Cross Connections

We're on a break this week, so we offer you this re-run (or as we call it, a back-track) of our episode on the Gospel of Luke. We're reading through Luke in our Sunday morning lectionary currently, so we thought it was a good time. Here are the details from our first time through:

On today's episode...

We discuss the Gospel of Luke!

Here how Luke, a synoptic Gospel, is both like, but also very different from Matthew and Mark which we’ve already discussed.

We go over some Christology – the theology of Jesus – eventhough we didn’t mean to!

And of course, we go down a few rabbit holes and mention afew spoilers – especially regarding Acts, which is likely written by the same author as Luke.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s EpiscopalChurch in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on ourwebsite at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use yourn recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill.Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’sworship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠⁠stdavidschurch.org⁠⁠⁠.

On today's episode...

The Rev. Rick Morley comes to you solo today with a shortepisode on how to pray the Psalms. He gives an in-depth discussion about the Psalter included in the Book of Common Prayer and then gives a demonstration of using SingtheOffice.com. You can check it out if you also want to learn to sing the psalms in Gregorian Chant.

We’re taking a break next week and then we’ll be back onJune 9th with our episode on Job.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on ourwebsite at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill.Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’sworship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/.

On today's episode...

We welcome to the podcast Sister Kristina Frances, Superior of the Society of St. Margaret in Duxbury, MA. Sister Kristina talks with us about the Psalms, praying and singing them in everyday life, and talks to us about the life of a member of an Episcopal Religious Order.

Hear her dispel some myths you may have picked up from popular culture and discuss the benefits of adding periods of silence to your daily life. (Observe that asterisk not just in the Psalms perhaps…)

Sister Kristina offered us several resources for ways to add prayer into daily life, including the Daily Office resources from Forward Movement, the Society of St. Francis, and the Mission of St. Clare. She also shared her favorite book with us, "Cats in the Belfry," and we laughed about a YouTube video containing silent monks.

If you want to learn more about Religious Orders, how to become a part of one, or just where you might be able to visit on retreat, check out all the resources linked from the Episcopal Church’s website under the section for Religious Orders and Christian Communities.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠ https://stdavidschurch.org/.

We have a guest on the pod today, Elaine Sonnenberg Whitelock, St. David’s Director of Music. After an introduction to Elaine, we have a conversation on how Psalms are used musically in worship. Thanks to Elliot, we get several musical terms defined and we talk about favorite Psalms and Psalm settings.

In today’s episode you’ll hear clips of sung Psalms out of several of St. David’s worship services this year, directed by Elaine and sung by St. David’s Adult Choir or soloists. You can find the following at these links:

Introduction: Psalm 104 during Pentecost Sunday worship on Sunday, June 8, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/live/lsSxiAcaq3Q?si=BUw21fTo1wbvsmns&t=1096

Psalm 84 “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” from the Brahms Requiem sung at St. David's Easter Choir Concert on Sunday, May 4, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/live/3s6hBsvVyzI?si=oOEowq0JY0XWPrQ2&t=1162

Psalm 51 from Ash Wednesday Worship on March 5, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/live/egJg8hVEooA?si=APu5oq9v6MrqqmHs&t=2519

Psalm 22 arrangement by Peter Hallock at Maundy Thursday worship on April 17, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/live/SMr6GFdUYQs?si=L9ijCxt5mX7nKpZp&t=4373

There is also a very brief clip of the tune, Blaenwern, used with the hymn text, “Love Divine All Loves Excelling,” by Charles Wesley.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠ https://stdavidschurch.org/.

Today's episode is part one of our June series on the book of Psalms.

Psalms is one of the longest books of the Bible – though, as we discover – not THE longest.

Who wrote the Psalms, and why do we (mistakenly) think it was King David?

We discuss what a Psalm is and the different styles and types of Psalms that are compiled into the book, from Psalms of praise to court psalms to imprecatory psalms – similar to the rage prayers of the Rev. Elizabeth Riley, an Episcopal priest, TikTok personality (@theRevRiley), and author of “Rage Prayers.”

We talk about how the Psalms are broken into five books, mirroring the five books of the Torah, and how the poetry style of the Psalms is frequently parallelism. What is the most important Psalm? Did you know that there are other "psalms" in the Bible – but we don’t usually call them that.

We end with our best tips for reading the Book of Psalms, and hope that they help you this month!

For this episode, Elliot references “The Book of Psalms” by Robert Alter, as well as our New Oxford Annotated NRSV Bible, as always.

