St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair

St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair

by The Rev. Carrie Cabush

Season 2025

Stephen Ministry, sermon by Deirdre Comey | February 23, 2025

All Christians have the responsibility to care for those in need. This care can be expressed in many ways, such as giving someone a ride, running errands, prepare meals, watching a child or pet or shoveling a driveway. Stephen Ministry can be seen as an organized and informed type of care. Dr. Ho, the founder of Stephen Ministry, stated anytime you express Jesus' love in a way that meets people's needs, you are providing Christian care.

Being Rooted | February 16, 2025

What does it mean to be rooted? It is all too easy to feel blown about by the wind, or current events, or the ever changing weather forecast. To get caught up in to-do lists, calendars, and deadlines. But this morning, we heard two separate scriptures - Jeremiah and the Psalm - proclaim blessing on trees planted near flowing water. Rooted in a place where the sustenance they consistently receive allows them to grow bright green leaves and produce fruit no matter the conditions.

If You Say So | February 9, 2025

“If you say so.” These words are the skeptic’s yes. As if the speaker is reserving the right to say “I told you so” when things don’t work out. Words meant to convey that I don’t agree here, but you’re the one in power, so I guess we’ll do it your way. And yet, when we hear these words spoken to Jesus, they take on another quality. Because for all the resignation behind the words “If you say so,” there is also a semblance of hope. Hope that perhaps, where we have struggled, God will persevere. Where we have failed, God will succeed.

Waiting (Children's Sermon) } February 2, 2025

All around the world, Episcopalians repeat Simeon’s song during Compline, the final prayer service of the day. For a long time I thought singing this song was simply a way to close out the day thanking God for sending us Jesus. But this week, I realized it’s also an invitation at the end of each day to pause and consider where we’ve seen evidence of God’s handiwork in our lives. After all, the baby Jesus was not what Simeon or Anna had expected to find at the end of all their waiting. Maybe, we too are seeing glimpses of God at work in our lives, beginning to fulfill our prayers and our longing in unexpected ways.

Another World is Possible | January 26, 2025

This week I gathered with a handful of other clergy from across the Northeast to reflect on what it means to be spiritual leaders. Talk about divine timing. Early on in the retreat, they asked us the big question. “Why?” “Why are you a spiritual leader?” There were as many answers to this question as there were people in the room, but the first answer a colleague shared has remained with me this week. Her answer? “Because another world is possible.” Siblings in Christ, I don’t presume to know why you have chosen to gather here at St John’s Episcopal Church in Montclair, New Jersey, this morning, or any other time. But I hope and pray that when you leave these doors, you do so knowing that another world is possible, and it depends on us.

The Wedding at Cana and the Birmingham Campaign of 1963 | January 19, 2025

There are a lot of predictions for what the year 2025 will bring. I won’t claim to know which are true and which are not. But I do believe, as Mary and all the faithful people in Birmingham in 1963 did, that how we start matters, and how we start will give us the tools we need to continue on the journey. We can become part of the change we want to see - we can become part of Jesus’ miraculous legacy - when we bring the truth to God in prayer and follow where he leads. The journey won’t be easy, but it will be worth celebrating.

What We Stand For at Baptism | January 12, 2025

In a world where it is easier to stand against something, at baptism we boldly proclaim who and what we stand for. In a society where the individual is prized and praised, at baptism we acknowledge that we need God’s help and we promise to support one another in our walk of faith. In a world that seems to accept that tragedies happen with increasing frequency, at baptism we vow to strive to make a difference and make a change. Baptism was and is a radical act.

The Magi and House Blessings (Children's Sermon) | January 5, 2025

One of my favorite traditions around Epiphany is when people bless their houses. It is a reminder that while the wise men traveled a long way to encounter Jesus, it all started in their homeland by paying close attention to the things they did every day. Our journey with God often starts the same way - we don’t have to travel very far at all. We can welcome Christ into our homes and our lives every day by doing what we're called to do and paying close attention.

Season 2024

Light in the Darkness | December 29, 2024

In the church we have this repeated metaphor of light and dark. But we do a serious and harmful disservice if we assume that darkness is the absence of God, and light is the presence of God. In fact, as the Rev Dr Wil Gafney says, light and dark are not a binary at all. Instead, darkness is a space of holy creativity and generativity. It is where God does new and out-of-this-world things. Darkness is where light is conceived and from which it is born.

Christmas Greeting | December 24-25, 2024

In the midst of all of our humanness, God shows up. Even when it feels like there is no room at the inn, or no room in our hearts, God shows up. Each and every time. There’s nothing we have to do to make it happen - we already have everything we need.

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