years ago—
spirits lifted, hearts full of hope and expectation.
At last, things are turning.
At last, things will be made right.

This must be the beginning—
the long-awaited procession into a kingdom of righteousness and justice.

And yet… how quickly things turn.

Hopes are dashed.
Dreams are shattered.
Expectations crumble.

Life, as we know, is unpredictable.
In a moment, everything can change.
The world can turn upside down in an instant—
like shifting sands beneath our feet,
like winds that rise without warning,
like floods that overwhelm both land and soul.

How, then, do we steady ourselves?

It is for such a world and time as this that our Lord came.
Christ entered into the very heart of instability—
standing on shifting sands,
facing the howling winds of rage,
and walking through the floodwaters of fear.

Yet always, he remained rooted in love.

In him, we find our anchor.
In him, we find life and hope.

And so we, too—fully human, deeply vulnerable—
are invited to walk this path.
With faith in God’s goodness,
and trust in the enduring love revealed in Christ,
we find our way forward.

Beloved, I invite you into this most sacred journey—
not away from uncertainty,
but through it.

Through the trials and travails of life,
held always by the certainty and constancy
of God’s unchanging love,

as revealed to us

in the life, death, and resurrection

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed Holy Week,

Paul+