The Feast of the Epiphany Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 The Rev. Dr Deborah Meister A few hours from my childhood home, there is a marvelous set of caverns, named Luray. Descending deep into the limestone hills, the caverns comprise two and a half kilometers of extraordinary rock formations, cave […]

Second Sunday in Advent Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8 The Rev’d Dr. Deborah Meister I arrived in Los Angeles during a 10-year drought. After my first year there, I moved into a one-room cottage behind an apartment building which boasted a treasure: it had its own garden. Bare, brown earth. […]

All Saints Day I John 3:1-3; Ps 34 Matt 5:1-12 Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister On November 1st, 1997, I spent the evening at a choir rehearsal, practicing the pieces of music which we would sing for All Saints Sunday. We sang There is a Balm in Gilead (my stepfather’s favorite spiritual) and Stanford’s setting of […]

Feast of St. Francis                             Jer 22:13-16; Ps 148:7-14 Gal 6:14-18; Matt 11: 25-30  The Rev’d Dr. Deborah Meister  In August of 1224, St.Francis took three of his companions into the wilderness for a time of fasting and of prayer.  They went there because Francis was dying, and he sought some space to prepare for his […]

Feast of Holy Cross Num 21:4b-9; Ps 98:1-6 I Cor 1:18-24; John 3:13-17 The Rev’d Dr. Deborah Meister “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Cor 1: 18) At the beginning of the fifth century, […]

Feast of St. Mary the Virgin Isaiah 7:10-15; Ps 132:6-10, 13-14 Gal 4:4-7; Luke 1:46-55 The Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister Sermon on Facebook If you travel on the Western coast of Turkey, about halfway down, you come to the ruins of Ephesus, a significant port in the ancient world where the apostle Paul founded one […]

I Kings 19:9-18; Ps 85: 8-13 Rom 10: 5-15; Matt 14:22-33 The Rev. Dr Deborah Meister Sermon on Facebook Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but […]

Sermon for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost – July 19, 2020 – Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister Isaiah 44:6-8; Ps 86:11-17 Rom 8: 12-25; Matt 13:24-30, 36-43 Sermon on Facebook Early yesterday morning, I took my dog for a walk; then I washed my hands. Later, we went to Mount Royal Park; then I washed my […]

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost June 28, 2020    Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister Sermon on Facebook Jer 28:5-9; Ps 89:1-4, 15-18 Rom 6:12-23; Matt 10:40-42 Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing; from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness For I am persuaded that your love is established forever; you have set your […]

Sermon for Trinity Sunday by the Rev’d Dr. Deborah Meister Gen 1:1-2:4a; Ps 8 2 Cor 13:11-13; Matt 28:16-20 Sermon on Facebook While I was in seminary, I was privileged to see an extraordinary exhibit at the National Gallery in London. Called “Seeing Salvation,” it presented an array of images of Christ spanning almost 2,000 […]

4 Easter 2020 Acts 2:42-47; Ps 23 I Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 The Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister Sermon on Facebook (video) A few years ago, I chose to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrim road which winds its way from all over Europe to Santiago de Compostella, in the northwest […]

Good Friday: April 10, 2020 Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Ps 22:1-11 Heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42 The Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister Yesterday evening, I was deeply moved by the conclusion of our service. Jane read the words, “And all the disciples abandoned him and fled,” and we entered into a time of silence. Then, slowly, one by […]