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The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers Canon in Residence, St. Bartholomew's, New York Preached Sunday January 18th, 2026 The Second Sunday After the Epiphany Grace Cathedral San Francisco, CA
Good morning. On my shelf sits a battered US Navy Bible— my American grandfather carried it as he crossed and re-crossed the icy waters of the north Atlantic in the convoys of World War two. When peace came, he was convinced that only nations standing together could prevent humanity tearing itself apart again. In 1947, a lifelong Republican, he ran for Congress on a bold platform: world government. He lost—but the hope for peace guaranteed by shared responsibility continued. Peace making through collective security, if not world government, found one expression in the first meeting of the United Nations, 80 years ago this week in 1946. It met in the heart of war-ravaged London, at Methodist Central Hall Westminster. As Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevan said at the time, ‘What better place than a house of prayer to search for peace?' So the church offered its Great Hall to the most powerful dignitaries in the post war world, as it had offered the shelter of its cellars to some of the least powerful during the bombing of the war years. This coming Saturday the Secretary General of the UN Antonio Gutteres will join others including British Royalty and Cardinal Vincent Nichols in that same Great Hall for a service of thanksgiving, to re-commit to the values that drove the UN's first formation. If it was the reality of war that brought nations to the table to form the UN 80 years ago, they've perhaps been kept there by the hard-headed calculation that however imperfect, its work in development, education, healthcare, and military engagement, was less costly than the alternative. When Jesus said ‘Blessed are the peace makers,' his words reflected the equally hard-headed observation that peace of any kind whether in households or between nations has to be made – it does not happen by accident. To say ‘Christ died for all' is to say that justice and safety are for all – certainly not for any one nation, and certainly not only for the strong. Because power to act may not align with insight about what will help, all Christian security is by definition collective security. As we gather this week and give thanks for the work of the United Nations, I will be remembering my grandfather and his Navy-issue Bible; I will remember how frightened he was whenever the prospect of war returned during his long life. War comes quickly: peace takes slow and patient work, empathy, truth telling and deep commitment to one another. And the cost of failure, if we are honest, is still likely to be borne by the ones who hide from bombs in church cellars, not the ones who make the decisions in the Great Halls above.
Good morning. I have a sense today of a country in limbo, eking out the last days of holiday and anxious about what the new year will hold. All the hard things we face together are surely right there where we left them. We owe ourselves a pause, an opportunity to step off the treadmill of consumption that rushed us through preparation for Christmas, right into new years' resolutions and worries about the future. The Christian practice of gratitude, properly understood, can help us find that pause, to feel better, and do better. For some people, the return to routine can't come soon enough. Not all can afford time off work, and many suffer with closure of regular care or support services. Even those whose Christmas and New Year conformed to the popular script of family and feasting can end up feeling overwhelmed, weary, and out of pocket. Marketers amplify our moods - they know that my trousers are somewhat tighter now than last week, that I'm sick of London's grey pavement and that the new stain on my carpet makes me ripe to be sold a new one. So it is out with TV ads about party food and perfume, in with cleaning products, diets, and package holidays. It is easy to believe I had no choice but to buy things to prepare and now more things to recover. If I'm not careful, I will have not only failed to ‘make memories,' as the popular phrase has it, but also have missed out on appreciating things the first time around. Here is where the habit of gratitude, the habit of it, helps. It begins with being present in the moment, to look and see and feel. St Paul gave Christians the command to ‘give thanks in all circumstances' to encourage people living with evil that God was not finished, not to say suffering was God's will. It is not God's will that anyone spent this holiday in a home that was unsafe, or lonely. A habit of thanksgiving is an antidote to denial as it names what's good and puts it in the foreground AND EXPOSES bad things for what they are. Today, just as for Paul, gratitude refuses to let evil have all the airtime, even when it shouts the loudest. Today, gratitude might mean pausing to ask what has surprised me with joy? What has pricked my conscience, or broken my heart? What do I NOT need to pick up again in the new year? Then we can approach 2026 with truth telling, wonder and curiosity: then we can make resolutions that do more than loosen our tight waistbands. And good news: it costs us nothing.
