St. Paul's Episcopal Church
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  • About
    • Welcome
    • Mission & Vision
    • Clergy
    • Staff
    • Vestry
    • St. Paul’s Preschool
    • Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
  • Worship
    • What to Expect on Sunday
    • Children at St. Paul’s
    • Baptism
    • Eucharist
    • Confirmation
    • Marriage
    • Past Homilies (Sermons)
    • Live Service Archive
  • Ministries
    • Get Involved
    • Adults
    • Children
    • Youth
    • Outreach
    • Pastoral Care
    • Memorial Garden
    • Ministry List
  • Preschool
  • News
    • Coming Up at St. Paul’s
    • Weekly Parish Updates
    • Adults
    • Children
    • Youth
    • Community Events & Outreach
    • Worship & Music
  • Give
    • Donate to St. Paul’s
    • Make Your 2023 Pledge Today
    • Endowment
  • Resources
    • St. Paul’s Connects
    • Ministry Leader Resources
    • Racial Equity Education Resources
    • Site Map

News

“I’m trying to convey a feeling that’s true.”

Jeff Tweedy—the singer and guitarist behind Wilco, the band—wrote a book about songwriting recently. In an interview, someone asked him how songwriting differed from other types of writing, including the kind that a journalist might do. “You’re trying to convey what’s factually true,” he told the journalist. “I’m trying to convey a feeling that’s true.”

That thought has lingered with me. It is something I think about every time I read Scripture, too.

The Bible is composed of a lot of different kinds of writing, sometimes lacking smooth transitions or a clear narrative structure. You will find poetry and song imbedded in historical accounts; stories that predate recorded human history alongside events in the lives of the people called Israel 2,000 years ago.

We are tempted to draw the whole thing together into an account that conforms to our modern sensibilities: we want it to tell us the truth, much like a scientist might tell us the temperature at which water boils. This is at the heart of what many take to be the conflict between science and religion. And yet sometimes, it is easier to find answers about how things work than to discover why things are the way they are. These questions don’t conflict with one another, really, and yet we need different tools in order to approach them. Scripture offers us and entryway into the latter: a training ground for asking about the why behind human existence. It doesn’t always provide us clear answers, but it does help us ask better questions.

Let us seek the truth, wherever it is to be found. And let us rejoice in the goodness of God’s handiwork as we engage with the words of Scripture—words that speak the truth, if we would but listen.

—Fr. Javier

Tags: From the Clergy, Hope for the Journey

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The Way Forward in 2022

Hope For The Journey – A Conversation on Religion and Democracy

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Recent Homilies

A Lenten Play in Two Acts

A Lenten Play in Two Acts

March 19, 2023
  • by Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista
On the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Fr. Javier reflects on both the old testament and
Jesus Gets Us

Jesus Gets Us

March 12, 2023
  • by Rev. Dr. Cathy Deats
“I met a man who told me everything I have ever done.”  So if Jesus
John 3:16-17

John 3:16-17

March 5, 2023
  • by Rev. Nathan Kirkpatrick
Father Nathan Kirkpatrick shares his thoughts and John 3 verses 16 and 17.

Archived Homilies are here.

Contact

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
221 Union St., Cary, NC 27511

Phone: 919-467-1477
Fax: 919-467-0152
Office Hours: M-F 9-3

Worship Schedule

7:30 a.m. Sunday Service
9:00 a.m. Sunday Service
11:15 a.m. Sunday Service

View information about our services and COVID-19 guidelines.

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