Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Worshiping God, living in community, reaching out to the world.

Category: Bulletin Inserts

The bulletin insert for June 15, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Traveling the Way of Love: Rest

“Traveling the Way of Love” Season 2 offers video stories of the ways people across The Episcopal Church participate in the seven Way of Love practices. Produced by the Office of Communication in partnership with Evangelism colleagues, it includes study guides to help congregations or small groups engage the stories and strengthen one another’s discipleship. Each week, we’ll share information about an episode, along with study questions suitable for congregational, small group, or personal reflection. You can find each episode and its discussion guide at iam.ec/TWOL2.

Episode 5: Rest

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’”

John 13:3-9

From the beginning of creation, God has established the sacred pattern of going and returning, labor and rest. Especially today, God invites us to dedicate time for restoration and wholeness – within our bodies, minds, and souls, and within our communities and institutions. By resting we place our trust in God, the primary actor who brings all things to their fullness.

1. In this episode, host Chris Sikkema visits with Bishop Audrey Scanlan as they hike a small portion of the Appalachian Trail. Bishop Scanlan recounts her experience of learning how to humbly receive hospitality along the trail during longer hikes. She shares how when we stop doing and start receiving, we can rest in God’s presence and love differently. Take a moment and consider—is there a place where you need to stop doing to receive instead? What steps do you need to take to lean into that practice of rest?

2. Host Sikkema comments that when we take time to stop and disconnect from our devices and to-do lists, we are more likely to see where God is present around us. He notes that “stopping is an act of faith.” What do you think of this statement? What does it bring up for you?

3. The spiritual practice of rest, in its various forms, holds a transformative power. For Bishop Scanlan, it manifests in long solo hikes, where she carries everything she needs for survival on her back, and nothing needs to be accomplished beyond putting one foot in front of the other. In this space, she can release the tyranny of the urgent, allowing her to notice the shape and symmetry of wildflowers and the presence of God all around. What rest practice could you adopt to experience this transformative power? If you don’t have one, can you imagine what one might be?

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Sermons That Work podcast

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 13, 2025
The bulletin insert for June 8, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Traveling the Way of Love: Bless

“Traveling the Way of Love” Season 2 offers video stories of the ways people across The Episcopal Church participate in the seven Way of Love practices. Produced by the Office of Communication in partnership with Evangelism colleagues, it includes study guides to help congregations or small groups engage the stories and strengthen one another’s discipleship. Each week, we’ll share information about an episode, along with study questions suitable for congregational, small group, or personal reflection. You can find each episode and its discussion guide at iam.ec/TWOL2.

Episode 4: Bless

Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:8

Jesus called his disciples to give, forgive, teach, and heal in his name. We are empowered by the Spirit to bless everyone we meet, practicing generosity and compassion and proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ with hopeful words and selfless actions. We can share our stories of blessing and invite others to the Way of Love.

1. In this episode, host Chris Sikkema visits the Episcopal Farm Workers Ministry in Dunn, North Carolina. The ministry is a joint project of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina and the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina that works with agricultural workers (farmworkers, meat processing plant workers, and workers from nurseries, packing houses, and poultry, swine, or livestock farms) and immigrant families in rural Eastern North Carolina. When asked about the needs of this community, Lucia Mondragón points out that she has learned that this community needs not just food but also affection. When you think about donating to a traditional outreach ministry such as a food pantry or soup kitchen, what would it look like for you to give the blessing of affection in addition to the sustenance of food? How does that challenge or resonate with your idea of “bless”?

2. As Chris reflected, one of the enduring images of the Christian life is that of individuals moving along the spokes of a wheel. We find that as we draw closer to the center—that is, to God—we, by necessity, grow closer to other people. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, and as Chris says, it happens in all sorts of groups and communities. Take a few moments to reflect on the ways that you and/or your faith community are practicing “bless” currently. Are they drawing you and your community closer to God and others? If not, how might your practice need to grow or morph?

3. “When they come, they bring their problems, and we need to hear them.” – Lucia Mondragón. Often, in our attempts to do the most good in the shortest amount of time, our practice of “bless” is stacked with to-do lists and busyness. But do we make time for listening? Do we make time to value the one story someone needs to share over the 10 things on our agenda? Do we value hearing as much as we value doing? If not, what might need to shift in our practice or understanding of “bless”?

