Sherman Hesselgrave

Last Words

June 9, 2020June 9, 2020
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Reflections, Sermons

Final homily by Sherman Hesselgrave, Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2020

Readings: Deuteronomy 34:1-4 Psalm 8 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20

At the other end of my ministry, when I was a curate at a parish in Portland, Oregon, I preached a sermon entitled, “Famous Last Words.” I don’t remember what the scriptural text was that day, but it might well have been Jesus telling his flock that he was leaving, but not to worry, because the Holy Spirit would be sent to accompany them on their journey ahead and lead them into all truth. What I do remember is a parishioner telling me afterwards that she would always remember her 18-year-old son’s last words to her as he headed out for a Friday evening with his friends: “See you later, Mom!” That night, he was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Photo credit: The homeless dream of a home by Alexa DeWiel

Homeless Memorial Poems 2008-2017

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Justice Issues, Reflections

Sherman Hesselgrave From the summer of 2008, when I arrived at Holy Trinity, until August of 2017, when she died, Bonnie Briggs and I met nearly every month in Trinity… Read More »Homeless Memorial Poems 2008-2017

path in the woods (Photo by Malka on Unsplash)

Life after Covid-19

May 22, 2020June 8, 2020
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Reflections

Sherman Hesselgrave God’s people have a rich repertoire of tales about surviving floods, plagues, political upheaval, and every form of human cruelty. Some of the stories that come to mind:… Read More »Life after Covid-19

From the Incumbent

April 10, 2020January 24, 2021
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Reflections

On Holy Tuesday, April 7th, I observed that my last Sunday at Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday, was exactly two months away. And then I realized that my last service will… Read More »From the Incumbent

Exiting the Fortress – Oliver Roberts

March 3, 2020March 4, 2020
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Art, Reflections, Sermons

I feel an immense amount of gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to hang some of these artworks in a space like this, in a place like this. If the artworks speak at all, if they have a meaning or convey a sense of place and time, places and times shared and learned, then it is befitting that they get to sit among all of these wonderful sisters and brothers and sons and daughters, in a place where acts of radical hospitality and Love are performed, daily and incessantly. What an interesting place we find ourselves in, our friends sleeping outside, citizens bustling in and out of the Eaton Centre, all of us in here communing with each other. What an ebb and flow of paradox and of resilience.

Hope for the world

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Reflections, Sermons

Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus
Sherman Hesselgrave

Readings: Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 29, Vaclav Havel on Hope, Matthew3:13-17
Photo by Faris Mohammed on Unsplash

Twenty years ago, on the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus, I was on sabbatical in Italy, and on this particular Sunday I was in Assisi at the Basilica of St Francis. The Abbot began his homily that day by saying, “With the baptism of Jesus we have all been baptized.” I had never thought of it that way before, but he was right. Every baptism has its roots in that moment Jesus stepped into the Jordan River
with John the Baptist. It was a moment of revelation, but also a moment of dedication and commitment to a particular journey. Orthodox Christians kick the signiﬁcance up a notch by observing that Jesus’ presence in the Jordan River that day had the effect of blessing all the water in the world. So, today is a ﬁtting opportunity to remember our baptism and to reﬂect on what it means in the world today.

The DNA of what it means to be Christian is embedded in the Baptismal Covenant. We will be invited to renew our baptismal vows in the service today. We will respond, “I will, with God’s help” to questions like:

• Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?
• Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
• Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain, and renew the life of the Earth?

The Golden Rule is baked into the Baptismal Covenant, as is peacemaking and care for the environment. To live our baptismal promises intentionally is to steer the world toward the peaceable kingdom envisioned by the prophet Isaiah and the reign of God that Jesus described through stories and encounters with others. Baptism taken seriously is a sign of hope in a world ﬁlled with strife, greed, and confusion. But regard for baptism has somewhat of a chequered history.

a hole in the wall

December 24, 2019January 10, 2020
by Sherman Hesselgrave
Reflections, Sermons

Homily for Christmas Eve 2019

Sherman Hesselgrave

“Mercy is the dynamite that brings down walls.” “La misericordia es la dinamita que derriba muros.” That is a line from the new movie, The Two Popes, spoken by the man who would become Pope Francis. That line resonated deeply, and I knew it would work its way into this Christmas homily. That is because the Incarnation—God’s coming among us as one of us—is God’s greatest mercy in bringing down the walls that divide humanity from God and from one another. Someone has defined ‘mercy’ as a “love that responds to human need in an unexpected or unmerited way.” At its core, mercy is forgiveness. Mercy is grace.

Jesus was born into a world all too familiar with systems of domination, systems of empire and oppression that had existed from before the time the prophet Isaiah wrote of the “people who walked in darkness” who would see a great light of a new day of hope and promise, where the yoke of their burdens would be broken; the bar weighing down their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, snapped. A child would be born who would become the Prince of Peace, and would reign with justice and equity.

I decided to include Garrison Keilllor’s retelling of the famous story of the 1914 Christmas Peace, because, in a World War that would result in about 40 million military and civilian casualties, we know that the people on the front lines were not only capable of demonstrating their humanity with a spirit of generosity, they certainly would have welcomed an end to all hostilities, were it not for their imperial masters. Peace was, at once, both so near and yet, so far away.

april

15apr7:15 pm8:45 pmMoved OnlineVirtual EventLifting Spiritsmusic, poetry and cocktails

Event Details

music, poetry and cocktails

Cocktail hour is a state of mind. It is a little bit of ritual that helps unwind from a difficult day or can make us more ready to be with others. Booze is optional, but the time that is taken to make oneself a beautiful drink should be celebrated and cherished.

My vision in creating Lifting Spirits is to capture some of the good parts of church (and bar) culture and to bring it into a welcoming and non-dogmatic space where we celebrate art and beauty, take care of each other, listen, celebrate, mourn, and hold. Currently connected to Holy Trinity TO, this is not a religion, it is a way of being with each other with few rules: be kind, listen, seek joy.

We start with a little cocktail building session at 7:15pm for about 15 minutes. I’ll post the materials list a few days beforehand in my email broadcast. There is also a Lifting Spirits Channel on YouTube where cocktail information and some performances are collected for your later enjoyment.

Once we have equipped ourselves with a libation, we’ll wander up to my studio for a little open mic, poetry reading and conversation. If you’d like to play something or recite something, that would be fantastic. We can improvise, but it doesn’t hurt if I have some idea how many want to share something beforehand. In between performances we’ll chat. If the numbers grow enough that it’s hard to chat, then we’ll start to use the breakout rooms.

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