Join us for the First Sunday in Advent, 2015

First Sunday of Advent, Sunday, November 29th, 2015

Let me preface what I write to say that I lost my dear mother this week.  She passed away from this life on Thanksgiving morning.  Thus, Thanksgiving 2015 has been a very emotional day for me, to say the least.  The fact that I lost my beloved mother on Thanksgiving itself did encourage me to give thanks for her life and the life that she gave to me.  But more important than the actual life she gave me, I am thankful for the love that she showed me all of my  . . . ahem . . .  39 years here on this earth.  You see, I can only speak from my own point of view . . .  I can only speak on behalf of myself . . .  I can only tell you things from my perspective . . .  but in my case, my mother always showed me love; always supported me; and she loved me unconditionally.  My mother was to me what a parent should be:  someone who loved; encouraged; and supported.  She was there for me my whole life.  We hear so many stories, whether they be in the news-media or from people that we know, about parents who do not show love as they should.  But my mother was certainly not one of those.  She showed love to me my entire life.  And in that last sentence, I emphasize the "showed" part.  Why do I say that?  Why do I emphasize that?  Because my mother was very quiet when it came to her emotions.  My mother was very soft-spoken when it came to voicing her opinion or her emotions for that matter, but she showed her love for me through her actions.  She showed me that she loved me by being there for me.  I never had any doubt as to whether or not she loved me.  I knew that she did.  She proved her love not by what she bought me but how she was there for me.  I always knew that my mother loved me by the quiet support she always showed for me, no matter what.  I knew that my mother loved me by the way in which she loved me day in and day out.  

St. Paul says in the thirteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans:  " . . . .  for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law"  (Romans 13:8) Our Blessed Saviour gave clear direction that we should love one another:  "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (St. John 13:34)   It is certainly not easy to show love at times.  It is difficult to show love in the face of disrespect, for example.  It is certainly not easy to show love when there is disappointment.  It is difficult, to say the least, to show love when we faced with burdens and obstacles: whether these be physical; emotional; or mental.  And yet love can overcome any burden.  Love can overcome any obstacle.  Love is what a parent does and what a parent shows.  Love is what we show to one another in times of difficulty or emotional distress.  Love is not defined by what we give to a person.  Rather, love is defined by how we treat a person.  My mother and my father, for that matter, defined love by giving of themselves to me and not what they bought for me.  God also calls us to love, . . .  to give of ourselves . . .  to love one another  . . .  as He has loved us.

Two opportunities to join us for Mass on Sunday, November 29th, 2015:

St. Margaret meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Holy Spirit Church meets every Sunday at 1:00 PM at the historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Join us for Mass as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we hear God speaking to each one of us in His Precious Word.  Come receive nourishment and strength as Our Lord fortifies you with His Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  Come dedicate an hour out of your week to God alone.  Give Him that hour and dedicate that time to Him.  He has given so much to you . . . . can you not dedicate one hour to Him?

Join Us For The Sunday Next Before Advent on Sunday, November 22, 2015

Sunday Next Before Advent, Sunday, November 22nd, 2015

The Gospel for today's Mass is taken from the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel.  In the passage chosen for today's Mass, we hear St. John's version of the feeding of the Five-Thousand.  Now, keep in mind that Our Lord asked Philip where they could  get so much food to feed all of those people.  In essence, St. Philip protested that it would be impossible to feed so many people.  St. Andrew stepped in and reported that a "lad had five barley loaves and two small fishes."  But even St. Andrew himself immediately responded:  ". . . . but what are they among so many?"   Have you ever had the experience where you took evaluation of the situation and talked yourself out of doing it even before you gave it a try?  In other words, you convinced yourself that it would never work and so you refused to even try it.  You defeated yourself even before you started.  That's why I say so often in my sermons that we are our own worst enemies.  We stop ourselves from even giving it a try because, in our own mind, we are convinced that there is no way in the world it will work.  And so we stop even before we begin.  In today's passage, St. Philip immediately protests that they can't feed that many people and he only came up with  a protest.  St. Andrew at least made an attempt but even he second guessed his efforts and questioned how little food that was compared to how many people were present.  

As evidenced in all the miracles we read in the Gospels, Our Blessed Lord shows time and time again how He changes the "ordinary" into the "extraordinary."  Our Lord demonstrates that He can accomplish anything He sets His mind on.  As Christians, we are called to place our trust in God.  This is not always easy, is it?  As human beings, we want to do things our way.  As human beings, we have doubt if something is going to work or not.  As human beings, we lack confidence, or knowledge, or know-how.  It could be any number of reasons or combination of reasons.  But the fact remains that as Christians we are called to place all our trust in God.  "Let go and let God," as the old saying goes.  Give your life to God.  Place your life in His hands.  Let God be the Lord and Master of your life.  And turn your cares, and your burdens, and your troubles over to Him.  This is not to say that you will not have cares and burdens and troubles in your life.  But when you do, . . . . you will have God with you . . . . to guide you, to lead you, to be next to you.  If Our Blessed Saviour fed the five thousand with just a few fish and loaves, I am convinced that He can perform multiple miracles in your life as well.  

