The Preaching Moment
The Preaching Moment Podcast shares the weekly sermons of The Rev. Suzanne Weidner-Smith, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Alvin, Texas—a church where faith is lived out in real, tangible ways.
At Grace, worship doesn’t end at the church doors. Each week, hundreds of families are served through a drive-through food distribution; homebound seniors receive not just groceries but also companionship; and neighbors experiencing homelessness are welcomed with hot meals, clean clothes, and dignity. What began as meeting physical hunger has grown into something deeper: a ministry of presence, relationship, and hope.
Mother Suzanne’s preaching is shaped by this reality. Drawing from scripture, story, and her years as a hospice chaplain, she speaks to a faith that meets people where they are—in uncertainty, in struggle, and in everyday life. Her sermons are grounded, compassionate, and rooted in the belief that the Gospel is not just something we hear, but something we live.
These are sermons from a community becoming a sanctuary—where compassion is practiced, stories are honored, and the good news of Jesus is made real, week after week.
The Preaching Moment
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost - October 2, 2022 By Visiting Seminarian Eric Bumgardner
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The Rt. Rev. Kai Ryan, Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, invited congregations throughout the Diocese to set aside Sunday, October 2, 2022, to:
- Highlight stories of discernment and call to ministry, whether lay or ordained
- Welcome a Seminary of the Southwest seminarian or Iona student to preach (other Diocese of Texas seminarians may be able to provide a video sermon)
- Offer an adult formation experience focused on sharing call stories or discernment
- Collect a special offering to support theological education
The people of Grace answered this call by inviting Seminarian Eric Bumgardner to preach on this day. This is the sermon he preached on Psalm 137.
Psalm 137
Super flumina
1 By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, *
when we remembered you, O Zion.
2 As for our harps, we hung them up *
on the trees in the midst of that land.
3 For those who led us away captive asked us for a song,
and our oppressors called for mirth: *
"Sing us one of the songs of Zion."
4 How shall we sing the Lord'S song *
upon an alien soil.
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, *
let my right hand forget its skill.
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you, *
if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.
7 Remember the day of Jerusalem, O Lord,
against the people of Edom, *
who said, "Down with it! down with it!
even to the ground!"
8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, *
happy the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us!
9 Happy shall he be who takes your little ones, *
and dashes them against the rock!