St. Paul Episcopal Church - Kingsport, TN: Recent Episodes
St. Paul Episcopal Church
Weekly recordings of the Sunday liturgy from St. Paul Episcopal Church in Kingsport, TN. For more ways to connect, visit our website at stpaulskingsport.org or check out our video livestreams on Youtube.
Sunday closest to October 5 (Proper 22), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to September 28 (Proper 21) - Year C, Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to September 21 (Proper 20), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to September 7 (Proper 18), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to August 24 (Proper 16), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to August 17 (Proper 15), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to August 10 (Proper 14), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Sunday closest to August 3 (Proper 13), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sunday closest to July 27 (Proper 12), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Prayers of the People: Form VI
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
First Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday), Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. RJ Powell, Director of Tyson House - UTK
Year C, Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Jon Hermes, Rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, delivering the Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom
Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Note: We apologize for the poor audio quality and are working to resolve the issue before next Sunday.
Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C) - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Candlemas (The Presentation of our Lord) - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C - Rite II
The Baptism of our Lord
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz, Postulant to the Priesthood
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 8), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. L. Gordon Brewer, Deacon
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 4), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz, Postulant to the Priesthood
Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz, Postulant to the Priesthood
First Sunday in Lent, Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. RJ Powell, Tyson House Chaplain at UT-Knoxville
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz, Postulant to the Priesthood
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Chris Harpster, Deacon
First Sunday after the Epiphany (Baptism of our Lord), Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Third Sunday of Advent, Year B - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz, Postulant for the Priesthood
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
All Saints' Sunday, Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
*Note: We apologize for the occasional audio drop outs in this recording.
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Katelyn Printz
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Chris Harpster, Archdeacon
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10), Year A - Daily Morning Prayer, Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Christopher Harpster, Deacon
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 8), Year A - Rite II
Preacher: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), Year A - Rite II
Homilist: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6), Year A - Rite II
Homilist: Alison Barton, Ph.D.
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A - Rite II
This morning St. Paul's celebrates Youth Sunday. Three Episcopal Youth Group (EYG) seniors share their stories in lieu of a homily. Various EYG members perform essential functions throughout the service.
Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Year A - Rite II
Homilist: Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector
The Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A
Homilist: The Right Reverend Brian Cole, Bishop
First Sunday of Advent
Guest Celebrant and Homilist: Rev. R.J. Powell of Tyson House at UT-Knoxville
Celebrant: Father Johnny Tuttle, Rector
Lectionary: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=286
Proper 25: 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Katelyn Printz helps us to see the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector in Luke 18 differently than many of us have often been taught. The Pharisee is often seen as a caricature of spiritual ostentation, a symbol of how elitism can manifest in an utter lack of humility. To view the story this way, though, is to deny the Pharisee any semblance of humanity. Instead, Katelyn helps us to see that both the Pharisee and the tax collector are grappling with a very similar internal struggle: feeling as though God is absent or has forgotten them. These two figures represent two very different ways of grappling with this dark feeling, but the Parable reminds us that the Kingdom of God is among us and the presence of God is around us always. Despite how we may feel at any given moment, God is never absent.
Father Johnny Tuttle leads us in contemplation of the story of Jacob, soon to be called Israel, wresting with God. Wrestling, struggling, with God would be central to how the Israelites understood their relationship with God, and that struggling continues to help us to understand our own faith journeys and the life of the Church today. For many of us, there are chapters in our lives when we struggle with faith or walk away from the Church entirely, but this is all a part of the struggle. It is normal, perhaps even necessary, and it is not a reason for shame. Rather, it is central to who we are as children of the living God.
Our Deacon Rev. Chris Harpster leads us on a contemplation of the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, inviting us to contemplate the story from different perspectives than what might at first seem obvious. It is a passage that proves quite challenging, offering a seemingly brutal lesson on how one arrives in Hades contrasted with the reception of the poor into the company of Abraham with no grace to be found for the rich man. Looking more closely, though, we see that this difficult imagery hammers home the importance of being receptive to the teachings of God and to live out those teachings in the world. The rich man turned a blind eye to the teachings of Moses and the Prophets in his life. We are thus advised to not follow in his mistake and instead to take seriously the lessons and wisdom of Scripture and those who have gone before us in the faith.
As we continue journeying through the parables of Jesus, our expectations continue to be subverted. In today's message on the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, Father Johnny Tuttle helps us parse the often difficult to follow passage and see how nothing in the story is as we would expect it to be. Rather than the economic justice of restitution we would expect, we find Jesus presenting the seemingly absurd story of an economy of grace, where hospitality and mercy are paramount over profit and balanced ledgers. Just as the manager forgave debts and was lauded by the master, so too does Christ forgive our debts in accordance with God's plan of infinity grace.
Father Johnny Tuttle invites us to look with fresh eyes at the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin, as well as the famed parable of the Prodigal Son, which was not part of the day's assigned reading. Rather than simple rhetorical devices, when Jesus asks who would not behave as the shepherd or the woman in the two parables, he is drawing attention to how absurd their behavior is. In either situation, it would make far more sense to cut one's losses and move on. However, Jesus is instead illustrating the benevolence of God which denies rationality and stretches to infinity. Just as the lost sheep or lost coin is precious in the stories, so too is Jesus, the one who has strayed far from the gates of Heaven, precious to God, and by the goodness of God and through Jesus' sacrifice, we, too, are seen by God as irreplaceable and invaluable.
Katelyn Printz helps us grapple with the difficult instructions of Jesus to "hate" your family in order to be a Disciple. By studying the underlying Greek and the context of the passage, though, we find that this instruction carries on a trend of inverting expectations for all kinds of relationships by recentering around Christ. Through this lens, we find that Jesus is leading us to separate ourselves from those things that would try to force an identity on us so that we can define our primary identity in terms of our connection with God.
