Thursday, March 31, 2011

This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, March 30, 2011

Click here to read our weekly email of events coming up at St. Patrick's!

Have you dropped off your donations for the Rummage Sale yet? You have until Monday, April 4th to drop donations--call or email Karen with questions (churchoffice@stpatrickschurchdc.org or 202 342-2800).

Rummage Sale is Saturday, April 9th from 8am to 2pm--we still need volunteers for the sale and the clean up!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Sunday, March 20, 2011

"Sherlock" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, March 20, 2011



John 3.1-17

John La Forge, 1880
A 2008 poll taken of teenagers in England found that 23% of the respondents thought Winston Churchill was a fictional character. In the same poll, 58% thought Sherlock Holmes was a real person living at 221B Baker Street. (They’re wrong!)[1]

There are times that I wish Sherlock Holmes were real, but the reality is that he is a figment of our imagination created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1800s. I enjoy reading murder mysteries in the Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie style or watching television shows like Perry Mason, Matlock or Murder, She Wrote. The week before last, I saw the recent Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. It’s not so new anymore, but I was just getting around to it. There were some surprises for me. I would never have imagined the studious sleuth to be skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as he was in this recent adaptation. But there were things that were consistent with the Sherlock Holmes I imagined in my head like the unbelievable ability to gather information and notice everything around him. That is Holmes’ most important skill, to see what others miss. 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

"Sharpen Your Ax." - Henry McQueen, March 13, 2011

Listen to the Audio File
Psalm 32

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always acceptable to you O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Long ago, deep in the north woods there was a group of lumber jacks.  All of these lumber jacks worked hard, but some of the young men thought they not only worked harder but that they were better.  Over a meal these boastful thoughts became words and the words became a challenge; before they knew it, there would be a competition.  The next day, one of the young lumber jacks would see how much wood he could chop compared to the patriarch of the group.  Everyone gathered the next morning.  As the sun rose you could see the able muscles of the tall young man, he was quite an imposing person. You could tell that the more experienced older lumber jack at one time had that same stature, but now age had weathered him.  With the sun up the competition began - wood chips started to fly all around the young lumber jack while the senior lumber jack simply laid out his tools and prepared his work area.  Before long the young lumber jack had removed his shirt and his body was covered in sweat.  The older experienced lumber jack was quietly swinging his axe at a steady pace.  The competition was in full force.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

"Down the Mountain" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, March 6, 2011

Transfiguration - Raphael 1518-1520
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Matthew 17.1-9

The movie Hoosiers is about a small town’s high school basketball team overcoming great odds to win the Indiana State Championship in the 1950’s. The coach, played by Gene Hackman, proves to the team that the game is the same no matter where it is played. His faith in them inspires the team to trust in themselves. The Greatest Game Ever Played is a book and movie based on the 1913 U.S. Open Golf Championship won, in a playoff, by 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet. Ouimet was a caddie at the course where the championship was played and the $50 entry fee challenged the ethic of his working-class family.


Remember the Titans, The Miracle Worker, The Color Purple, Rudy, and even Rocky are stories of ordinary people overcoming great obstacles to achieve extraordinary things.


Thursday, March 3, 2011

This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, March 2, 2011

Click here to learn more about all that's going on at St. Patrick's! Did you check out the snippet of video on the awesome Jubilate Deo musical at church last week?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

"Are We There Yet?" Sermon in Song by the Jubilate Deo Choir, February 27, 2011

A few minutes of the Jubilate Deo performance of "Are We There Yet?" from Sunday, February 27, 2011. Adobe Flash Player Required.