Sermons by Washington National Cathedral

September 24, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde

"Oh, but black worshipers and visitors, they knew. You knew, you knew what we chose not to know, and what we knew for years and tried not to know, or minimize, 'til we couldn't any longer. And I played a part in all that, and I apologize."

In her sermon this Sunday, the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Diocese of Washington reckoned with the lost cause myth and the role the Cathedral played in perpetuating it and considered the ways we are working to atone for past wrongs and build Beloved Community.

September 17, 2023 Sunday Sermon: Canon Historian Jon Meacham

Forgetting is arguably a sin as consequential as hardness of heart. For it is only in remembrance that we can know what wrongs we must right – what perils we must avoid – and what injustices we must ameliorate."

In his Sunday sermon, Canon Historian Jon Meacham reminded us that forgiveness and remembrance go hand in hand.

September 10, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope

"Most of the time, I think we're painfully aware of when we've hurt another person, when we have breached a relationship. But there are times when we don't know."

In her sermon this Sunday, the Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope addressed Christ's command to repair the broken relationships in our lives.

September 3, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan

"We can't see the hurt we cause or the doors we close. We can't see how not bearing our own cross makes another person's cross heavier."

In her sermon this Sunday, the Rev. Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan considered the ways in which our limited perspective keeps us from seeing the fullness of God's grace.

August 27, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith

"Martin Luther King said that Jesus Christ was, 'an extremist for love, truth and goodness.' He didn't come to make us happy. He didn't come to punish us for our sins, or to wrap himself in the American flag. He came to save us from ourselves and to teach us how to walk in the way of love.

 

This Sunday, the Very Rev. Randy Hollerith reflected on the sixtieth anniversary of the March on Washington. 

August 20, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Canon Leonard Hamlin

"And this is still our hope as it was their hope." 

In his sermon this Sunday, the Rev. Canon Leonard Hamlin reminded us that we need faith as we pursue justice and progress.

August 13, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson

"It’s important to note that the role of faith here is not in stopping the storm. Faith rarely stops a storm. But what faith promises is to enable Peter to walk just on the water without falling, without drowning, to literally walk on troubled waters."

In his Sunday sermon, the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson considered the potential impact of faith.

August 6, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Canon Dana Colley Corsello

"The glorification the disciples witness with their own eyes confirms Jesus' identity as the Son of God, the Messiah. But even more, it shows them there will be life beyond the cross and they will live it."

 

In the Rev. Canon Dana Colley Corsello's Transfiguration Sunday sermon, she considered God's glory, as we experience it in Scripture and in our own lives. 

July 30, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope

"I was being held in the hollow of God's hand." 

 

This Sunday, in her sermon, the Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope offered personal testimony and heartfelt congratulations to graduating members of our Cathedral Scholars program.

July 23, 2023 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Anne-Marie Jeffery

"God is tending us, and all we have to do is share because God does the rest of the work."

In her sermon this Sunday, the Rev. Dr. Anne-Marie Jeffery, Canon for Congregational Vitality, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, asked us to consider how we can be part of God's nurturing work in the world.