Father Johnny leads us in a contemplation of the Sabbath and what it truly means for a day to be reserved for rest. In today's constantly connected world, it is all to easy for every moment to become dedicated to productivity. In fleeting moments of rest, exhaustion and mental chaos fill the spaces were restoration should be. By reflecting on the Sabbath tradition, we find that it is inextricable from liberation, not least of which the liberation from the constant pressures from society to produce and generate profit.
Katelyn Printz reminds us to slow down in our busy schedules and pay attention to the world around us. Life is full of God's gifts, and it is important for us to be mindful and present in each moment, taking the time to process the blessings that often go unseen and unappreciated. By doing this, we begin to see all of creation as a gift to be cherished and shared, not to be hoarded, and in doing so, we orient our lives so that we begin to live into a pattern of gift giving, of generosity, or community working toward bringing about the Kingdom of God here on earth.
Father Johnny leads ups on a contemplation of Jesus' Parable of the Foolish Rich Man. Jesus uses humor and absurdity in the parable to demonstrate the tragedy of a person's life if they devote all their time and attention to gaining and hoarding wealth. Loneliness takes over that person until their life and their belongings are their only companions, and life can be take away at any time. Thus, it is paramount that we, as followers of Jesus, learn to appreciate friendships, connections, and communities because life shared together is at the very core of who we are as Christians.
Dr. Alison Barton leads us through the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, or as she would have it, the Intentionally Perceptive Samaritan. This story is often presented as a lofty ministerial goal which can be weaponized into a guilt trip. However, Dr. Barton illustrates that the good performed by the Samaritan results directly from him drawing near to the beaten man, opening himself up to the vulnerability that comes with approaching a fellow human in need, and then allowing himself to be led by the compassion that wells up inside him. With this in mind, we are called to draw near to our fellow humans, to look past our prejudices and biases, and to open ourselves to God's compassion. And just as the Good Samaritan enlisted the help of the inn keeper, we, too, are not expected to undertake such radical compassion alone.
Through his reflection on the past weeks mission efforts with the EYG, Father Johnny helps us to better understand the instructions Jesus gave his Disciples as they went out into the surrounding community. Jesus does not send them with instructions to coerse or convert. The Disciples are not to go door to door engaging in debates and arguments to get others to ascent to their message. Rather, they take with them God's peace and Jesus' message of radical hospitality as they go, and through this, they bring the Kingdom of God near as they pass through the various towns and villages they encounter. Embrace and hospitality is the manifestation of the Kingdom of God drawing near, and it is something that the Church should, indeed must, continue to pursue today, both by serving the community and by welcoming the stranger at the table God has prepared before us.
(We apologize for the sub-par audio quality. We are aware of the situation and hope to have it resolved soon.)
Today, we reflect on Jesus' passage with his followers through Samaria on his way to Jerusalem. When the Disciples offer to call down fire to destroy the city, they are referring back to Elijah doing the same to the Samarians in the Old Testament. However, Father Johnny helps us to understand that Jesus' response in light of Elijah's actions later in the Old Testament story. By doing so, Jesus dismantles the Disciples effort to weaponize Scripture.
As we contemplate the story of the Gerasene Demoniac, Deacon Chris invites us to assess how the possessed man is treated by those around him. We find that rather and compassion and concern, the man's family, friends, and neighbors reacted with fear, only worsening the possessed's suffering. Today, fear continues to be the catalyst for suffering by rooting out compassion and love.
Katelyn Printz invites us to understand that Jesus was the ideal teacher in every way, not just in how he conveyed information but also in how he knew to respect the limitations of the Disciples. Jesus knew that his Disciples, and by extension us as part of the Church today, are not able to grapple with the deepest truths he has to offer all at one time. Our brains just can't handle it, but in his loving kindness, Jesus guides the listener with patience rather than overloading them with difficult information.
On this Pentecost Sunday, Father Johnny takes us through the story of the arrival of God's Advocate in the Gospel of John. The ultimate lesson of Jesus' teaching was not to reach some correct destination. Rather, the sending of the Advocate indicates that the ministry of Jesus is about establishing a way of life, embodied by Jesus as The Way, for disciples to follow, and the Advocate is the continuation of that Way and its experiences for all generations of that Church to follow. In short, it's about the journey, not the destination.
Deacon Chris invites us to consider on this In-between Sunday how Jesus' call to his disciples and the Church today is one of unity of purpose and community, even when we disagree and dislike some of those with whom we are called to be unified. This unity is not an idle call but rather a call to action for justice and reconciliation, particularly given the tragedies that continue to befall us today.
Dr. Allison Barton leads us in contemplation of the story of the invalid by the pool of Beth-zetha in John's Gospel. By healing the man, Jesus turns his entire existence on its head, just as Jesus continues to do for the Church today.
As we reflect on the Holy Spirit's guidance to Peter to embrace Gentile believers, Father Johnny reminds us of the drastic paradigm shift this represented. The crisis of identity felt by the Church in Jerusalem is reflective of the same crises the Church faces today as we engage with new perspectives, identities, and lived experiences in our communities.
Father Johnny invites us to reflect on the ministry and raising of Tabitha/Dorkas, who ministered to widows, both Greek and Hebrew, with great compassion and patience and whose love was able to transcend the social boundaries that often led to inequality between the two groups.
Father Johnny invites us to consider how relationships are healed after someone has failed the trust of another by tracing the journey of Simon-Peter from his betrayal in the garden to his reconciliation with Jesus on the shore.