Worship Videos

How do we keep going in challenging times? Not by ourselves. Amid division and destruction, says Father Michael Bird, “we have the clear call to endure together.” We don’t come to church merely for our own benefit. As God meets our needs, we provide for one another. “We are gathered and committed to the care of others.”

The prescription for fear-based frenzy is this: Show gratitude for and encourage one another. “These are the antidotes to passivity,” preaches Mother Kristin Miles. Coming together, then doing the work in community, is how we carry on when times are hard. “Appreciation … moves us to fully live and love.”

The singular idea of the Christian faith is this: God loves us fully. “God did not send his son to save people in the abstract,” preaches the Rev. Phil Jackson. “God loves people in our total individuality, our concreteness.” In turn, we Christians are called to imitate Jesus. We’re meant to love not merely the idea of humanity but the real people in our lives — including our enemies.

How do we build authentic relationships across real difference? By focusing on the ways we’re alike, instead of using discord to cultivate contempt. “We may never fully agree,” says Father Patrick Williams, yet “whatever space we perceive between us is always being shortened by the love of God.”

We don’t see the world the way God does. Yet a persistent prayer practice can shape our hearts and shift our perspective, says Father Michael Bird. “Through prayer, we see the other as a beloved child of God, just the way God sees them — and just the way God sees us.” Understanding that each of us is loved and belongs is where the work for justice truly begins.

In our parable this week, Jesus heals 10 people suffering from leprosy, an isolating skin infection. Yet only one, the foreigner, turns back to offer gratitude. This story is part of larger narrative we see across his lessons: “Jesus is not teaching about the quantity of faith — do you have enough? — but the nature of faith,” preaches Mother Kristin Kaulbach Miles. “In short, to have faith is to live and to give thanks.”

The standard for Christian faithfulness is a high bar: “You must be not just forgiving; you must be endlessly ready to forgive,” preaches Father Phil Jackson — notwithstanding the seriousness of the apology you may or may not have received. It’s not work that garners the reward or recognition we might expect. Rather it’s a way of living that requires deep humility.

The message of this week’s Gospel reading is clear: You cannot serve God and wealth. “In a world that is hurting, can we set aside the inconsequential things we allow to define us — our money, our status, our privilege — and can we see the other?” asks Father Michael Bird. Unlike the rich man in the parable, who ignored the needs of his poor neighbor Lazarus, we must view one another as equals and freely share our resources. “Jesus is the chasm crosser,” says Father Bird, and following his example, we must bridge our divisions to embrace the possibility of love.

When it comes to money, Christians must exhibit practical wisdom. We get into trouble when we treat our finances as something abstract — separate from our common human life. “Engagement with money is not irrelevant but necessary for Christian discipleship,” says guest preacher the Very Rev. Dr. David Monteith, dean of Canterbury Cathedral. “[It’s] about the community doing the right thing, in the right way, for the right reason: for the sake of others.”

Trinity Church reenacted a solemn, annual tradition, recalling and honoring those persons who lost their lives 24 years ago on 9/11, by ringing the Bell of Hope at St. Paul’s Chapel at 8:46am, the moment the first hijacked plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.