Sermon preached by The Rev. Richard Marsden
Feast of the Holy Name

Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Christmas Day

What’s in a name?

My nephew Matt and his darling wife Laura were in a hospital as I wrote this sermon, giving birth to their first child – actually Laura really did all the work – I am not sure what Matt did; he was there and remained conscious through the ordeal, but in the months previous to this event they spent hours poring over books and talking to family about what to name this precious, little, new soul.

They finally decided on the name Lily. I don’t know if there are family connections to the name or what the significance is but it is extremely significant to them. And she will forever be known as Lily.

Most likely each of us was the subject of the same kind of momentous enterprise when we were yet to take our first breath. Parents take naming their children as a serious endeavor. Do you know of anyone who just arbitrarily named their children: boy number 1, girl number 2?

I was named Richard after my father; I carry his name and many of his qualities, some contributing to Gail’s periodic consternation. Continue reading ‘Sermon – Sunday 1 January, 2012/The Rev. Richard Marsden’ »

The Pelican, Volume 16, Number 6 - January 2012 (878 KB)

Unless, as the song goes, your true love gives you gifts on each of the twelve days of Christmas, most likely your gift-giving and receiving will take place today, Christmas Day, the day of the Nativity of our Lord. Through gifts we often are given precious memories by our friends, memories that will last well beyond the twelve days of Christmas.

The practice of gift giving at Christmas hasn’t always been universally accepted. The Puritans forbade the observance of Christmas and everything associated with it. And while Charles Dickens helped to popularize the giving of gifts at Christmas, others from time to time have tried to dampen the practice because of its obvious materialistic dangers. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, thought it best not to give gifts but to sit still and think about truth and purity until her friends were all the better for it. Can you imagine the reaction of your family and friends if you were to tell them that instead of giving gifts this year you are just going to meditate on their behalf? You could put it in a nice card that says, “Dear, and then put your wife’s or husband’s name, in your honor and for your good, I have spent one hour in meditation thinking about truth and purity. Merry Christmas from your loving husband or wife.” It’s a nice gesture, and certainly we could do with a lot more of it, but it would most likely not be greatly appreciated!

As we find ourselves on Christmas Day, that is, the day after the evening on which the wondrous birth of our Lord occurred, it is good to reflect on the meaning of that event that brought all of our celebrations about. Continue reading ‘Sermon – Christmas Day: Sunday 25 December, 2011/The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson’ »

Christmas has arrived; Advent is over. We can now sing our favorite Christmas carols that some have wanted to sing all during Advent. What’s your favorite Christmas carol? I hope that if we haven’t already sung it, that sometime during the mass we will.

As some of you may know, my preferred form of exercise is racquetball. Every morning at 5:30, Monday through Friday, you will find me at the Y playing racquetball, sometimes singles and sometimes doubles. Four guys in a little racquetball court when we’re playing doubles can seem a little crowded at times, but in 33 years of playing I’ve only had to go to the hospital for stitches one time, but a couple of weeks ago I got hit in my mouth with a racquet. The result was that my upper lip hurt a little and I could feel my front teeth, which worried me a little. So after we had finished playing I went to my dentist, who told me one of my front teeth was a little loose and that I shouldn’t use it for a couple of weeks. By Christmas he told me we should know if the tooth would survive. Consequently, this year I have a new favorite Christmas song: “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!” Continue reading ‘Sermon – Christmas Eve: Saturday 24 December, 2011/The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson’ »

The Rev. Dr. Paul F.M. Zahl, former Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in the greater Washington, D.C. (Chevy Chase) area, will preach at the Church of the Redeemer on Sunday, January 15, 2012, at the 7:30, 9, and 11 o’clock morning mass. As well, Dr. Zahl will teach at 10:15 a.m., during the Rector’s Class, speaking on the topic of “God’s Grace and Our Emotions: What Does It Take for Mercy to Get Through?” The public is warmly invited.

“Paul Zahl has been an articulate, well-informed, nationally known voice for orthodoxy for decades within the Episcopal Church,” says the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson, Rector of Redeemer. “Those who hear him speak can expect to be challenged, edified, and inspired.”

Over his career, Dr. Zahl has served as Dean of Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and was also Dean/President of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. He has served parishes in New York City, Westchester County, and Charleston, South Carolina as well. He retired from All Saints in 2009.

Dr. Zahl holds academic degrees from Harvard College; the University of Nottingham; St. John’s Theological College in the Church of England; and the University of Tuebingen in Germany, where he was awarded the doctorate in systematic theology in 1994. He has written several books, the most recent of which is “Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life”(2007).

Dr. Zahl and his wife Mary, a leader in Southeastern garden design, reside in Maryland, and have three grown sons, John, David and Simeon, all of whom are in Christian ministry./end

Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Fourth Sunday in Advent

I’m going to say a couple of sentences that have been incorporated into a larger prayer, and if you know the rest of the prayer, I want you to say it aloud, boldly, so that you can be heard. Here are the sentences and first part of the prayer: “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus…..”

The rest of the prayer goes like this: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death. Amen.”

That is known as the “Hail Mary.” For some of us the Hail Mary is a forward pass in football that doesn’t have much going for it other than a prayer. For others, it’s a prayer that is an important part of our daily regimen of prayer. Is there anyone here who says it regularly, or even just once in a while?

The first part of it comes right out of the Gospel according to St. Luke and consists of a combination of the words spoken to Mary first by the Archangel Gabriel and then by her cousin Elizabeth. When Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive and bear a Son, he also told her that her cousin, Elizabeth, who was an old woman and who had never been blessed with a child, was also pregnant with John, who would become known as the Baptist. Continue reading ‘Sermon – Sunday 18 December, 2011/The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson’ »

On Christmas Eve, beginning at 9:30 p.m., Redeemer’s late-evening “Midnight Mass” is preceded by a joyous musical celebration of organ and brass with Bradenton organist Michael Stuart performing with two festival trumpets — played by world-renowned trumpeter Daniel Mendelow, first trumpet for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; and well-known local trumpeter Andy Kemp. At 10 p.m., the choir of Redeemer will sing anthems and carols for thirty minutes, heralding the High Solemn Mass (Rite I with incense) which begins at 10:30 p.m.

Complimentary parking is available at the M&I Bank Garage on McAnsh on Christmas Eve day beginning at 3 p.m., and ending at 1 a.m.