That we may all be one Stuart Higginbotham May 29, 2022 It has been a while since I typed out a manuscript for a sermon. These days, I usually reflect on the text and (try to) listen deeply, then I stand and share what is on my heart. Given where we are, this week it... Continue Reading →
Yearning For–and Resisting–a Transfigured Life
The Last Sunday after the Epiphany February 27, 2022 The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Yearning for--and resisting--a Transfigured Life Of course, I wrestled with what to say in a sermon on a day like today, when we find ourselves witnessing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, wondering how we respond in our interconnected world. We remember... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Second Sunday after Epiphany January 16, 2022 The Practice of Shining Forth As we step more into this year, I feel led to shift the approach of my sermons a bit. I want to look at the readings of the day, the broader tradition that we practice, and then be... Continue Reading →
Grant that we may share the divine life: A Sermon for a New Year
Grant that we may share the divine life Stuart Higginbotham The Second Sunday after Christmas January 2, 2022 I remember getting my first copy of The Book of Common Prayer years ago and slowly flipping through the pages. I had no idea what a “collect” was then, no idea how the pieces fit together, no... Continue Reading →
A New Class in 2022: Healing Images of God: Exploring how we see ourselves, one another, and God
Share in a four-month online class beginning in January! While exploring Matthew Fox’s book Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic--and Beyond, we recognized how our conversations continually returned to the way our image of God affects and shapes our image of ourselves and one another. Of course, our images of God and... Continue Reading →
We’re Crashing Into Each Other
We’re Crashing Into Each Other Stuart Higginbotham Just the other day, I was driving to the office in my new little hybrid car when I stopped in road construction some three miles from our house. I was singing my heart out with Christmas carols (Mariah Carey, but don’t tell anyone), when a large truck suddenly... Continue Reading →
White Man, Black Madonna: Reflection One
White Man, Black Madonna A Journal of Prayer, Reconciliation, and Healing Stuart Higginbotham A replica of Notre Dame Sous le Terre, Our Lady Under the Earth from the Crypt Chapel at Chartres Cathedral, France Back around 2002, I worked in the bookstore at Columbia Theological Seminary when I was a student there. While it was... Continue Reading →
Looking Closely Through Things That Scare Us: Reflecting on Church Life in Stressful Days
Looking closely through things that scare us: Reflecting on Church Life in Stressful Days Stuart Higginbotham I caught myself again this past Sunday walking by the table in the narthex and looking at the attendance sheets for the two services we have. I have done this most Sundays for a while now. I would love... Continue Reading →
What do you want me to do for you? A Sermon…
Stuart Higginbotham October 24, 2021 Image of "Christ Healing the Blind" “What do you want me to do for you?” I catch myself more often now, I think--I hope. I catch myself when the anger and fatigue and, honestly, disillusionment that seems to have soaked the atmosphere begins to rest heavily on me. I bring... Continue Reading →
Being a “friend of God:” A Sermon for September 12, 2021
Being a “friend of God” Stuart Higginbotham There is a reproduction of this icon, traditionally known to be St. Menas, with Christ, in the Taize' Community In this season of my life, I have found how important it is to start each day with meditation, with this core practice that grounds my day. It is... Continue Reading →