In the Apostles Creed we profess that Jesus “descended into hell”. What does this strange doctrine mean? In the first letter of Saint Peter, there are two references to Jesus’ descent into hell. For Christ also suffered for sins once, […]
In the bulletin for the weekend of March 11-12, I wrote that Saint John Church was in deficit spending in the current fiscal year and I asked everyone to consider increasing Sunday donations. I was astonished that the Sunday collection […]
In today’s first reading, God chose David as the next king of Israel. David was a surprising choice since he was a young man, most likely a teen ager, and the youngest brother. The Bible and Christian history are full […]
I have been at Saint John Church for more than six months. I am grateful to be here, grateful to be pastor. How many workers have the privilege of doing meaningful work every day? I have that honor. I celebrate […]
What are you doing for Lent? The three practices associated with Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Last week I wrote about almsgiving in my bulletin column. Today I remind you to pray during Lent. Prayer is spending time with […]
This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I spoke about Lent in my bulletin column last week I will say just a bit more about almsgiving, one of the main things that we are all called […]
This Wednesday, February 22, is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday is traditionally the biggest day of the year at Saint John’s. During the past few years of Covid restrictions, the numbers coming for ashes, Mass and prayers […]
The Center City District on its website offers the following interesting statistics comparing Center City Philadelphia in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to the end of 2022: In 2022, overall pedestrian volume was 73% of what it was in 2019. In 2022, office […]
At our January parish council meeting, we reviewed our year to date (July 1-December 31) financial report. Here are some highlights of the six month comparison between the current fiscal year (2022-23) and last fiscal year (2021-22): Ordinary income (collections, […]
This Friday, February 3, is the feast of Saint Blaise. Saint Blaise is well known in some cultures because he is associated with the healing the throats. The actual story of his life and death are not completely documented. He […]