Quite often I feel like our Churches have confused the American Gospel with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This confusion runs so deep in some places that the American Gospel has even supplanted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become hostile to it. This is evident in larger society when Christmas Trees and signs saying, "Merry Christmas" are banned from public areas. This is really a shame because the two can co-exist quite well. The American Gospel was actually designed to allow them to co-exist. To begin with, let's take some time and define what the American Gospel is. Much of this material I owe to John Meacham in his book, "American Gospel." The definition becomes sticky because it has changed over the past two hundred years. The American Gospel in the 18th century was articulated differently than it is today. When this nation was founded, the great experiment was one of religious liberty. Countless wars had been fought in Europe over what the official...

Sermon for 22 Pentecost Year C Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church October 28th 2007 The Rev. Conor M Alexander Luke 18:9-14 What is the meaning of life? What is life all about? The great 20th Century Philosophers of Monty Python put it this way. “It’s nothing very special really. Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations (The Meaning of Life).” Since you came to Church this morning, you may have some other ideas. You might quote the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or maybe the summary of the law, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Perhaps I’m a bit too cynical, but I would say that life is about looking good. Life is about looking good and avoiding looking bad – and that’s what drives almost all of human behavior. Just ...

RESET and Emotional Release I just got my RESET program a week ago and I'm slowly working up to the full technique. I've been getting some pretty strong emotional reactions when I get vibrating at a high frequency. (I had the same reaction about a year ago when I first started BodyFlow.) It made me wonder about what's going on.What is emotion anyways? I think Coach Sonnon described it in BodyFlow as "Energy in Motion." The more I thought about it our emotional responses are just that - motion. When we cry our abdomen pulses in and out. When we laugh our whole body shakes. When we're afraid, or even very excited we can start trembling. Think of a three-year-old throwing a temper-tantrum. He's on the floor, screaming, kicking his legs, flailing his arms, much to the embarassment of his parents if there's company around. There's also the mental/hormonal component going on. I don't know much of the science behind it, but somehow, our nervous system...

I've often wondered why there is so much resistance in the Episcopal Church to using overhead projectors. Many other denominations use them, and have been quite successful. The few times I've brougt up the idea, I've received the most vehement reactions. While I was serving at one parish in Arlington, VA, we tried to have the Liturgy of the Word on a projector screen. One particular Sunday the equipment wasn't working, and the Priest announced that we would have to use the Prayer Book that day. At least one person began applauding. I was discussing this incident with some other parishioners, and one said to me, "I don't know what it is, but I like having the Book of Common Prayer in my hands." I thought of this incident today after my kettlebell workout. I was having a difficult time packing my shoulders down, and recovering my heartbeat in between sets. Eventually I realized that I was looking down at my watch in order to monitor my heart rate, which of c...