The Third Sunday of Advent | Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 | Psalm 126 | 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
 | John 1:6-8, 19-28 | December 17th, 2023 | Rev. Flo Oakes | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: "The Cure for Sorrow" - Jan Richardson

This is a recording of a recent Order of Bethany Info Meeting. 

St. Mary’s offers a way of membership in the community called the Order of Bethany and is open to anyone who desires to live this way of life together. The vows for the order are vows of fidelity, hospitality, solidarity, and levity, and grow from the lives of the saints in Bethany: Mary, Martha, Simon the Leper, and Lazarus. The vows are simple ways of committing to God, one another, and the world with a posture of joy for one year. 

Last year, St. Mary's hosted a Common Conversation on Advent, Soul Care, and Economic Justice with Dr. Bruce Rogers-Vaughn and Fr. Bruce Morrill.

This follow up discussion centers on neoliberalism and theology, and how, through community, we might resist the systems that create myriad inequalities. You can watch the video here.

The Second Sunday of Advent | Isaiah 40:1-11 | Psalm 85 | 2 Peter 3:8-15a | Mark 1:1-8 | December 10th, 2023 | Rev. Kelley Doyle | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: "Commentary on Isaiah 40:11" from Working Preacher - Dr. Anathea Portier-Young | Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 1 - ed. David Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor  | "Quite Early Morning" - Pete Seeger

Common Conversation: BMHCR
Thursday, December 7th at Glendale Baptist Church 

This conversation features Dr. Layla Bonner, Dr. DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash, and Rev. Dr. Danny Bryant, founders of the Black Mental Health Counselor Reparations Foundation (BMHCR). They discuss the vision and mission of the foundation, the future work we hope to do, and how this foundation can be an example of the fruit of ecclesial reparation work. BMHCR is currently paying loan debt for a Black mental health counselor in Nashville.

This was recorded live in a recent Common Conversation, a series of talks on theology & practice hosted by St. Mary's. 

The Ordination of Flo Paris Oakes | Isaiah 6:1-8 | Psalm 121 | Philippians 4:4-9 | John 10:11-18 | November 12th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

This is part of a series of follow-up talks from our Common Conversation back in August about Faith in Nashville. You can listen to that here.

In this podcast, Danny Bryant and Anna Caudill discuss questions around salvation and politics, particularly as they relate to disability theology. 

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost | Deuteronomy 23:1-12 | Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 | 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 | Matthew 22:34-46 | October 29th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Crisis Contemplation - Barbara Holmes | Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age - Bruce Rogers Vaughn | Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community - Pádraig Ó Tuama | The Books of Moses - Robert Alter

The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost | Exodus 33:12-23 | Psalm 96 | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 | Matthew 22:15-22 | October 22nd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Crisis Contemplation - Barbara Holmes | The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | In the Shelter - Padraig O'Tuama | Remembering - Wendell Berry

The Eigtheenth Sunday after Pentecost | Exodus 17:1-17 | Psalm 25:1-9 | Philippians 2:1-13 | Matthew 21:23-32 | October 1st, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost | Exodus 16:2-15 | Psalm 145:1-8 | Philippians 1:21-30 | Matthew 20:1-16 | September 24th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Christian Life: An Adventure in Love - Ilia Delio | Addiction and Grace - Gerald May | Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community - Padraig O'Tuama | Beloved - Toni Morrison

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost | Exodus 14:19-31 | Psalm 95 | Romans 14:1-12 | Matthew 18:21-35 | September 17th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Romans for Normal People - Daniel Kirk | The Book of Psalms - Robert Alter

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost | Exodus 12:1-14 | Psalm 149 | Romans 13:8-14 | Matthew 18:15-20 | September 10th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Jesus' Alternative Plan - Richard Rohr | The Meal Jesus Gave Us - N.T. Wright | Two Economies - Wendell Berry | The Bible Made Impossible - Christian Smith | The Art of Reading Scripture - various authors

The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost | Exodus 3:1-15 | Psalm 105 | Romans 12:9-21 | Matthew 16:21-28 | September 3rd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Romans for Normal People - Daniel Kirk | The Books of Moses: Commentary & Translation - Robert Alter | Remembering and Resisting - Johann Baptiste Metz | Into the Silent Land - Martin Larid | Joy Unspeakable - Barbara Holmes 

The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Annual Meeting | Psalm 23 | Acts 2:42-47  | August 27th, 2023 | The St. Mary's Staff | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Common Conversation: Faith in Nashville 
Thursday, August 17th at Glendale Baptist Church 

Listen to Danny Bryant, Anna Caudill, and David Dark discuss the challenges & promises of Christianity in Nashville. In a city where celebrity, profits, politics, and faith are so deeply enmeshed, how do we create and sustain beloved community? 

This was recorded live in a recent Common Conversation, a series hosted by St. Mary's. 

