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Fr. Manny's Blog


Bumpers
A few months ago, the Men of Christ Church organized a bowling event at Bowlero on Snowden River. I'm not the bowling kind of person, but I’d say that every time I have had the opportunity to go bowling, it's been a fun event. The beauty that I have experienced with bowling is that one throws the ball and doesn’t know how the ball is going to go. There’s this salient and humbling feeling that one doesn’t have any control over the ball once it is thrown down the lane. Because
1 day ago5 min read


Accountability
I love Annual Meetings. These gatherings more than bring the congregation together to deliberate on the church’s business and elect new leadership; they provide the opportunity for those who have been entrusted with leadership to give an account of their stewardship. Accountability during Annual Meetings reminds me of a parable Jesus told in Matthew 25, about a master who gave talents to three servants based on their individual ability. To one, he gave five, to another, he ga
Oct 175 min read


Dark Side
I have been doing a lot of walking these past several months. It just so happened that during a conversation with a friend who expressed...
Oct 105 min read


10 Seconds
I always reflect on my sermons after worship. And in my reflection on last Sunday’s sermon on the invisible man, it occurred to me that I...
Oct 35 min read


Mixed Feelings
This past week, I was blessed to join some of my siblings and their families to honor the 40th anniversary of our father’s passing. We...
Sep 265 min read


Killing Charlie
We have all been reeling from the tragic death of Charlie Kirk. He was a hero to some, and a villain to others. I didn’t know about him...
Sep 196 min read


Building Relationships Through Love
A few days ago, members of the Spiritual Life Commission - a group of parishioners who work on the Advent Retreat, Lenten Quiet Day, the...
Sep 124 min read


Belonging
Welcome to Christ Church! Welcome to the beginning of another year! Welcome to the beauty that shapes our lives, our world, and the path...
Sep 54 min read


Welcome, Yehi
Over the past several years, I have been in conversation with Virginia Theological Seminary about the possibility of assigning a...
Aug 292 min read


Glue
A few days ago, I had the unique honor of officiating the wedding of a young couple. The wedding was beautiful, as beautiful as the...
Aug 225 min read


Act 5: The Mop-Up
This is the mop-up stage. The drama is concluded. Those who have been on the drama from the beginning - Creation, Fall, Israel, and...
Aug 85 min read


Act 4 - Jesus: The Human Face Of God
A man who was derided by his people. Condemned to death. Crucified. Raised from the dead. A man who was not understood by those who came...
Aug 17 min read


Act 3 - Israel
God called Abram from the Ur of the Chaldeans and asked him to travel west to a place and land that God would show him. Abram gathered...
Jul 246 min read


Act 2- The Fall
The next big thing is the Fall . I have thought about why the use of that phrase. I think the phrase is interesting because it tells of...
Jul 186 min read


5-Act Play
For those of us who love drama or the theater, plays always have parts in them, and those parts follow a particular sequence. Every drama...
Jul 115 min read


Holy Disruption
At our last Center for Spiritual Nourishment gathering, I talked about Holy Disruption under the broader subject of love and the cross. I...
Jun 275 min read


Wounds
I don’t remember the last time I had a serious wound, but if I look at my legs, I see marks of wounds that I have carried with me since...
Jun 205 min read


Self-Criticism
We can be hard on ourselves - most people, in fact, are hard on themselves, and those people take the gift of self-evaluation very...
Jun 65 min read


Yoda
Last week, I wrote about sharing additional thoughts on the recent Youth Sunday sermon given by our graduating youth members. One part of...
May 305 min read


Skittles
I don’t remember the last time I had Skittles, but a few days ago, someone gave me a sachet of Skittles. The person who gave it to me...
May 165 min read


Faith Of A Fisherman III
To educate our passions is to be human enough to be kind. And kindness in itself, like faith, is a mystery. The fact that we cannot...
Apr 256 min read


Faith Of A Fisherman II
To take any particular step of faith is to feel empowered by something larger than yourself, something bigger than who you are; it is to...
Apr 176 min read
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