October • "Creation Season at Calvary" by Ellen Roberds
"Creation Season, like all liturgical seasons is a thoughtful framework to help us explore theological ideas. In recent years, churches have begun to explore formally our relationship, as Christian people, to God’s creations...”
September • "All Shall Be Well" by Eyleen Farmer
"One way to think of Calvary Church is to imagine ourselves as members of a family—brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers to each other. And that all of us are a community committed to falling more deeply in love with God...”
August • "Happy 179th Birthday, Calvary!" by Philip Wiehe
"On August 6, Calvary will be 179 years old. We will celebrate this event on Sunday, August 7, both in the worship services and during the summer Fellowship & Coffee in the Great Hall following the 10:00 a.m. worship service. Look forward to Baptism, bells, balloons, and birthday cake!...”
July • "Come to the Table" by The Strategic Planning Team
"The Strategic Planning Team, called by the Vestry, has been meeting weekly since mid-May. Our key directive is to: “With God’s help, define who we are as a church and discern our future ministries...”
June • "Pentecost on the Bluff" by Ben Robertson
"Memphis is a city on the move. These are not mere platitudes on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce – since I arrived in Memphis, I have been impressed,if not energized, by the movement of this city...."
May 15 • "A New Path" by Ellen Roberds
"Confessions: I sometimes forget my reusable
cloth bags (no matter how colorful)
just inside the back door.
I often leave wet clothes in the
washing machine where they begin
to smell and have to be washed
again.
I regularly let my kids play in the sprinkler in the
front yard...."
April 24 • "Calvary's Story" by Philip Wiehe
"Shortly after I began to serve at Calvary, I
invited you all to share with me either singly or
in groups your thoughts on the past, present,
and future of the parish. Many of you accepted
this invitation and my report back to you is
now available..."
April 3 • "The Noticing Jesus" by Eyleen Farmer
"'Consider the lilies,' Jesus said to his disciples. The text
doesn’t say what time of year it was. The Lectionary appoints
this lesson, found in both Matthew and Luke, at Thanksgiving
or during Epiphany—during the fall or winter, in other words.
But I think Jesus must have been bowled over by the beauty
of roadside flowers in the summertime..."
March 13 • "The Gates of Lent" by Ben Robertson
"In 2005, a unique and temporary sculpture was assembled in New
York City’s Central Park: The Gates by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
The work consisted of 7,500 square “gates,” each 16 feet high and
various widths..."
February 20 • "Lenten Preaching Series" by Philip Wiehe
"The Israelites did not like it when God spoke to them
directly but were agreeable for God to speak to Moses and Moses to speak to them. I am
confident that God is speaking to the preachers we have invited to the Lenten Preaching
Series this year and that we will be inspired by their words and their presence..."
January 30 • "The Body of Christ" by Philip Wiehe
"I thought it might be helpful to summarize some of things that I have
been sharing with you during the adult class the last two weeks
..."
January 9 • "Another Love Story" by Eyleen Farmer
"There’s nothing that
stirs us like a love story.
And while a “happily
ever after” romance
makes us happy and
is often touching, it’s
the more unusual kind
of story—the unlikely
or odd attraction, the
heroic act of devotion,
the rough and tumble set
of circumstances—that
makes for the stories I
like best..."
2010
December 14 • "It's Fruitcake Weather! " by Ben Robertson
"One of my favorite rituals from childhood Decembers was Truman
Capote’s “A Christmas Memory.” Every year a storyteller would
visit my elementary school and recall a boy named Buddy and his
annual Christmas ritual of making fruitcakes with an elderly cousin…"
November 28 • "God's Time" by Philip Wiehe
"Advent is the start of the church year and is a time of
preparation for Christmas. But it is not just about normal
time…"
November 14 • "Remembering Today" by Ellen Roberds
"It is hard to describe the subtleties of sunlight
with the move from summer to fall. But you
know them…"
October 31 • "Calvary Welcomes New Interim Rector" by Allison Cates
"Calvary’s Vestry is happy to announce that, after much
prayer and consideration, The Rev. Philip Wiehe (we-uh)
has been offered and has accepted Calvary’s call
to serve as Interim Rector…"
October 17 • "Giving It All Away" by Eyleen Farmer
"One of my favorite television programs is the Sunday night CBS news magazine, 60 Minutes. I was particularly fascinated with a recent feature
story, “The Gates Foundation: Giving Away a Fortune…"
October 3 • "Top Ten Lists" by Andrew Moore
"In 1998 the American Film Institute started
creating a bunch of “Top 100” lists. “100
Years…100 Movies.” “100 Years…100 Stars.”
