Author Archives: Bishop Mark Lawrence
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
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In the Wake of Hurricane Matthew
Last week I was in Cairo, Egypt for the Global South Conference—but I hasten to add my heart and mind was in prayer for those in the path of Hurricane Matthew—especially those of us in South Carolina and the diocese. … Continue reading
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Sabbatical Part 1: Finding Elevation in the Sierra Nevadas
Note: This article first appeared in the Charleston Mercury. It is reprinted with permission. The canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada is—to put it simply—magnificent. A world to … Continue reading
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“The Fire, Lord, Not the Junk Heap.” A Lenten Reflection from Bishop Mark Lawrence
The famous radio personality and early pioneer of television, Arthur Godfrey, grew up in an era very different from today. It was a time when a boy could wander down to the blacksmith shop on a lazy afternoon and watch … Continue reading
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Peace: Here and Now – An Ash Wednesday Reflection
The words in the Ash Wednesday “Invitation” in the 1979 American Book of Common Prayer are often cited: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent….” I have read them every … Continue reading