Sermons

We love people who are the greatest,  those who amaze us  with their skills and talents,  Tiger Woods in his heyday multi-talented superstars like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Beyoncé,  or gymnast Simone Biles who is certainly a GOAT— greatest of all time— in gymnastics and  a courageous crusader against the abuse of gymnasts.  We love knowing  […]Read more “Sermon for Sunday, September 19, 2021”

Preached by the Rev. E. Suzanne Wille Well, hello, All Saints! I can’t tell you how happy I am to FINALLY be here! As my home church, the church that sponsored me for ordination, the church that has been my gold standard of what a joyful, welcoming church looks like, you’ve often been on my […]Read more “The Rev. E. Suzanne Wille’s First Sermon at All Saints’ Chicago”

I speak to you in the name of one God, Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen + The way forward requires remembering the wisdom of the past…the way forward requires remembering the wisdom of the past. This summer, I was gifted a journaling companion entitled “The Next Right Thing,” by author Emily P. Freeman. It […]Read more “The Way Forward Requires Remembering the Wisdom of the Past”

Sunday Sermon, 11:00 a.m. service | August 29, 2021 Sermon for the 11:00 a.m. service on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, August 29, 2021, preached by the Rev. Dr. Mark Andrew Jefferson, assistant professor of homiletics at Virginia Theological Seminary Dr. Jefferson preached three distinct different sermons at each of our Sunday services at 8am, […]Read more “Defiled and Defiant”

Sunday Sermon, 9:00 a.m. service | August 29, 2021 Sermon for the 9:00 a.m. service on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, August 29, 2021, preached by the Rev. Dr. Mark Andrew Jefferson, assistant professor of homiletics at Virginia Theological Seminary Dr. Jefferson preached three distinct different sermons at each of our Sunday services at 8am, […]Read more “The Hearer in the Mirror”

Sunday Sermon, 8:00 a.m. service | August 29, 2021 Sermon for the 8:00 a.m. service on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, August 29, 2021, preached by the Rev. Dr. Mark Andrew Jefferson, assistant professor of homiletics at Virginia Theological Seminary Dr. Jefferson preached three distinct different sermons at each of our Sunday services at 8am, […]Read more “The Power of Perseverance”

Hello and Good Morning! Many of you probably do not know me. My name is Logan Lovelace. I am a seminarian at Virginia Theological Seminary, going into my senior year and I have been in Chicago this summer doing my clinical pastoral education or chaplaincy training at Northwestern Hospital. I am from the Diocese of […]Read more “Steps Toward Peace: Finding the Right Shoes”

We are what we eat —- it’s true isn’t it…every cell in our body is created by the food we eat, water we drink, the air we breathe.  We can be a little preoccupied/sometimes obsessed with food in our culture.  What to eat.  When to eat.  Where to eat.  We have millions of books about […]Read more “Come, Believe, Eat”

In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 4, which we began reading last week and finish reading today, St, Paul is basically outlining what it means to be in community and to live as followers of the “Way” – a title given to the early followers of Christ before they were known as Christians. […]Read more “Being the Bread of Life”

Last week the Gospel told the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish. Afterward, I began thinking about those people, who had ventured out to find Jesus, motivated, as we are told, by “the signs that he was doing for the sick.” I’ve tried to put myself in their […]Read more “Possibility: The First Step is Believing”

Who was your childhood hero? Maybe it was a favorite author, an actor, an athlete, maybe a particularly cool seminarian. For me it was Omar Visquel, the shortstop for the Cleveland Indians in the 90s. I grew up as a huge baseball fan and he was my guy. He won 11 gold glove awards, nine […]Read more “Accountability as Heroic”

I come to you in the name of the One on whom all our hope is founded, Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit.  AMEN A recent NPR story headline, “if your brain feels foggy and you’re tired all the time, you’re not alone,” pretty much sums it up for me. So when I read today’s gospel […]Read more “Come Away and Rest a While”

Twice in my life I have found myself lost in a great work of art and therein almost anesthetized to the great act of violence the very work itself was portraying. This happened once while I was listening to a soprano sing an aria from the opera Salome.  Her impeccably clear soprano voice carried me […]Read more “Art, Opera, and John the Baptizer”

“And he was amazed at their unbelief.” I speak to you in the name of one God, Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen + This morning, we hear about Jesus returning home after some time away—and not just any normal time, but time in which he has been transformed into more of who God made […]Read more “Turning Unbelief Into Belief”

+In the Name of God: Who was, and is, and is to come.  Amen. “Now as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you – so we want you to excel in this generous undertaking.”  2 Corinthians 8:7 Since this is my last […]Read more “Generosity of Spirit”

Thank you to four of our high school graduates (class of 2021) for preparing reflections in lieu of a sermon today. Specials to Sarah Palmentera-Reid, Grace and Peter Hanson, and Nora Lumsden!!!Read more “Youth Sunday Sermon(s)”

Sermon Preached at All Saints’ Chicago (virtually and in person) on Sunday, June 13, 2021. 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6): Mark 4:26-34 I speak to you in the name of one God, Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen + I’ve recently started watching a new PBS series called “Human: The World Within.” It is […]Read more “Exercising the Muscle of Faith”

+In the Name of God:  who was, and is, and is to come.  Amen. “Then Jesus went home; and the crowd came together again, so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat.  When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his […]Read more “The Family of God”

Last week I was talking to one of my colleagues about yet another of the delightful posts he had written describing the theological musings/pronouncements  of his four year old son, Isaac.  Something to do with the Holy Spirit, I believe.  It made sense given that Pentecost had just happened.  I jokingly asked Eric what Isaac […]Read more “The Holy Trinity and Flash Mobs”

Who among us – mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend – has not spent time deeply engaged with a young child in a game of “peek-a-boo?” You know that game, where you are before a young child and you either hide behind your hands or their favorite blanket, and then pop out and say […]Read more “Ascension Day Sermon (transferred) 2021”