"Who do you say that I am?" How do you answer that question?

The youth from the J2A class, part of the Journey to Adulthood youth formation program, report back to the parish about their experiences on their pilgrimage to Greece this summer.

When someone else's humanity touches our humanity, we are moved to respond.

Today we say welcome to our candidates for baptism. Welcome to the body of Christ. Welcome to the Church, a flawed place, with flawed people where amazing things can happen. Welcome to a relationship with God for whom problems are neither too trivial nor too big.

What we have here is an outline of the life of Christ and, by extension, an outline for the life in Christ, the life of the Christian. He took, he blessed, he broke, he gave.

"I AM CONVINCED, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." It is my prayer that God convinces you, too.

Paul's concerned that we know that doesn't mean we get to do whatever we want without some concern for the other, without some vision that holds everybody together, where the vision is what dominates, and not one group or another group seeking power. Morality means being concerned for the other.

We are created in the image of a great creator, one who plants and tends and love us into being. In that image, we are called to do the same.

Hear what Jesus says to his followers: "Take my yokeand learn from me." In fact the most efficient way to teach an animal to plow is to harness them to one who already knows how. Whether in a more gentle horse collar or the more primitive ox yoke the reality is that the ignorant beginner is yoked to one with whom to share the weight at the very least. And it doesn't take much more to realize that a yoke feels even better if we go in the same direction as the senior partner, to go in the direction being led.

20th annual Integrity Eucharist, kicking off Gay Pride Weekend in Atlanta. Guest preacher: The Rev'd Winnie Varghese, Episcopal chaplain at Columbia University in NYC.