“100 Years…100 Laughs…"
September 19 • "Faith in Community" by Bill Kolb
"When I was a young priest, one of the
things that struck me, especially when I
was able to spend an entire day visiting
in peoples’ homes, was that there was 'a
lot of pain out there…'"
September 5 • "Creation" by Ellen Roberds
"Creation. Destruction. Murder. Sin. Sin again. And again. Hubris. An
Ark. A Tower. A Talking Serpent. Nephilim. Paradise. Love. A Tree of
Knowledge. Animals: two by two. Families. Out of the void…"
August 22 • "The Full Catastrophe" by Eyleen Farmer
"One of my all time favorite lines comes from the Nikos
Kazantzakis novel (and film), Zorba the Greek. Zorba is
asked if he is married..."
August 8 • "Growing Together in Christ " by Allison Cates, Senior Warden
"At this time, we find the community in which we live and worship to
be changing..."
July 25 • "Zip Code Parties to Return in September" by Ebet Peeples
"In 2002, Calvary was between rectors. When our Interim
Rector Bob Hansel and his wife Dale took up residence
in downtown Memphis, some Calvary parishioners in
the 38103 Zip Code decided to throw them a party..."
July 11 • "Living in Community" by Andy MacBeth
"In my June 27 sermon, I talked about how the ways
we communicate can build up—or undermine—community..."
June 20 • "What's Your Name?" by Heather Anderson
"On Sunday mornings, I love watching the children come
up the stairs to the second floor with their families..."
June 13 • "We Celebrate - and Grieve!" by Andy MacBeth
"I have very mixed feelings about George Yandell’s newly announced
plan to take up a new
ministry in Jasper, Georgia..."
May 30 • "Planning Your Summer " by Andy MacBeth
"For me, life in the summer is not necessarily less hectic
than the rest of the year. Staff and clergy vacations mean
that those of us on duty are often filling the shoes of those
who are off. There is, however, a definite shift of gears..."
May 16 • "Connections in Community" by Andy MacBeth
"Sometimes I long for the Middle Ages—not for the plumbing or the health
care, certainly—but for the stability and continuity. Back in 1967, when I first began to feel the call to ordained ministsry..."
May 2 • "Playback" by Ellen Roberds
"Playback. It’s a simple concept. The audience
is invited to share a moment, a feeling, and
eventually stories..."
April 18 • "Thank You Department " by Andy MacBeth
"Sometimes I feel like I work in the complaint department. In one day, I
can get comments about the failures of the air conditioning system, the
unreliability of some ministry group’s volunteers, or something that was
not right about Sunday’s liturgy.
But there’s another side to this. Calvary’s rector also gets to hear a lot of
messages of gratitude, and the last few weeks have been full of that..."
April 4 • "New Life" by George Yandell
"Resurrection: Jesus rose from death before anyone else knew of it.
He rose alone, long before dawn, on the first day of the week..."
March 21 • "Lenten Discipline " by Andy MacBeth
"The recognition that God is not impressed by human
acts of piety is almost part of Calvary’s DNA. We
focus our energy on making the world a better place..."
March 7 • "Forgive Us Our Debts" by George Yandell
"Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite fiction authors. I was surprised when I found her article titled "A Matter of Life and Debt," which she wrote about the debt crisis around the world. Some of Ms. Atwood's words..."
February 21 • "Opening Doors" by Ellen Roberds
"Calvary's halls are filled with visiting preachers and city visitors. The Lenten Preaching Series provides a place for people to gather and to grow..."
February 7 • "Lenten Preaching Series " by Andy MacBeth
"It is a pleasure to announce our preachers for the 2010 Lenten Preaching Series at
Calvary Church. We look forward to welcoming you to our 12:05 noonday preaching
services and to the wonderful Waffle Shop lunches held just downstairs each day..."
January 24 • "Updating Your Job Description" by Andy MacBeth
"Calvary staff members have been working on updating our
job descriptions. It is good to be clear about what each of
us does, to whom we report, and things like that. You need
a good job description if you want to be able to effectively
evaluate your work..."
January 10 • "Farewell, John Palmer" by Andy MacBeth
"Parishioner John Palmer has played the organ at our 7:45 a.m. service for twenty years..."