Luke 20:27-40
Giles Fraser explores Dr. Iain McGilchrist's brain hemisphere theory, which argues that the left and right hemispheres of the brain perceive the world in radically different ways—and that modern society has become dangerously dominated by the left hemisphere's analytical, fragmented, and controlling mode of thought. He describes how the two hemispheres of the brain perceive reality in fundamentally different ways. The left hemisphere, he argues, sees a fragmented, abstract world—focused on control and acquisition—while the right hemisphere perceives a flowing, interconnected reality, rich in context, meaning, and mystery. We unpack this theory with our panel of experts: Dr. Philip Goff, philosopher and professor at Durham University. Philip is known for his work in panpsychism, a philosophical view which proposes that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the universe—not just something that emerges from complex brains, but something that may be present even at the level of basic matter. His research focuses on the philosophy of mind and the nature of consciousness.Canon Dr. Joanna Collicutt, psychologist and theologian from the University of Oxford. Joanna brings a unique perspective that bridges psychology, spirituality, and pastoral care—exploring how religious experience shapes and is shaped by the human mind.And Professor Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist and a leading figure in the emerging field of neurotheology—which explores the relationship between brain function and religious or spiritual experience. Andrew is Professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences and Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in the United States.Also on the programme, The Sacred podcaster Elizabeth Oldfield, shares a powerful spiritual experience—one that defied easy explanation and left a lasting imprint on her spiritual life.Beyond Belief is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4.Presenter: Giles Fraser Producer: Bara'atu Ibrahim Assistant Producer: Jay Behrouzi & Linda Walker Editor: Tim Pemberton
With the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally being named, I was curious as to if religion needed to diversify? And if it current institutions need to, how can they? Because isn't religion set in stone? Also, does "religion" need anything, or is religion just an existing thing? I had all these questions swirling in my head. So I went to ask someone I hold in high regard who may have more insight. I went to ask my friend, Canon Dr Anthony Lees-Smith from the Chester Cathedral. I am not a religious person, you may already know that. But I LOVE what he is doing at the Cathedral. You may be like me, prone to suspicion of organized religion. But the events being held at the Cathedral lately make me so happy. The discussions on AI, the recent performance of Jay Hulme (transgender poet), the Jugalbandi (classic Indian music) concert, and the humility by which Dr Lees-Smith interacts with people ... I mean, if I were to be religious THAT is how I would want my church to be. So, not only did I feel comfortable enough to ask, I trusted the discussion to be set in logic/humility and not in missionary language. (With even an awareness of colonisation) So I asked him. And his responses blew my mind! Stuff I didn't know!
In this episode we welcome back friend of the podcast Carlton Turner to discuss the themes of his recent research on psychology, race and trauma in the church. We reflect a little on our work on race and wellbeing in the church of England, and then think about abuses of power, racism and the health of institutions. Thanks for joining me again and I hope you find it interesting!Trigger warning: we do not discuss individual cases of racial trauma but themes of racal trauma, racism and health disparities are discussed at various points.
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16
Luke 14:1-14
The Sermon from the 8th Sunday after Pentecost 2025, delivered by the Rev. Canon Dr. Lee Martin, at St. Anselm Anglican Church on August 3rd, 2025. The Scripture and Prayers for the Day may be found in the PDF version of our weekly bulletin: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gvb9_O33EC04YUvyCk0c1qzhg9O3tjpV/view?usp=sharing Learn more about St. Anselm Anglican Church at: www.StAnselmAnglican.org
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Teaching Series: The Gospel of LukeLuke 11: 1-13
Luke 24:13-35
Palm Sunday - Luke 19:29-40 Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:39-71, 23:1-56
Sunday, Feb 9: Fifth Sunday of EpiphanyEphesians 3:14-21; Psalm 85; Luke 5:1-11"Each act of giving offers you the grace to be moved off center, to allow God to be at the center of all you are and all that you have. When this begins to happen, you become more fully human. You grow in the image and likeness of God." -Mary C. Earle
The Rev’d Canon Dr. Donald Shepson, Campus Missioner
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