Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion University City

The question makes us deeply uncomfortable. But our rector thinks that has to be the case. When you look through the lens of systemic injustice, there is no denying that the Church, that those of us who claim to follow Jesus, have contributed to and benefited from the exploitation of women and people of color.

If Joseph was alive today, might Joseph identify as gay, or bi, or trans or queer? What if young Joseph asked Jacob for a princess dress? And what if Jacob said yes? What if Jacob responded with affirming and lavish love?

Jacob is a trickster, and whether any given trick was just or right is a hard question to ask. But could trickery be a blessing? Could a willingness to bend the rules save lives? Is this story a witness to what the late scholar Katie Cannon called “God’s Fierce Whimsy?"

Jesus looked out on a group of tired, frustrated, oppressed people. He told them, "you get a choice of where to live." You can stay in this tired frustrated place. Or Jesus said, you can follow me...

Day by day, we work for justice without judgement.

The Rev. Beth Scriven preaches at Holy Communion on July 12, 2020 on the love that God has for all types of bodies.

The American story holds more promise than its framers were initially aware of or could have ever imagined. Our job--as Americans who are followers in the Jesus Movement --is to ask ourselves, “How do we help America live into this promise?”

Our Rector preaches on Pride Sunday: "Even when the world is loveless, even when the world would sacrifice some of our siblings, God will conquer. God will have the last word.

As people who follow the loving, liberating, life giving God, it is our work to take the knives out of the hands of those who think they are enacting justice. And God takes pride when we keep on marching."

Again and again in Genesis, we find the stories of rivals. Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Essau. It's almost as if the Bible is trying to tell us something about how we relate to one another. And today we enter again the story of Sarah and Hagar.

The Bishop of Missouri visits Holy Communion, the day after his consecration, and tells the story of Frankie Muse Freeman...