The blog of the Rev’d David O. Browder, Rector of St. Thomas’. Law and gospel, grace, pop culture, links to interesting articles and videos.
On the last day of school, I had a little fun with our students and their parents. People who attend high-achieving private schools tend to have Type A personalities. I can relate to that because I tend more towards the Type A personality myself. We Type As are very competitive, with lots of self-criticism and…
by David Browder This past Easter Sunday was a glorious one at St. Thomas’. Almost two years after the flood, with the church still awaiting renovation, more people worshipped with us than on any other Easter Sunday in my previous five years as Rector. It is clear that we have a bright future here at…
My identity is no longer defined as being “In Crimson Tide” but “in Christ”. It seems at first like ascetic self-denial but it is really the case that I enjoy other things more. I can now enjoy watching Alabama and not be cast down for two months if we lose to Auburn or Tennessee. Jesus Christ as the proper marker for my identity gives me a healthy relationship to good but lesser things like football, money, relationships, politics, and even family. Being “In Christ” is that from which human flourishing emanates.
As we enter the last couple of weeks of Lent (called Passiontide in the old prayer book), I think back to the times in early Church history when new Christians were about to be baptized. Lent was a period of deep preparation and prayer for these baptisms; the baptisms themselves would occur at Easter. Learning…
Our lives are so very busy these days. There is so much going on in them, in fact, that it is a good practice to ask ourselves why we do all that we do. And that will lead us to ask about all the things there are to do at church. What makes church different…
This Sunday, our inaugural Rector’s Forum will tackle the spiritual issues raised by the recent college admissions scandal that has rocked the upper tier of American society. From the Wall Street Journal: Federal prosecutors charged dozens of wealthy parents—including prominent law and business figures and two Hollywood actresses—with using bribes, bogus entrance-exam scores and faked…
When I was little, we sang a song called “This Little Light of Mine”. Maybe you did, too. We loved singing it — and my children love singing it now. As I see where we’ve been and where we are headed, as individuals and as a church, I have a new appreciation for it. It’s…
by David Browder, Rector of Saint Thomas’ This past year had both victories and challenges for our parish. We achieved a surplus at year-end, instead of the deficit we projected. This was wonderful, unexpected news, driven by the success of the preschool, help from our Diocese, and, most importantly to me, pledging and gifts from…
By Bryan Anderson, Director of Music Last Sunday at St. Thomas, we sang and read Psalm 42, “Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God.” Such expressions, comparing the need for God’s presence to physical needs, are common throughout Scripture. Another that comes to mind is Psalm 84:…
Of all the churches with which I’ve been associated and in which I’ve served, Saint Thomas’ has the most interesting beginning. Not long after the founders started the church, they created and began sustaining a school. To Saint Thomas’ primary mission — the proclamation of the Gospel together with the administration of the sacraments —…