There are two opportunities to hear Mass on Sunday, November 22nd, 2015:

Join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, November 22nd, 2015 at 9:30 AM as we celebrate the Sunday Next Before Advent.  Mass is celebrated at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Marquette Manor is located directly across the street from the St. Vincent Women's Hospital on Township Line Road.

Join Holy Spirit Church on Sunday, November 22nd, 2015 as we celebrate the Sunday Next Before Advent.  Mass begins at 1:00 PM.  We celebrate Mass at the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.  The church is located at the corner of South and Pennsylvania streets near downtown Greenfield.

If you have not done so lately, invite someone to church with you.  Invite a family member, a dear friend, a neighbor, a coworker.  Invite someone to come to church with you.  Let them experience the blessings of hearing the Word of God.  Allow them to experience the blessing of being in fellowship with fellow-Christians gathering together as God's family.  Let them experience the blessing of receiving the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  Invite someone to church with you. 

Sermon for 23rd Sunday after Trinity, 2015

The sermon of Fr. Todd given on Sunday, November 8th, 2015 for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity.

To hear Fr. Todd's sermon, please click on the following link:

Feast of All Saints Day, 2015

The sermon of Fr. Todd given on the Feast of All Saints, Sunday, November 1st, 2015.

To hear Fr. Todd's sermon, click on the following link:

Sermon from Feast of Christ the King, 2015

Sermon of Fr. Todd on the Feast of Christ the King given on Sunday, November 25th, 2015.

Listen to Fr. Todd's Sermon by clicking on the following link:

Sermon from 19th Sunday after Trinity, 2015

Fr. Todd's sermon from the 19th Sunday after Trinity which was given on Sunday, October 11th, 2015.

Click on following link to hear Fr. Todd's sermon:

Join us on Sunday, November 15th, 2015 . . .

Feast of St. Margaret of Scotland (Transferred) / Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity,

Sunday, November 15th, 2015

So often in life instead of focusing on what we actually have . . . . we focus on obtaining the things that we do not have. We get fixated and focused on obtaining things that we want to have or desire to have. While growing up, I remember that I wanted a specific bicycle and I remember clearly thinking in my mind that if I got that certain bike, I would be totally happy and everything would be perfect. Well, to make a long story short, I did get that bike and it wasn't too awfully long until my mind shifted to the "next item" that would make my life "complete!" As adults we still do the same thing, don't we? If it's a certain pair of boots or jeans; If it's the latest electronic gadget or video game; if it's the latest innovation that we have seen advertised on TV; whatever it is, don't we think our life will be somehow "complete" if we just obtain this one item that we are focused on at that particular time in our life?

In the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of the ruler whose daughter has died approaching Our Lord to seek the healing of his daughter. But on the way to this ruler's house, a woman also seeking healing touched the hem of Our Lord's garment which He was wearing. In so doing, she was completely healed of her condition. After finding our who touched His hem, Our Lord responds to her: " . . . thy faith hath made thee whole. ." (St. Matthew 9:17 ff) Wonderful items such as electronics . . . . or clothing . .. .. or boots or shoes . . . . or a job which we want. .. or whatever you can think of will not make us complete. They will not make us whole. These things bring happiness and contentment for a certain period of time but this happiness soon wears off until we move to the "next" item that we "just have to have." Our faith in God is something totally different, though. Our faith in God truly does make us whole . . . it makes us complete . . . it brings us true, lasting happiness. Our relationship with Christ is one that we should focus on obtaining. Giving our heart to the One Who gave His heart to us should be where we concentrate our efforts on. It is understandable that as human beings we focus on obtaining material things. This is what human beings do. But as Christians we are called to put things in a proper perspective and place God first in our life. Just like Our Lord told the woman that touched the hem of His garment, " . . . . thy faith hath made thee whole. . .. .," we also know that in our lives, the love of God and following Him is what makes us whole.

Two opportunities to join us on Sunday, November 15th, 2015:

St. Margaret of Scotland Church will celebrate the transferred Feast of St. Margaret of Scotland, our patroness, on Sunday, November 15th, 2015. St. Margaret Church worships at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Mass begins at 9:30 AM.

Holy Spirit Church will celebrate the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity on Sunday, November 15th, 2015. We worship in the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, which is located at the corner of South and Pennsylvania Streets in Greenfield, Indiana. Mass begins every Sunday at 1:00 PM.

Come join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible. Listen to the Word of God preached to you and hear what God has to say to you. Receive the Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time. And then join us after Mass for our coffee hour where you can enjoy many delicious treats and wonderful fellowship.