Stephen’s Witness
Website of the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll
CURTAIN CALL ON THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION
A man said to the universe: “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” (Stephen Crane) The cleaning lady at Lambeth Palace found a…
LAMBETH 1998: Diary from the Last True Lambeth Conference
Lambeth 1998 was last Conference to attempt to resolve anything of substance as a council of bishops.
LAMBETH HYPOCRISY: Disinviting the Spouses (Updated)
As I see it, this latest move is hypocrisy squared: shameful and shameless.
NO COMPROMISE ON ESSENTIALS: Why Dialogue Cannot Resolve the Sexuality Issue in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion
NOTE: I wrote this essay in 1998 just prior to the Lambeth Conference and it was published in a booklet titled The Handwriting on the Wall: A Plea to the Anglican Communion (Latimer Press).…
PRAYING THE SCRIPTURES WITH THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
Preface I wrote this essay in 1998 for a projected anthology of articles on the Book of Common Prayer. The project never came to fruition. In the meantime, my wife and I served overseas for…
REDISCOVERING THE TAPESTRY OF SCRIPTURE: Understanding Its Plain and Canonical Sense
Imagine yourself standing in front of one of those huge old tapestries that one sees hanging in a cathedral.[1] You immediately notice the intricate weaving into rich patterns of themes taken…
.
.
.
.
AMY CONEY BARRETT: An Esther Come to the Kingdom? (with a Postscript from Dobbs)
Shakespeare’s heroine Portia, decked in judicial robes, is acclaimed "a Daniel come to judgment.” Will Amy Coney Barrett be an Esther come to judgment?
‘”IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS” (John 14:15): A Sermon Series on the Commandment to Love
Preface In the Easter-Pentecost season 2021, I began a series of sermons on the theme of God’s Commandments, beginning in the Old Testament and moving to Jesus’ teaching. These sermons formed…
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: A Parable for Africa … and for Us
As an American returning home from a sojourn in Africa, I sense the fear stalking this land. The days are dark, and I do not know how long the darkness will last.