Category Worship

A Prayer in the Morning

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree I woke up early this morning. The sky is beautiful, the birds are chirping, there’s an unusual coolness in the air. Here’s a prayer from Celtic Benediction by J. Philip Newell: As the light of dawn awakens earth’s…

Joseph of Arimathaea

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree As I write this Weekly Chapel (August 1), the church celebrates the feast of Joseph of Arimathaea. Joseph was the guy who, after Jesus had been crucified, went to Pilate and asked if he could…

Parables and More Parables

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree This Sunday, we hear Matthew’s Jesus offer a whole lot of parables. What is a parable? Here’s a definition from the Dictionary of the Episcopal Church: The term is from the Greek for “something placed by…

Benedict

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree Yesterday was the feast day of St. Benedict of Nursia (c. 540). Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio, Italy (about 40 miles to the east of Rome), before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of central Italy.…

Standing on Air

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree I’ve been spending a lot of time watching hummingbirds. They visit our feeder, stealing quick sips. What amazing creatures. Do you think God thought, “I think I’ll make something fast as lightening with wings like…

Rhythm

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree What is rhythm? I first remember learning about this word in elementary school. It was hard to spell, so our teacher told us, “Just remember it this way: Robin Hood Yelled To His Men.” How helpful! I started piano lessons and “rhythm” became…

Merton

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree Thomas Merton lived as a monk at the Abby of Gethsemani from 1941 until his death in 1968. This particular Abby is nestled deep in the hills of central Kentucky. It is a monastery of…

Shooting in RVA

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree Yesterday, a friend sent me a picture. It was a scene of a smoky, downtown Manhattan. I’m sure you’ve read about the wildfires in Canada that are creating these hazy skies. And, there were shootings in…

Summer Prayers

by the Rev. Charlie Dupree With the coming of Memorial Day comes a good bit of travel accompanied by, God willing, times of re-creation. What would it look like for you to pair your summer plans and travels with prayer?…