Author Archives: Bishop Mark Lawrence
The Viral Shuttering of Other Gods
This is an edited version of a sermon given by Bishop Mark Lawrence on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020 at St. Michael’s Church, Charleston SC. View the video. I received an email last week that included a brief message that … Continue reading
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Faithfulness in an Age of Pandemic
A Pastoral Letter from The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence March 17, 2020 Greetings in the strong name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in whose fellowship we, by the grace of God, are … Continue reading
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Springtime: The Seedtimes of Your Life
What are you sowing? Today is an Ember Day in the Church’s Calendar. So is this Friday and Saturday. Mostly they go unnoticed—you may have never heard of them. Ember Days in the Western Church trace back as far as … Continue reading
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The Bishop’s Bookshelf
Thinking Strategically About Book Choices; An Interview with Bishop Mark Lawrence I’m an avid reader, always having at least one and sometimes several books on my nightstand. But I choose books based on friends’ recommendations. Perhaps in reading this you’ll … Continue reading
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Open the Door – It’s Christmas
A Christmas message from Bishop Mark Lawrence; December 24, 2018 “Close the door!” shouted my mother as I dashed down the back steps—wild runnin’ with my dog. “Close the door” she shouted again, raising her volume sharply. But I had … Continue reading
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Thanksgiving—the Normal Christian Life
Perhaps the faces were not as colorful, the voices so resonant or the rooms as bright as they remain in my memory. For the past is not merely what actually happened or what really was—it is also what we remember … Continue reading
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Summer—When Living is for Now
Samuel Barber begins his great oratorio, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with James Agee’s suggestive words—“It has become that time of evening when people sit on their porches, rocking gently—talking gently, undulating in astral motion….” Front porches with rocking chairs or … Continue reading
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A Christmas Message from Bishop Lawrence
The Promise of Christmas: “Every Lock Must Answer to a Key” “O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path of misery.” In many … Continue reading
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Homes for Christmas
Homes for Christmas There are many words associated with Christmas. A word association would yield various responses such as Christmas—presents, candles, tree, shopping, carols, Jesus. But I’d be surprised if in a group of twenty people at least one … Continue reading
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You Matter to God—Mind, Body and Heart
In condensing three 45-minute teachings given to some 400 plus men of the Diocese of South Carolina I have found it necessary not only to leave out many precepts but even more reluctantly the illustrations that gave it whatever flame … Continue reading
