St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair

St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair

by The Rev. Carrie Cabush

Season 2025

Healing | August 24, 2025

Healing is not just the absence of the “identified problem;” it is a restoration of those things we long for but have been lost, or were previously unattainable. Jesus doesn’t just cure, he heals.

Baptism & Choosing Life | August 17, 2025

Baptisms are a celebration, but the earliest baptismal liturgies looked and sounded very similar to a funeral service. That is because they represented death to the ways of the world and rebirth into a life guided by Christ. The words and symbols we use speak to this tenuous connection between life and death.

Imperfect Faith | August 10, 2025

Who is someone whose faith has shaped your own - someone whose walk with God made you want to walk closer too? In a word or short phrase, what about them inspires you? I wonder, what do you feel as you consider these role models in your faith?

Making the Switch from Me to We | August 3, 2025

We started thinking about creating our own Little Pantry. A place where people can take what they need, and give what they have. A place where people can come any time because it’s outside. A place where people can get some help without feeling embarrassed. So, Russ Gallo made and installed one last Saturday and it is beautiful. But the sign was delayed, so we didn’t advertise it; we didn’t really tell many people it was there. And you know what happened? By Wednesday - 4 days later - the little pantry was stuffed. And by Thursday we had a bin full of extras. People from the church and families from the camps just started bringing food. And I teared up when I saw it. Because when Russ asked what size pantry he should build I said small. Because this was something new for St John’s; I wasn’t sure how people would respond and if we would get enough donations to fill a large one. Boy did God laugh at that.

Hosea & God's Unceasing Love | July 27, 2025

It’s not very often that we hear the word “whore” in church. The first time I preached this text I wondered if the reader would shy away from it. But no, he spoke with bravado, sounding out “whoredom” in a loud, low voice, each time. Needless to say, there were some nervous giggles. As both a priest and a therapist I’ve learned it can be helpful to talk about the things we tend to skirt around in polite society, so let’s talk about the book of Hosea, shall we?

Ultimate Concerns | July 20, 2025

Don’t judge a book by its cover, or as Amos would say, don’t judge a society by its fruits. Once again, this week we have an obscure vision from the prophet Amos, using imagery and the Hebrew language to paint a very critical image of the ways God’s people have strayed from God’s commandments. In today’s vision, Amos sees a basket of summer fruit. Usually the indicator of a plentiful and successful harvest. A sign of promise, wealth, and hard work. A sign of doing the right things at the right times. What we don’t see in the English is the wordplay. Because where Amos sees fruit, God sees “the end” for the people of God. Fruit and end, two words in Hebrew that look and sound similar. But what looks like prosperity, health, and promise to the people of God looks like death and despair to God.

Sabbath as Resistance | July 13, 2025

On the seventh day God rested all from that creating and declared that day holy. God had worked for six long and hard days… but people? We had only just been created the day before. And yet, God commands humankind to rest, to honor the sabbath day and keep it holy. We don't have to earn rest, because we were made for it. When we keep the sabbath day holy, when we step off the hamster wheel of productivity and set aside time to rest in God’s goodness we are doing exactly what we were made to do. We are embracing the part of us that is made in God’s image. We are accepting the inheritance of the kingdom of God. As activist Tricia Hersey claims in her book of the same title, Rest is Resistance. Rest, true sabbath rest, stakes a bold claim that we are worthy simply because we are created in God’s image. That we belong to God before we ever belong to the capitalist empire.

May The Piece of God Be With You, a sermon by Maren Sugarman | July 6, 2025

Every week we say to each other, "May the peace of God be with you." But when I hear and say that phrase, I have for many decades now equated the word Peace with Piece. And here in Luke we hear of Jesus sending out 70 followers, sending them out as lambs amidst the wolves. This gives an image of people passing out pieces of God. The way we consume the host when we celebrate Communion - these are pieces of God. The piece of God that is within us.

Rule of Life | June 29, 2025

This concept of a "Rule of Life" comes from the Latin word "regula," which literally refers to a straight piece of wood. But many scholars also believe it was the word used to describe a trellis. The trellis provides support that lifts the vine off the ground and allows it to grow longer than it would otherwise. It guides the vine to grow in a desired direction and provides the support needed to bear more fruit. In order to bear much fruit - in order to produce those fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - followers of Christ need a trellis. The "Rule of Life" seeks to identify practices and relational rhythms that align our time and habits to our deepest desire: to abide in Jesus.

The Second Sunday after Pentecost, a sermon by the Rev. Abigail King | June 22, 2025

A sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost by the Rev. Abigail King at St. John's Episcopal Church Montclair.

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