Author: Derek Michael Larson
Derek is a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, a Franciscan tertiary in the Third Order, Society of St. Francis, and a seminarian at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX. Most recently Derek worked as a chaplain and religious studies teacher at St. George’s Episcopal School in Milner, GA. As part of his seminary field education, Derek currently serves at Santa Fe Episcopal Church/ La Iglesia Episcopal de Santa Fe in south San Antonio. Derek currently lives in Austin, TX with his wife, LauraAnn, their toddler son, Bear, and their two kittens, Woo and Whiskey Jack.
Psalms Study: Session 2
Join us each week at 11:00am in person at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 2:00pm on Zoom (email me for link), or anytime here for the recorded session of our study on the Psalms.
Here is session two:
Join Me in studying the Psalms!
Today at Good Shepherd we started a 6 week study on the Psalms which follows biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann’s categories of Psalms of Orientation, Psalms of Disorientation, and Psalms of New Orientation. You can join us!
We meet in person at 11:00am (masks required) and on Zoom on Wednesdays at 2:00pm.
You can also watch our recorded Zoom session each week. Here is today’s:
I also invite you to join us in reading all 150 Psalms in 6 weeks.
You can find the daily reading schedule here:
New Homily: Making Peace with the Wolf
For 800 years Franciscans have gathered around the globe on the evening of October 3rd to commemorate the death of St. Francis of Assisi who died on this day in 1226. This evening I was able to pray, reflect, and celebrate with my new community here at Good Shepherd and I am incredible grateful for the beautiful service we had this evening! I also preached my second sermon of the day! Which you can find below along with the bulletin for the service of the Transitus of St. Francis.
New Homily: Loneliness and Connection
New Homily: Discipleship is A Bloody Business
Learning to ride a bike is a bloody business.
When you fall—not if—the skin on your knees will break.
You will taste the salt of tears on your lips,
From the streams on your cheeks.
Your chest will hold the fear of another stumble,
And your ears will be ringing with the mantra,
“Never again, Never again.”
But you get up again.
Wiping gravel from your palms,
Unashamed of amputated wheels you’ve outgrown,
Committed to whatever it takes.
Because while the pain of shedding blood
Can sometimes feel too much to bare,
The cost will be worth it
With the wind in your hair—
It’s a bloody business.
But it’s in the rising from the earth
and starting again that you know
you’re really living.
New Homily: The Shape of the Cross
A Prayer and Moment of Reflection for the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
A Prayer and Moment of Reflection for the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
On this 20th anniversary weekend of the 9/11 attacks, let us hold in remembrance all those whose lives were radically changed that tragic day, and let us pray for the continued healing and reconciliation of the world and the coming of God’s kingdom.
O God of tenderness and compassion, who forms us at birth and greets us at death, we remember before you the 2,996 people who died in the senseless attacks 20 years ago and all those who loved them; we hold in our hearts those who suffered and continue to suffer grief and anxiety in the aftermath; and we call to mind all those who have suffered and died since that day at the hands of prejudice and violence.
In the silence of our hearts, we pray for comfort and healing.
A moment of silence is observed.
O God of unrelenting love, whose justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, we remember before you the selfless toil of those who put others before themselves: firefighters, police officers, service members, counselors, chaplains, and other community leaders; we hold in our hearts the places of worship and community centers who offered hospitality and refuge to those in grief; and we call to mind all those activists, educators, and public servants who tirelessly speak on behalf of the victims of violence.
In the silence of our hearts, we pray for peace and justice.
A moment of silence is observed.
O God of restoration, who makes the lion lie down with the lamb, we remember before you the hands which caused such pain and suffering—victims of their own fear, misguidance, and hatred; we hold in our hearts those whose grief in the face of injustice collapsed into enmity and bitterness; we call to mind the violence turned against innocent Muslims, Sikhs, and those from the middle east.
In the silence of our hearts, we pray for forgiveness and reconciliation.
A moment of silence is observed.
A Collect for Peace (BCP, 258)
Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that in tranquility your dominion may increase until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Sing the Prayer of St. Francis with the Larsons!
And be sure to check out the album Justice Songs by the Porter’s Gate. It’s amazing!