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Sermons That Work podcast

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 6, 2025
The bulletin insert for June 1, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Traveling the Way of Love: Turn

“Traveling the Way of Love” Season 2 offers video stories of the ways people across The Episcopal Church participate in the seven Way of Love practices. Produced by the Office of Communication in partnership with Evangelism colleagues, it includes study guides to help congregations or small groups engage the stories and strengthen one another’s discipleship. Each week, we’ll share information about an episode, along with study questions suitable for congregational, small group, or personal reflection. You can find each episode and its discussion guide at iam.ec/TWOL2.

Episode 3: Turn

As Jesus was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

Mark 2:14

Like the disciples, we are called by Jesus to follow the Way of Love. With God’s help, we can turn from the powers of sin, hatred, fear, injustice, and oppression toward the way of truth, love, hope, justice, and freedom. In turning, we reorient our lives to Jesus Christ, falling in love again and again.

1. In this episode, host Chris Sikkema visits the Rev. Rita Powell and Alden Fossett at Harvard University. Together, they discuss what it means to practice “pausing” in a society that often demands exhaustion as a mark of worthiness. Where in your life could you press pause as part of a spiritual practice of “turn”?

2. When we choose to turn and pause, we have the opportunity to listen to people and places that often are overlooked or exploited. Rita and Alden shared stories of leading their communities to pause and listen to both the natural world and the stories of enslaved people. Whose stories and experiences are overlooked in your context? What would it take to practice listening deeply to those stories and experiences?

3. As the host says, when we can make something right, we are called to do so. The Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard hosts a series of meals out on the sidewalk as a way of making right previous church practices that excluded people from entering our doors as full members of our communities. By hosting a meal on the street, The Episcopal Chaplaincy community is turning from a tradition of oppression and gatekeeping toward a way of being that is open, just, and free for all. As you think about your community of faith and personal practice of turning, what action steps can you take to make something right? What outward and visible sign can you signal that reflects a commitment to turning toward Jesus and his way of love?

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Sermons That Work podcast

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

May 30, 2025
The bulletin insert for May 18, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Traveling the Way of Love: Worship

“Traveling the Way of Love” Season 2 offers video stories of the ways people across The Episcopal Church participate in the seven Way of Love practices. Produced by the Office of Communication in partnership with Evangelism colleagues, it includes study guides to help congregations or small groups engage the stories and strengthen one another’s discipleship. Each week, we’ll share information about an episode, along with study questions suitable for congregational, small group, or personal reflection. You can find each episode and its discussion guide at iam.ec/TWOL2.

Episode 1: Worship

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.

Luke 24:30-31

When we worship, we gather with others before God. We hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, give thanks, confess, and offer the brokenness of the world to God. As we break bread, our eyes are opened to the presence of Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are made one body, the body of Christ sent forth to live the Way of Love.

1. In this episode, host Chris Sikkema visits Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, and chats with the Rev. Ryan Hawthorne about what worship means to her. Hawthorne emphasizes that worship is not just a communal practice, but a deeply personal one. She invites individuals to find the worship practices that resonate with their soul, which might include worshipping within a church community. What worship practices deeply touch your soul?

2. The call to gather and worship within the Christian tradition, as understood through the Episcopal lens, is a call to “the collective.” It is a call to come together across generations and all sorts of messy human experiences to pray, offer praise and thanksgiving, proclaim the Gospel, and promote justice, peace, and love. What voices are missing from your worship experience? How could it be a more “collective” experience?

3. Palmer’s former senior warden, Dr. Danna Kurtin, spoke about the importance of curiosity when it comes to practicing worship on the Way of Love. Being curious about our neighbors, other traditions, and the ways God is moving in the world through changing culture are just some of the things that can influence our worship experience. Where might the Holy Spirit be asking you – as an individual or as a faith community – to be curious and to stretch in your practice of worship?

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Sermons That Work podcast

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

May 16, 2025
The bulletin insert for May 11, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Reflections on the Resurrection

During the Easter season, Sermons That Work is pleased to present reflections from some of the newest bishops of The Episcopal Church on the resurrection of our Lord. Check back each week for a brief exploration of how Jesus Christ’s rising from the grave changes everything. To listen to this reflection, scan the QR code on this page and subscribe to the Sermons That Work podcast.

Sermons That Work podcast

Week 4

Easter first happened in a cemetery. Not under the sparkling sunlight of a spring morning. Not in a field of pastel tulips. Not tangled in a prolonged cellophane celebration. Easter happened in a cemetery. Surrounded by death. Incubated by stubborn shadows. Carried in a broken heart. Greeted quite unexpectedly by a woman who no longer dreamed dreams.

Mary Magdalene was a brave, bold woman. But even brave, bold women can be devastated by the shocking violence of this world. And on Easter morning, she was devastated. Though there was breath in her lungs and blood in her heart, in a way, Mary died with Jesus – because violence is never an isolated incident; there is always collateral damage; it spreads like a disease.

