Rogation Days are traditionally observed on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day (May 25 this year), though in practice they may be observed on other days. Here at Holy Apostles we will mark them a day early this coming Sunday. Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne, France, is credited with originating the tradition of fasting and prayer in the 5th century -- the goal was to prepare for the feast of the Ascension and to beseech God to forestall any impending calamities. (The word "rogation" comes from the Latin rogare, meaning "to ask.") Farmers would often have their crops blessed by a priest at this time....

Happy Easter!... --- Lent, Holy Week, and Easter can be an emotional roller coaster, full of ups and downs and twists and turns. So much so, that many of us metaphorically or even literally (for church musicians and clergy!) collapse after Easter Day! The week after the Sunday of the Resurrection can feel enervated and even anti-climactic. And yet we could instead be surrounding and infusing ourselves with the joy of new life!...

Today, February 24, is the feast day of St. Matthias the Apostle. Does he sound familiar? If you don’t remember his name from the lists of the twelve apostles in the gospels, you are correct -- he isn’t there! That’s because he was chosen to be an apostle later, as we read in the opening chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. After Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter stood up among the believers -- a crowd of about one hundred twenty persons -- and made a suggestion. He told of the horrible death of Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus (see Acts 1:18 if you are interested in the gory details)....

I published my first piece on Huffington Post this morning! I was inspired by Bishop Andrew’s sermon on Sunday, and prodded to write something by Tom Cunningham – and voila! You can find it on the Huffington Post website...

As I marched with the Women's March on NYC this past weekend (well, really, it wasn't so much a march as a very slow shuffle!), I was overwhelmed by how joyful the huge crowd was, and especially how kind everyone was. Maybe it was the effect of having a large concentration of mothers and grandmothers gathered together with all kinds of other folks, but it was the most helpful group of people I've ever witnessed in midtown Manhattan. And I don't say that lightly -- I often defend New Yorkers as much more kind and generous than our reputation would suggest! But the kindness reached a new peak, I think, this Saturday, as complete strangers helped separated group members reconnect, made way for hapless folks who were just trying to get to the drugstore, and became fast friends along the march route. Couldn't we all do with a bit more kindness in our day-to-day lives? ...

This Friday, January 6, is the Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we remember and celebrate the visit of the Magi to the Christ child. It is an important feast in the liturgical year, and so we will transfer our celebration of Epiphany from Friday to Sunday, January 8. Unfortunately, that means that we will give short shrift to another traditional feast of the liturgical year, the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ – at least on Sunday. However, we will be using the Baptism of Christ gospel lesson as the basis for our Insight worship service at 6:15 pm on Tuesday, January 10 – please consider joining us! And you might also use the story of Jesus’ baptism as a catalyst for your own personal meditation time. To that end, I offer you my version of a guided meditation that our former Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori led for a group of priests of our diocese several years ago....