Call for a Day of Prayer “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He… Read more »
Holy Cross Blog
Holy Encounters
A reading from the Gospel of John 4:5-42 Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw… Read more »
A Service of Light and Peace shared between Jews and Christians on Hanukkah/Christmas Eve
On December 24, 2016, members of Holy Cross Episcopal Church and Jewish Congregation B’nai Tikvah hosted a joint service of worship for the First Night of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve. Rabbi Ben had the idea, and our leaders were supportive. Rabbi Ben, Cantor Larry and I met several times to carefully plan the worship. We… Read more »
Who Is Jesus?
Icon: Our Lady of the Sign by Daniel Bissler (may not be reproduced in any form) Who is that Jewish peasant man standing in a little river? Keep your eyes on him. Listen to what he says, watch how he deals with people around him and the creation within which he moves. See how he… Read more »
The Artwork of John August Swanson
Dear People of Holy Cross, Since we relocated in 2012, I have been interested in finding religious artwork that might hang at Holy Cross. Until mid-September, nothing had yet emerged. But then I attended an art show at St. James Episcopal Church in La Jolla where 25 works of John August Swanson were displayed for… Read more »
Religious Practice and Improved Health
May, A.D. 2012 Dear friends in Christ, Of late, I’ve read about several studies attempting to correlate religious practice (i.e., church attendance) and improved health. While researchers hold differing views about whether or not church attendance correlates positively with physical health (by measuring blood pressure, heart rate, brain activity, etc), many more researchers agree that… Read more »
Icon of Our Lady of the Sign
Artist: Daniel Bissler Icons have often been referred to as windows into heaven. The icon of Our Lady of the Sign is an icon of the Most Holy Virgin. In Greek, the Mother of God is called “Theotokos”. The image of the Theotokos appeared in the catacombs of the first Christians. The “Icon of the Sign”… Read more »
January Crossings 2015
Dear People of Holy Cross, One of the little-recognized blessings of our faith community is the strength of relationship within our homes and families. How many churches have family members within one church (brothers and sisters, parents and children) who go back not just 10 or 20 but 60-80 years? Furthermore, if the married couples… Read more »
Easter 2016
Dear People of God, When in your life have you felt loved unconditionally? My hunch is that each of us has glimpsed moments of beautiful, radiant unconditional love between others. If we’re blessed, we have experienced it for ourselves: in the forgiveness of one from whom we expected punishment, but received instead, mercy; in finding… Read more »
No thanks. I’m good.
Hang around young people these days and sooner or later you are bound to hear this phrase. Someone asks “Would you like to share this _________ with me?” Another responds “No thanks. I’m good.” Or “Could I buy your lunch today?” “No thanks. I’m good.” Or “Do you need help?” You say “No thanks. I’m… Read more »
