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.

0
U.S. Guns Produced Today
0
Americans Accidentally Killed Today
0
Homeless Americans
0
Weddings Performed
  • Grateful

    Grateful


    I know a man in a big city who’s always complaining.

    His name is Carl, and he never married, though when his sister died, he raised her two daughters. These two girls grew up to be wonderful young ladies. But as soon as they graduated from college they moved far away. Sure, they wanted to pursue their dreams, but they also didn’t want to live near a complainer.

    When I would go visit Carl all he does is grumble about no one visiting him. Aside from his two adopted daughters, who only fly into town when their feelings of guilt become unbearable, few people have the resilience to put up with him for long. Carl calls them all ungrateful.

    Unfortunately, this will probably not subside because Carl will not get the gratitude he wants as long as he keeps demanding it.

    We cannot receive gratitude until we give it.

    Like Carl, you and I can see that much of our dissatisfactions may be rooted in our inability to be more grateful. We can harbor envy, jealousy, and resentment because we spend too much time looking at what we don’t have – and too little concentrating on what we do.

    By any measure, you and I are remarkably blessed. In fact, if we take a moment to count them, we soon find out this may take all day.
  • Love, Love, Love

    Love, Love, Love


    I was talking with some parents the other day who were discussing aspirations for their children.

    One parent said he wanted his child to be known as a successful businessperson. One woman said she wanted to see her child follow her into medicine. Another woman said she simply wanted her child to be kind and caring.

    After this last parent spoke up, everyone else agreed with her, and actually admitted that they wanted their children to be the same.

    After all, being kind and loving is the aspiration of everyone reading these words. We understand that the best way to channel God into this world is to love. It is to give love and receive love. It is to ponder and practice love in our daily lives, at work, home, and play.

    This Sunday we will hear Jesus say that his disciples will be known by their love for one another. We know this, know how to do this, and practice if frequently. However, we often need reminders to make this the priority we wish it were for us.

    So, now are you and I cultivating reputations as bearers of love? How better might we love those around us? As we know, when we love others we’re loving God, so who around us needs love – and how might we bring it? And how might we better remind ourselves of our deepest desire: to love God by loving others?
  • You Already Know... So...

    You Already Know... So...


    You Already Know… So…

    There’s an art dealer who can tell a fake from the real thing in an instant.

    There’s a tennis coach who can tell if a player is going to double-fault before the ball hits the racket.

    There’s a psychologist who can tell if a couple will get a divorce after observing them together for only a few minutes.

    Snap judgments, intuition, instincts, and hunches have all played important roles in our lives. And they’re probably right more times than they’re wrong. Doctors call this our adaptive unconscious, and it’s capable of some pretty amazing perceptions.

    There are a bunch of reasons why we don’t trust our intuition more – one of the more important ones is because we often don’t want to. When our instinct tells us we said something we shouldn’t have to that sales clerk we are more inclined to shrug it off and try to forget about it than choose the harder option of apologizing.

    On this upcoming Good Shepherd Sunday we are reminded that an aspect of our relationship with Jesus is that we instinctively know his voice – and, like sheep, do well to obey it: if we talk to God with our words, God talks to us with intuition.

    And we know that we do well to follow that intuition not just because it can lead us down the right path, but also by doing so we hone the skill of hearing from God and thus make it easier to do the next time and the time after that.

    As we go through our day, what is our intuition saying to us? How are we being guided? What’s the shepherd saying to the sheep?
  • Peace and Gratitude

    Peace and Gratitude


    A janitor got bawled out in the office the other day.

    A rich executive lost his cool at the Latina janitor who had mistakenly thrown out some really important papers. The tirade was ruthless. The executive mocked, ridiculed, and made fun of the janitor. She left in tears.

    On his ride home the executive owned up to his a mistake: he had overstepped. But he rationalized, justified, and simply let other thoughts take over. He buried his guilt.

    That’s why he was surprised the next day when he found a small bouquet of dandelions in a coffee cup on his desk. There was no note. When the janitor came in to empty his trash later, the executive knew where they had come from.

    “Are these from you?” he said.

    “Yes,” she said.

    “But why did you give them to me? I think I’m the one who owes you something.”

    “I know,” she said. “I figured you would want to say you’re sorry and would probably have a hard time doing it. And my father always said peace and gratitude go hand in hand.”


    When we think appreciative thoughts about the less than perfect relationships that surround us they can become more peaceful. Healing comes. Restoration emerges. Reconciliation happens. Approach the imperfect with gratitude. Miracles await.
  • Total Pageviews

    Search This Blog

    Blog Archive

    Powered by Blogger.
    ADDRESS

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

    EMAIL

    chris@stdavidssf.org

    TELEPHONE

    +011 248-557-5430