Grace Pritchard Burson

“I am baptized!”

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All Saints, Dorval The Baptism of the Lord, Year B January 10, 2021 Artist’s depiction of Luther confronting the devil. Three years ago this weekend, I finished up at the job I had before coming to Montreal, a two-year stint as an associate interim pastor at a Lutheran congregation on the New Hampshire seacoast. (In the US, as in Canada,… View Post

The star behind the clouds

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All Saints, Dorval Epiphany, Year B January 6, 2021 Last month, the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter created a bright “Star of Bethlehem” in the southwestern sky, just after sunset on the winter Solstice.  Although this conjunction occurs every couple of decades, this was the closest that the two planets had come to each other, and hence the brightest that… View Post

Adoption and inheritance

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All Saints, Dorval Christmas II, Year B January 3, 2021 Roman aureus (gold coin) struck under Emperor Trajan, showing the Emperor and both his biological and adoptive fathers. Please note: I waited too long to post this sermon and am unable to reconstruct the portions that I added extemporaneously toward the end. My apologies, and hopefully the gist comes through!… View Post

Emmanuel in the nest

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All Saints, Dorval Christmas Eve, Year B December 24, 2020 One of the things saving my sanity in this pandemic year has been almost-daily walks along the riverbank near my house. A couple of weeks ago, I happened to look up into the branches of one of the bare trees beside the path and noticed something that, although it was… View Post

The real glory

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All Saints, Dorval Advent IV, Year B December 20, 2020 Henry Ossawa Tanner, “Annunciation” The readings this week seem to be all over the map. First we hear of King David’s plans to build a temple for God in Jerusalem, which God himself thwarts, telling David that instead, God will build him a house, in the form of a neverending… View Post