It was good to gather again in the Church on Pentecost. Today is Trinity Sunday. With Trinity Sunday we revert again to Ordinary Time, that part of the liturgical calendar that falls outside the major seasons such as Advent, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. Throughout Ordinary Time we are not commemorating the major events in the life of Jesus — such as his birth, death, and resurrection—though we remember them at each Communion service. In Ordinary Time we are exploring the Word of God and God’s interaction with the world more broadly.

This year I tended to structure my sermons in small series.  For Lent we looked at Psalms. During Easter we concentrated on the Book of Acts. After Trinity Sunday,  the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia has placed Te Pouhere Sunday, when we are to remember the constitution of the Anglican Church. After that, I plan to use the readings from the Gospel of Matthew as a base for sermons and liturgy for several Sundays.

July 2020 is Bible Month. We will set aside a Sunday in July to consider the gift we have been given in the Bible. Later in July I want to begin a short preaching series that considers Biblical texts through the lens of the lives of four saints, who in different centuries have worked to apply Biblical insights to social issues. They are Bartolomé de las Casas, William Wilberforce, Christoph Blumhardt, and Mary Sumner. None of them have been canonized, even though one of them was a Catholic. They are all remembered at that time of the year.

Until All Saints’ Day a sermon series on the Book of Exodus will get us through much of Ordinary Time (as per the lectionary). While you will probably mostly hear my sermons, I hope that I will not be the only preacher. I hope that gives you some direction on the overall plan for sermons.

One of my tasks as the vicar is to appoint a vicar’s warden. I have decided to appoint the current Bishop’s Warden Liz van Til to this role. Her interaction with community groups and her enthusiastic outlook make her well suited to this role.

Blessings,  Tim