As most of you know by now, Sunday, August 16th will be my last day as your Interim Rector, which means that my tenure here will have been eighteen months to the day. As is always the case with experiences that have been rich and meaningful, it seems like both far longer and far shorter than that to me. From my very…
St. James' Episcopal Church – Mt. Airy, Maryland
Posts by Rev. Dr. Bill Doggett
Bishops and deputies approved task force, update policies [Episcopal News Service – Salt Lake City] The House of Bishops on July 1 passed three resolutions, one with an amendment, on the issue of alcohol and drug abuse. “I am Mark and I am an alcoholic,” the Bishop of Ohio, the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, said…
The General Convention, the Episcopal Church and St. James’ Church The General Convention of the Episcopal Church is hard at work listening, praying and deliberating for the good of the church and the world in Salt Lake City right now, and I thought it might be worth talking a bit about how the Episcopal Church…
Because I spent far too long in school, my head is full of lots of odd stories about how Christians have worshiped through the ages. This one is particularly unusual and, I think, fascinating, as it was one of the important but pretty well forgotten causes of the Reformation. –Bill Doggett The Middle Ages were a time of tremendous change and social…
The news from Baltimore has touched all of us in one way or another. It may be the injury and death of Freddie Gray, or the grief of his family and community, or the anger of many, or the peaceful marches, or the violent protests, or the looting and destruction of property, or the history of mistrust, inequality and injustice that gets…
The following article is the second of a 2 part series written by Rev. Dr. Bill Doggett. It is in response to some recent questions from parishioners about the vestments worn by clergy and other participants during a worship service. Decorative Vestments The long strip of decorated cloth that ministers drape around their necks is a Stole. The stole was a sign of rank…
The following article is the first of a 2 part series written by Rev. Dr. Bill Doggett. It is in response to some recent questions from parishioners. One of the things I do in my spare time is design and make vestments and paraments for churches that commission me. The beautiful things we use to decorate our churches and worship leaders are also strange –…
Everything is happening too soon this year. Easter is on the early side, which means that Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent are just around the corner. On February 17th we will gorge ourselves on pancakes and all the fixings (an ancient way to use up all the butter in the larder before the Lenten fast begins) and the next…
January brings celebrations of some of the most public events of the life of Jesus. Holy Name Day on January first, which we used to call the Feast of the Circumcision, remembers Jesus being presented in the Temple by his parents to fulfill the rituals that name and claim a baby boy for Judaism. The Feast of the Epiphany on January sixth marks the…
December 6 is the Feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra, whom we know better by another name. He is, of course, the inspiration for some of our Christmas traditions, but have you ever wondered who he really was, or why we remember him? Nicholas was born over 1700 years ago in the year 280 CE in Patara, a part of Turkey that in those days…