Gary Hall Christ Church Cranbrook             Lent is a season of self-examination, and so the church does things differently during Lent as a way of refocusing our attention.  If you listen carefully, you’ll notice that our words are more penitential, our music less celebratory, our altar flowers more muted than during what we call “ordinary [...]

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Gary Hall Christ Church Cranbrook February 19, 2012 [The Last Sunday after the Epiphany]             I begin this sermon with a confession. Like many American men, I am in the grip of something bigger than I am.  That’s right:  I, too, am suffering from “Linsanity”, a condition defined as an obsessive interest in the play [...]

No matter how many times I read Mark’s Gospel, I always find it full of surprises.  Last week’s passage told how Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law.  Today’s shows Jesus healing a leper.  Last Sunday, when I was leading a retreat at Camp Stevens in Julian, California, we discussed the first healing story as part of the [...]

Gary Hall Christ Church Cranbrook                A couple of weeks ago I had a free evening and went to see Martin Scorsese’s new movie, “Hugo”.  It’s a beautiful motion picture, a combination of children’s fantasy and loving history of the early days of movies.  I’ve long admired Scorsese’s films:  even though most of them [...]

Sermon: 01/22/12 – Epiphany 3, Year B (RCL)                               Beth Taylor Jonah 3 and Mark 4 (Jonah, Andrew and Simon, and MLK)                 “Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on, Let me stand.” For many of you, hearing this hymn and the other gospel music we sing today is something you can appreciate as [...]

Gary Hall Christ Church Cranbrook January 15, 2012 [Second Sunday after the Epiphany]             I had a sobering experience earlier this week.  On January 1, Christ Church Cranbrook changed insurance providers to take advantage of the savings offered by participating in the national church’s denominational health plan.  I needed to refill a prescription, so I [...]

Sermon Preached by The Reverend Joyce Matthews at Christ Church Cranbrook, January 8, 2012 [The First Sunday after the Epiphany 1] Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7, Mark 1:4-11 January 8, 2012 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in your sights Oh Lord our strength and [...]

Gary Hall Christ Church Cranbrook December 24, 2011 [Christmas Eve]  December has been a busy time for us, so Kathy and I have not had a chance to see the new Muppet movie yet.  But one night last week a cable channel showed the 1984 classic, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and we decided that we’d [...]

  Sunday, December 4, 2011 There was not a sermon this Sunday due to the Advent Procession – The Great “O” Antiphons. Come back soon for video clips of this beautiful service.