In this newcomers class at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, we look at two core questions: Why Christianity? and Why the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement?

The class follows four main movements:

1. Christianity and resistance

We begin with the world Jesus lived in: a world shaped by empire. Drawing on Howard Thurman and liberation theologians like Orlando Espín, we explore how Christianity began as a way for ordinary people to endure and resist systems of domination. We also name the hard truth that the church has often blessed empire—and how many Christians today are returning to the movement’s earliest roots in compassion and justice.

2. Christianity as inheritance

Christianity gives us stories that have shaped our culture and our moral imagination. Many of us inherit prayers, practices, and community through family or through returning to faith after time away. We talk about what it means to receive these stories honestly and interpret them for our own lives.

3. The centrality of Jesus

We turn to Jesus himself: his boundary-crossing compassion, his preaching about the Reign of God, and his ability to make people more fully alive. Jesus remains the deepest reason many of us stay Christian.

4. Why the Episcopal Church

We consider how the Episcopal tradition holds ancient faith and real openness together. We talk about the Anglican approach to questions, the role of the creeds in worship, and the central place of the Eucharistic table.

The video ends with two icons of the Trinity—Rublev’s traditional image and Kelly Latimore’s contemporary reimagining—both reminding us that there is room at the table for every person, including those the church has excluded.

In this sermon, the Rev. Mike Angell reflects on Jesus’ nighttime conversation with Nicodemus and what it means to be “born from the source” in a moment of global fear. Drawing on Archbishop Hosam Naoum’s plea for peacemakers in the midst of new conflict involving Iran, Mike challenges Christians to reject religious division and reclaim a faith rooted in connection, courage, and the cosmic love of God. This sermon calls us back to the Source that binds all people together and points us toward the kingdom where peace, not fear, has the final word.

Join us this Second Sunday of Lent as our Director of Youth & Outreach, Angel Nalubega, brings a powerful and challenging sermon. Together, we will reflect on the “Empires” in our lives that demand our ultimate allegiance.

Angel’s sermon draws striking parallels between the steadfastness of Palestinian Christians and the faith‑driven defiance of Ida B. Wells and Fannie Lou Hamer. Through these stories, Angel invites us to examine the illusion that we can transform systems we have already bowed to.

This is a candid call to use these 40 days to strip away the world’s “glittering” distractions and reclaim a faith that is not for sale.

Join us as we explore why saying “No” to the mountain’s offer is the first step toward true, costly liberation.

Join us on this Ash Wednesday as we lean into the beautiful messiness of faith, treating it not as a goal of perfection but as a practice. This sermon is a gentle invitation to stop pretending and start being honest. Join us as we remember that while we are indeed but dust, we are more importantly Beloved.

We sing our last Alleluias before Lent. We leave behind the long green seasons after Pentecost and Epiphany—“ordinary time”—and reflect on why that ordinariness feels so appealing in days that are anything but ordinary.

This sermon explores how people of faith respond to disorderly times: through mystery, courage, and refusal to accept cruelty as normal. From biblical mountaintops wrapped in cloud to a modern story of a priest “outed” as a Christian, we see how encountering God makes us a little odd—and more alive.

We recall the struggle for immigrant justice in New Mexico, a reminder that sometimes the world must finally see injustice before change becomes possible.

As we turn toward Lent, we reflect on faith as consciousness, resistance, and trust in the dazzling darkness of God’s love. We may never return to ordinary time—and maybe that’s grace.

Rudy Nickens—renowned facilitator, equity leader, and storyteller—delivers a sharp, soulful call to confront injustice. Drawing on Niemöller’s warning and George Clinton’s liberating wisdom, he urges us to reject silence, free our minds, and continue the essential work of justice.

On this Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, the Rev. Mike Angell preaches and invites us to reflect on the heaviness so many of us are carrying. The heaviness of these days, when everyday choices feel overwhelming and the world feels loud, anxious, and divided.

The sermon reminds us that God’s blessing rests not on power or perfection, but on compassion, courage, and care for the vulnerable. It invites us to see the world through the lens of Jesus’ upside‑down wisdom, to become helpers and peacemakers, and to walk humbly, faithfully, and persistently even when the way forward is unclear. This sermon offers hope: you are blessed, you are not alone, and love is still the way.

On this Sunday The Rev. Mike Angell explores a radical redefinition of "repentance" as a mindset shift toward justice rather than a weight of personal guilt. We dive into the life of St. Michael's Parish as they navigate the challenges of 2026, from supporting immigrant neighbors to becoming a literal antidote to despair. Join us for a candid look at how faith moves beyond the pews and into the streets to prove that Love, not violence, has the last word.