The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 139 | Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 | August 20th, 2023 | Rev. Flo Oakes | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: "Sometimes" - Mary Oliver | The Religious Potential of the Child - Sofia Cavalletti | Midrash: Reading the Bible with Question Marks - Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 133 | John 12:1-11 | August 13th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Parable of the Mustard Seed Icon by Kelly Latimore | An Invitation to Kenotic Generosity in the Religiously Pluralistic Situation - Dr. Lauren Smelser White | The God Who Gave You Birth - Cyprian Consiglio | Bethany Near the Mount of Olives - Brian Capper 

The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 128 | Matthew 14:13-21 | August 8th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now - Walter Brueggemann 

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 127 | Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 | July 30th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 126 | Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 | July 23rd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Jesus and the Disinherited - Howard Thurman | Kingdom, Grace, Judgement: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus - Robert Capon | Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible - Willie James Jennings

The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 125 | Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 | July 16th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Art of the Commonplace - Wendell Berry | Kingdom, Grace, Judgement: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus - Robert Capon

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 123 | Matthew 10:40-42 | July 2nd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community - Pádraig Ó Tuama

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost | Psalm 121 | Matthew 9:35-10:8 | June 18th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources (art): "Pacifist" - Shaun Tan | "Trinity" - Andrei Rublev 

The Sixth Sunday of Easter | Acts 17:22-31 | Psalm 66:8-20 | 1 Peter 3:13-22 | John 14:15-21 | May 14th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Bryant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky | "Love is Everywhere (Beware) - Wilco | 1 Corinthians 13 - The Message translation

The Fifth Sunday of Easter | Acts 7:55-60 | Psalm 31 | 1 Peter 2:2-10 | John 14:1-14 | May 7th, 2023 | Rev. Kelley Doyle | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: "After Her Death" - Mary Oliver | "Fifth Sunday of Easter: A Collective People with a Singular Heart" - Dr. Angela Parker | Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence - Diana Butler Bass 

The Fourth Sunday of Easter | Acts 2:42-47 | Psalm 23 | 1 Peter 2:19-25 | John 10:1-10 | April 30th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible - Willie James Jennings | "Two Economies" - Wendell Berry

Easter | Isaiah 25:6-9  | Psalm 118 |  1 Corinthians 5:6b-8 | Luke 24:13-49 | April 9th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: My Bright Abyss - Christian Wiman | The Awakened Heart - Gerald May | Lent with St. Francis: Daily Reflections - St. Francis 

The Fifth Sunday in Lent | Ezekiel 37:1-14 | Psalm 130 | Romans 8:6-11 | John 11:1-45 | March 26th, 2023 | Rev. Colin Fagan | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Jesus as Friend in the Gospel of John - Gail O'Day | The Call of Discernment in Troubled Times - Fr. Dean Brackley SJ |  Eucharistic Participation - Hans Boersma | Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels - ed. Joel Green, Jeannine Brown, Nicholas Perrin | John: NIV Application Commentary - John Burge

The Sixth Sunday in Lent | John 19:25-27  | John 10:11-18 (First Nations Version) | April 2nd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Dr. Brad Jersack podcast | After Whiteness - Willie James Jennings

The Fourth Sunday in Lent | 1 Samuel 16:1-13 | Psalm 23 |  Ephesians 5:8-14 | John 9:1-41 | March 19th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: John for Everyone: Part One - N.T. Wright | The Collected Sermons - Walter Brueggemann |  Joy Unspeakable - Barbara Holmes

The Third Sunday in Lent | Exodus 17:1-7 | Psalm 95 | Romans 5:1-11 | John 4:5-42 | March 12th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Spirit of Life: A Universal Affirmation - Jürgen Moltmann | Footprint of a Dream - Howard Thurman |  Christian Life: An Adventure in Love - Ilia Delio

The Second Sunday in Lent | Genesis 12:1-4 | Psalm 121 | Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 | John 3:1-17 | March 5th, 2023 | Rev. Kelley Doyle | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament - ed. Amy-Jill Levine, Marc Zvi Brettler | "The First Verb" - St. Hildegard of Bingen | Genesis Rabbah 1 

The First Sunday in Lent | Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 | Psalm 32 | Romans 5:12-19 | Matthew 4:1-11 | February 26th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Finite and Infinite Games - James P. Carse | "Vacation" - Wendell Berry

Ash Wednesday | Isaiah 58:1-12 | Psalm 51:1-17 | 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 | Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 | February 22nd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: "Pedagogy of Conflict" - Pádraig Ó'Tuama 

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany | Deuteronomy 30:15-20 | Psalm 119 | 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 | Matthew 5:21-37 | February 12th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Joy Unspeakable Tenderness - Barbara Holmes | Jesus’ Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount - Richard Rohr | Martin & Malcom & America: Dream or Nightmare - James Cone | The New Jerusalem Bible

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany | Isaiah 58:1-12 | Psalm 112 | 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 | Matthew 5:13-20 | February 5th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness - Fr. Gregory Boyle | Jesus’ Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount - Richard Rohr

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany | Micah 6:1-8 | Psalm 15 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 | Matthew 5:1-12 | January 29th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness - Fr. Gregory Boyle | Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age - Bruce Rogers-Vaughn | The Message - Eugene Peterson

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany | Isaiah 9:1-4 | Psalm 27:1, 4-9 | 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 | Matthew 4:12-23 | January 22nd, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: Jesus Christ for Today’s World - Jurgen Moltmann | The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness - Fr. Gregory Boyle

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany | Isaiah 49:1-7 | Psalm 40:1-11 | 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 | John 1:29-32 | January 15th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

Readings and Resources: The Sabbath - Abraham Joshua Heschel | Walking in Wonder - John O'Donohue | The Gospels - Sarah Ruden | Schalom Ben-Chorin as quoted in Jesus Christ for Today’s World - Jurgen Moltmann | Collected Sermons - Walter Brueggemann | The Christian Imagination - Willie James Jennings

Baptism of the Lord - the First Sunday after the Epiphany | Isaiah 42:1-9 | Psalm 29 | Acts 10:34-43 | Matthew 3:13-17 | January 8th, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN) 

The First Sunday after Christmas  | Isaiah 63:7-9 | Psalm 148 | Hebrews 2:10-18| Matthew 2:13-23 | January 1st, 2023 | Rev. Danny Byant | St. Mary of Bethany Parish (Nashville, TN)