PS: The Feast Day of St. Dunstan is May 19th.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠/

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠ https://stdavidschurch.org/.

In the Book of Esther, we’re back to one simple story, from start to finish, a bit like the Book of Ruth. Though much bloodier than Ruth, this is a story you might find in a Children’s Bible, especially if you have “Bible Storybook from The Bible App for Kids” by YouVersion and OneHope like Natalee does.

We talk about the origins of the book of Esther, where and when it was probably written, and especially discuss the novelistic style of its writing. A work of historical fiction more than objective history, Esther is full of fools, comedic overreactions, reversals, and ultimate triumph for the Jewish people. This story’s goal is to tell a tale to explain the festival of Purim.

Did you realize that Purim is the only Jewish religious tradition authorized by a woman? We celebrate that and discuss Purim traditions, including masquerade and hamantaschen, before we jump down a rabbit hole with Rick. Rick’s rabbit hole includes the Septuagint, the Masoretic texts, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. We also learn that Rick is a Dead Head.

We end the episode by discussing the controversial nature of Esther and follow an unexpected turn to Martin Luther, who hated the book of Esther. Find out why and then have some fun with us in the Martin Luther insult generator, which surprisingly leads us back around to Esther.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠ https://stdavidschurch.org/.

On today's episode...

We’re in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which are a combined story of the return of the Judeans from Babylon under Persian rule.

We talk first about the various feasts which are brought back in these texts, including the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot.

Then we discuss the Aramaic language being used as the official language of the Persian empire, and how its use lasted into Jesus’ time.

We move on to the growing standardization of temple liturgy during this period, as they try to reconstruct the temple in Jerusalem. Why did the first people to return begin rebuilding by starting with the altar, rather than the foundation of the Holy of Holies? We notice the opposition to the rebuilding, and how we find opposition to new things in our own day.

We also encounter some things in Ezra and Nehemiah that can be a bit troublesome. We consider how neither of them is ever quoted in the Gospels. In fact, Elliot points out several passages of Luke that stand in direct contradiction to the impulses of the writers of Ezra and Nehemiah. So, we wonder, how do we read these texts as Christians today?

In the end, we do find some joy in these two books, especially in the way the people rejoice and contribute both money and effort into the rebuilding of the temple, and in the freedom of getting to be themselves and come into their own again as a people.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠ https://stdavidschurch.org/.

On today's episode...

We’re in the fourth and final of the Gospels, the Gospel of John. What’s clear here is that (in a sing-song voice) “one of these things is not like the other ones.”

John is missing parables and miracles are reframed as “signs.” His focus is strongly on belief, but why is that exactly?

Recorded during Holy Week 2025, on Maundy Thursday, we noted that John’s Gospel is missing the institution of The Lord’s Supper, the Holy Eucharist.

We also discussed the phrase “eternal life” and what it probably means to John.

We wrestled a bit with the history of how the Gospel of John, and many of our Gospels have been used throughout Christianity, for better or worse.

Finally, we ranked our Gospels in order of favorite to least favorite. Call in to tell us your own!

Does our podcast need groupie names? Let us know.

And if you didn’t recognize “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band either, you can listen to it here: https://youtu.be/CxrsVV5N06I?si=AIy-661pil_C38Xe

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠ https://stdavidschurch.org/.

We continue the first part of this new section of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures written the Chronicler. This person (or group of persons) is responsible for first and second Chronicles and for Ezra and Nehemiah.

Today we focus mostly on the Temple, the heart to be found here in Chronicles, and a few niggling issues with some of what is here.

Are issues of the heart and pride bigger concerns for the Chronicler?

We also make note of what is not here, notably the faults of some of the kings of Judah, and specific prophets who took up so much of the text in Kings. This is probably in part because references to the northern kingdom of Israel are few and far between. This text continues to focus almost entirely on Judah, and only mention Israel (meaning the northern kingdom, rather than the whole of the Jewish people) when in direct relationship to the activities of Judah.

What of any of this content carries through into the New Testament and into modern day?

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at https://stdavidschurch.org/.

On today's episode...

We introduce a new section of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures written by a new author, the Chronicler. This person (or group of persons) is responsible for first and second Chronicles and for Ezra and Nehemiah.

Since this account is a second account of the same stories we’ve heard in Samuel and Kings, it’s hard not to spend a good amount of time comparing the versions. We spend a bit of time considering the intentions of the Chronicler’s choices.

On the other hand, was this the best scripture source for a stewardship or capital campaign? Maybe…

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠⁠stdavidschurch.org⁠⁠⁠.