But resurrection is contagious too. And on Easter, Mary came back to life with Jesus. In a cemetery, in the midst of death, there was life. Pulsing with resurrection, Mary was brave enough to see more than emptiness in the empty tomb. She had the courage to be the first citizen of the Easter world to show her resurrection, to walk her tear-stained cheeks into a locked room of downcast disciples, who knew nothing but the empty tomb, who had not yet experienced resurrection life, and testify: “I have seen the Lord!”

It was a stunningly audacious statement given the circumstances. She journeyed to the graveyard to visit a corpse. She found the body missing. Before she ever spoke a word about resurrection, she told a story of grave robbers. And as that bad situation grew worse, she lingered to weep while the guys went home.

But then Easter happened, in a cemetery, where the dying and the burying happen. Because that was where Easter was needed. And it is still needed. In this Good Friday world, in this world in which the dying and the burying happen, in this world in which despair holds a place of prominence, we need a Church that has experienced Easter, and has felt the breath of the Risen Christ. We need Christians who are brave enough and bold enough, to show the world their resurrection.

We do not have to settle for a Good Friday world. We do not have to accept the death and violence, the nightmares and the despair. We do not have to resign ourselves to the scourge of war, to the plague of addiction, to shelter-in-place drills in kindergarten classrooms, to partisan discord, to racism and hateful prejudice. Those things are all too real, but they are not the reality God wants for us or for this world.

And that is the miracle of Easter: Easter happens in this world, with these heartaches. Easter happens in the shadow of the cross. It happens in the cemetery. It is watered by tears. It does not deny the reality of pain and death; Easter defies pain and death. It is the sun that scatters the clouds. It is a dream so much truer than any nightmare.

The Easter God is daring us to dream that impossible dream. To believe that impossible dreams can come true. In this world. God is calling us to listen for the voice of the Risen Christ, still whispering resurrection, still speaking forth new life, in this world. Jesus is still telling that ancient and eternal story – a story in which love wins, and life is stronger than death, and hope is never in vain.

This is the story that means to transform your life and spill from your lips. Be brave enough to see more than emptiness in that empty tomb; be daring enough to dream impossible dreams. And then be foolish enough to live as if those dreams will come true.

The Rt. Rev. The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah D. Williamson

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah D. Williamson

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah D. Williamson is the tenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany. He is married to, Jennifer, a United Methodist pastor. They have two sons and a small dog.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

May 9, 2025
The bulletin insert for May 4, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Reflections on the Resurrection

During the Easter season, Sermons That Work is pleased to present reflections from some of the newest bishops of The Episcopal Church on the resurrection of our Lord. Check back each week for a brief exploration of how Jesus Christ’s rising from the grave changes everything. To listen to this reflection, scan the QR code on this page and subscribe to the Sermons That Work podcast.

Sermons That Work podcast

Week 3

“Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”

—Znamenny Chant, Hymn 816 from Wonder, Love, and Praise

My first recollection of this chant was sitting in the candlelit Easter Vigil at the church my family and I attended when our daughter was young. The vigil was the central liturgy of that congregation. It began at 9 pm, it lasted for three hours, the pews were full to the point of overflowing.

The vigil very often included an adult baptism in the full-immersion font that a parishioner had built for the church. It certainly did that first year that my husband, our daughter and I were there – a dear friend, who had found the congregation at the same time that we did.

We gathered by candlelight around the font as she was baptized, praying for her heart to be open, that she would love others in the power of the Spirit, that she would be a witness to God’s love… Then after the baptismal water, the seal, the lights, and those first alleluias, we sang, again and again: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”

There was a mystical quality to that liturgy in that place on that day – a beauty in the proclamation of what is and what will be, a hope in witnessing that transformation with my toddler by my side, a joy in sharing that moment with our friend as she made the commitment to a life in Christ.

I felt a palpable confidence in Jesus’ resurrection that day; a promise that I have carried with me. The memory of our celebration nurtured my faith through times of challenge and of joy; it nurtures me now in a moment where so much has been dismantled and challenged – a moment where fear, greed, and brokenness are driving decisions both nationally and globally. Even now, more than two decades later, I can close my eyes and see us crowding around the font, amid the candles and a cloud of incense. Even now, each time I smell chrism I remember the abundance of it at that vigil.

In this moment of our common life, so much seems unsteady and fearful and fraught. Through it all, I find myself returning to memories of encounters like these, when God is present and the words of my faith – sometimes chanted, sometimes whispered or held in silence, sometimes prayed among the faithful – those words carry a hope that is greater than I can ask or imagine.

