Chris Yaw

I am a Christ Lover

Chris Yaw

Welcome! I’m an Episcopal priest serving a congregation in Metro Detroit... With a passion for gun safety... A zest for online Christian formation... A zeal for video blogging... A budding writer... A heart for those who have unintentionally harmed... A commitment to workforce housing... A love for marrying people... And a wonderful wife, three kids, and a cat... If we have common interests or not, I'd love to connect with you.

Me

Contact Details


  • St. David's Episcopal Church, 16200 W. Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan, 48076, USA


  • +011 248-557-5430


  • chris@stdavidssf.org

St. David's

I have served as rector of St. David's Episcopal Church in Southfield, MI for 16 years, join us Sundays in person or via zoom.

St. David's Gun Disposal

Working on the issue of unwanted gun disposal, we've made some real progress in helping rid the U.S. of unwanted firearms.

ChurchNext

Since 2013 we have been helping people learn more about faith through our online learning courses at ChurchNext.

Oakland Housing

Helping middle income families get better housing is a challenge that Oakland Housing has been addressing for 75 years.

Hyacinth Fellowship

Because hurting others hurts us, the Hyacinth Fellowship organizes support groups and reminds us that we are not our worst mistakes.

Yaw Wedding

I have been officiating weddings for more than 20 years and continue to find joy in helping couples build lifelong relationships.

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U.S. Guns Produced Today
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Americans Accidentally Killed Today
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Homeless Americans
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Weddings Performed
  • Don't Tiptoe

    Don't Tiptoe



    It’s been said that all around us people are tiptoeing through life.

    Staying close to shore. Not taking chances. Allowing their dreams to visit them only when they’re sleeping.

    However, to tiptoe through life in order to arrive safely at death is not a good recipe for contentment, much less meeting the potential we’ve been given.

    A far better way is to run, hop, skip, dance, create, and imagine our way through life – anything but tiptoe.

    What makes us tiptoe is fear. And much of our fear is so deeply ingrained we can’t begin to name it. But it rules and dominates us in ways we really don’t like.

    This is why you and I desperately need Pentecost.

    This Sunday we are celebrating this church feast, which commemorates the coming of God’s Spirit to be with us. This is not to say we didn’t have God before, or that we now have some sort of double-dose. What it does say is that you are beloved by a God who is in you. You are watched over by God. You are not alone. No matter what happens all will be well because you have God and God has you.

    In what ways are you tiptoeing through life? In what ways do you need to get more risky? How might you better grab hold of the fact that God is in us and with us and isn’t going anywhere?

    ----------------
    Reading
    Thin Blue Smoke – David Worgul
    Switch – Heath Brothers
    The Online Teaching Survival Guide – Boechtter/Conrad
  • How to Really Honor Mom

    How to Really Honor Mom




    The most difficult time for a mother is arguably not giving birth.
    But it is that time in a child’s life when Mom has to say goodbye.

    Whether it’s a high school graduation, college graduation, or when the moving van pulls up to the house and (finally) moves junior away from the basement bedroom.


    This Sunday Jesus talks about Him and the Father being one. And no one understands the oneness of two better than a mother.

    Yet, just as it was ordained that the Son would leave the Father to do the work that only the Son could do, so too, do we know that it is ordained that our children will leave us to do the work they have been called to do.

    And just as the Father looked with joy upon the accomplishments of the Child, so too, do we - knowing that it is not forever, but that there is a great reunion planned that will bring us all back together to live as one, in One. And at that reunion all things will be repaired - whether we have had a good mom or a less than good mom.

    Yes, on Mother’s Day we give thanks for the role that only moms can play. But it is also a time to challenge children everywhere that there is work to do. There is a plan for redeeming the world that the Father has ordained - and every one of us has a role to play in that.

    So, honoring mom isn’t just about giving her a flower and a card, but it’s about seizing the life she’s given us and doing the best we can with it. Yes, let us give thanks to God for our mothers, recognizing their role in God’s work of restoration - and that the work we do brings honor and glory to all of those responsible for getting us here.
  • My Functional Atheism

    My Functional Atheism



    OK, I admit it. I’m a functional atheist.
     
    While I say that God is with me all the time – guiding, protecting, and working alongside me, too often I find that I live my life as if everything depends on me. I make decisions and commitments as if I’m the sole arbiter. I don’t take time to consider that God really does have a plan. And in doing so I act like the God I say is here, really isn’t.
     
    Actually, I don’t think I’m alone here. I think many of us suffer from the same misguided thinking. I think the Church, as a whole, has a hard time owning the promise Jesus gives us in Sunday’s Gospel: ‘The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.’
     
    So what IF God really is here? And God knows everything I’m facing? That God has gone ahead of me to provide and protect? And that the decisions I’m making really aren’t as determinate upon my own action as I think they are?
     
    So much of the Christian journey is about letting go, letting be, and letting God. It’s as if God is saying, ‘Relax. I’ve got it covered. Be at peace. There’s nothing that can happen to you that I don’t know about. It’s all going to be OK.’ Lord, help me trade my atheism for your provision and realize that you do have the whole world in your hands.
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    ADDRESS

    St. David's Episcopal Church, 16200 W. Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076 USA

    EMAIL

    chris@stdavidssf.org

    TELEPHONE

    +011 248-557-5430