As we gather again to remember Christ’s resurrection, we gather again with the saints across centuries who have led and prayed and worshiped through moments of fear. As we celebrate this great mystery, may we remember our promises made in our baptism and commit again and again to the work that we have as disciples of Jesus Christ: to seek justice and peace, to share the Good News, to love others as we have been loved. We can, and we will, with God’s help.

The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White

The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White

The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White is the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. A lifelong Episcopalian, Bishop White spent time in worship and in service with congregations in the Dioceses of Alaska, Eastern Oregon, Oregon, Chicago, and Indianapolis prior to her election as bishop in 2023. She and her husband, John, live in Cincinnati.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

May 2, 2025
The bulletin insert for April 27, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Reflections on the Resurrection

During the Easter season, Sermons That Work is pleased to present reflections from some of the newest bishops of The Episcopal Church on the resurrection of our Lord. Check back each week for a brief exploration of how Jesus Christ’s rising from the grave changes everything. To listen to this reflection, scan the QR code on this page and subscribe to the Sermons That Work podcast.

Sermons that Work podcast

Week 2

A number of years ago, I attended a conference that included a talk from Peter Rollins, a progressive philosopher and theologian who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. He recounted a time when he was invited to a conservative Christian college to be a part of a panel discussion. Near the end of that conversation, a student came up to the microphone and said to him, “Pete, just admit it. You deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

He was taken aback and described how he sensed every eye in that gathering focused squarely on him, including those of the other panelists. He looked at the person behind the microphone and responded: “You got me. I fully and completely admit that I deny the resurrection of Christ.” He said there was a collective gasp of air, and I heard the same in our own gathering. Then he continued, “I deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and lend my support to an unjust and corrupt system.”

But Pete wasn’t finished yet. “However,” he said, “there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. I affirm it when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees, when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed.”

I was stunned. Tears welled up in my eyes.

We are resurrection people, you and I. We are those who have chosen to follow this One who came to live among us and show us the way of God. Jesus proclaimed that he would bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and declare the Year of Jubilee. He made it clear from the beginning that his work would be resurrection work. That he would go about making things new and whole and full of life. And so he did.

And he still does.

Far too often, we only half-believe the resurrection. We hedge our bets thinking that things might never really change, certainly not in our lifetimes. We couch our belief—deny is a bit too strong for us—because we’ve seen and experienced the chronic cynicism in our world. Yet as disciples of Jesus, as people of the resurrection, we are asked to affirm his bursting from the tomb again and again. We are invited to look into the worst of our world and see it as a place where love could dwell. We are encouraged to hope and trust and believe and then go make a difference.

We are called to affirm Jesus’ resurrection.

The Rt. Rev. Phil LaBelle

The Rt. Rev. Phil LaBelle

The Rt. Rev. Phil LaBelle is the bishop of the Diocese of Olympia. He lives in Seattle with his spouse Melissa and their rescue pup Charlie Brown. They have two young adult children.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

April 25, 2025
The bulletin insert for April 20, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Reflections on the Resurrection

During the Easter season, Sermons That Work is pleased to present reflections from some of the newest bishops of The Episcopal Church on the resurrection of our Lord. Check back each week for a brief exploration of how Jesus Christ’s rising from the grave changes everything. To listen to this reflection, scan the QR code on this page and subscribe to the Sermons That Work podcast.

Week 1

It’s Easter! We’ve just heard the story that is likely familiar—even if this is your first time in church. Every year, preachers struggle with how to preach about Easter. Some of you know the story well, while for others, it’s a little less familiar, and this might be the only sermon you hear all year. For all of you, the challenge is the same: Where do you find yourselves in this story?

Perhaps last Sunday you heard the story of Jesus being welcomed like a rockstar in the city of Jerusalem, only for those same people to later cheer on the governor who condemned him to death. Maybe you have betrayed someone you love or have been betrayed yourself. Perhaps you have heard the stories of the crucifixion and even acted out the part of Jesus. Or maybe, simply by knowing your neighbors, listening to the news, or talking with your family, you know the suffering of an innocent person. Is this your entry into the story? Perhaps you were in church on Thursday evening, kneeling to wash someone’s feet. Allowing a stranger, or even a friend, to wash your feet is a vulnerable choice. Living the Christian life is a messy journey! Is this the life you want to sign up for? Perhaps you live life like Jesus every day—feeding the hungry, healing the sick, welcoming the stranger, visiting prisoners, and working for justice. You certainly must understand the resurrection!

But… yet… here we are, wondering what it means for us to know the risen Christ today. I have only one thing I know: I have experienced the resurrection in my own life, and I know you can too.

When my first daughter was born, I had everything I needed—an easy birth, an easy baby, a loving spouse, a comfortable home, a good job, and a church community. And yet, I experienced postpartum depression. It was the first time in my life that I could not find joy or control my emotions. I did everything out of habit, including going to church, but I was disconnected—from myself, from my loved ones, from God. I wanted to run away. But I knew I couldn’t; the emptiness would follow me. I was stuck.

And then came resurrection. It was not immediate; it took months, not days. It was not magical, but it was miraculous. Thanks to love, medicine, counseling, prayer, and time, I found joy again. I began to live again. I came out of the tomb and back into the land of the living.

When Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, see the empty tomb, the two dazzling beings ask them a funny question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Today, we are looking for the living among the living – each of us living stories of resurrection.

If you have never known resurrection, you are not alone. When you pray today, when you receive the bread and wine—the reminder of Jesus’ journey through life, hell, death, and new life—pray this: “Dear God, show me your resurrection in my life, take me out of pain, suffering, and hurt and show me new life. Take me out of the land of the dead and into new life.”

I have seen the risen Christ in my own life—I believe you can too.

The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer

The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer

The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer is the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester and the first woman to serve in this role. A lifelong Episcopalian, she spent 19 years as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, focusing on community, justice, and inclusion. She now leads 48 congregations across eight counties in New York, spanning from Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania border, striving to be a light of love and service in diverse communities.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

April 18, 2025
The bulletin insert for April 13, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Life Transformed

The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self-giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. Throughout Lent, come along with us as we explore Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, produced by Hillary Raining and Jenifer Gamber. You can find resources mentioned below at Life Transformed – The Way of Love in Lent.

Week 6

Sunday, April 13

Today’s Practice: Watch the Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining’s video at iam.ec/lifetransformed for Week 6. The topic is based on the practice “Worship” and is titled, “The Gathering of God’s People.”

Read: Zephaniah 3:12-20

Monday, April 14

Today’s Prompt: Listen to the daily office today at missionstclare.com.

Read: “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.” – Psalm 55:17

Tuesday, April 15

Today’s Prompt: Who can support you in living a Jesus-centered life?

Read: “Our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” – 2 Corinthians 3:6

Wednesday, April 16

Today’s Prompt: When you reflect on financial giving, are your palms open?

Read: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order.” – Matthew 12:43-44

Thursday, April 17

Today’s Prompt: How do you want to prepare people to remember you?

Read: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Friday, April 18

Today’s Prompt: How did you turn back towards God’s love when you made a big mistake?

Read: “I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.’” – Luke 15:18

Saturday, April 19

Today’s Prompt: Who might you have a conversation with to learn about God?

Read: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105

Reflections from “Living the Way of Love” by Mary Bea Sullivan (Church Publishing, 2019). Used with permission. Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

April 11, 2025
The bulletin insert for April 6, 2025

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Life Transformed

The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self-giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. Throughout Lent, come along with us as we explore Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, produced by Hillary Raining and Jenifer Gamber. You can find resources mentioned below at Life Transformed – The Way of Love in Lent.

Week 5

Sunday, April 6

Today’s Practice: Watch the Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining’s video at iam.ec/lifetransformed for Week 5. The topic is based on the practice “Rest” and is titled, “The Valley of Dry Bones.”
Read: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Monday, April 7

Today’s Prompt: What relationships do you need to mend?
Read: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” —Isaiah 55:8-9

Tuesday, April 8

Today’s Prompt: How has this Way with God impacted your experience of God?
Read: “Let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” —John 7:38

Wednesday, April 9

Today’s Prompt: Slowly read this passage aloud. How does this speak to the world today?
Read: “As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” —Matthew 4:18-22

Thursday, April 10

Today’s Prompt: What seminal moments have informed a need to return to Christ?
Read: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” —Psalm 51:10

Friday, April 11

Today’s Prompt: Where might God be asking you to take your great love into the world?
Read: “You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forward I make you hear new things, hidden things that you have not known.” —Isaiah 48:6b

Saturday, April 12

Today’s Prompt: What are you thankful for?
Read: “For we are aliens and transients before you, as were all our ancestors; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.” —1 Chronicles 29:15

Reflections from “Living the Way of Love” by Mary Bea Sullivan (Church Publishing, 2019). Used with permission. Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds. Small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between use the resources that Sermons That Work provides.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

April 4, 2025

The 12th Sunday after Pentecost, August 16, 2026. Services at 8:00 am (no music) and 10:30 (music).