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 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
  • How We Learn...

    How We Learn...


    A woman awoke one morning with a headache.

    But before walking to the medicine cabinet she took a stroll inside the corridors of her mind. She asked her headache.

    'Why are you here and what have you brought me?'

    'I've come to bring you gifts,' said the malady,. 'I've tried to deliver them in many ways and at many times, but perhaps today you are ready to receive them '

    There were three gifts. She gradually underwrapped the first.

    It was a picture of a hospital patient being wheeled into an operating room, his head bandaged so completely it was a wonder he could breathe.

    'Boy, I hope he's ok,' she said, as she began to think of all the other people in the world suffering from head pain. Her first gift was empathy.

    Unwrapping the next present she found a basket of medications, headache treatments both medical and natural, right at her fingertips. She had many roads to relief. 'I'm so lucky,' she said, realizing her second gift was gratitude.

    Just then a surge of pain forced her to roll over on her bed where she gazed out the window. There she spotted a family of deer, four of them, grazing right there in the backyard. They paused and looked up at her for a long moment. 'Oh!,' she gasped at the rare sight, suddenly overwhelmed with the notion that she was not alone, God was with her, her third present.

    'Oh headache,' she said, 'I thought you had come to bring darkness to my day, but you have brought light.' 
  • Thanksgiving Diet Suggestions...

    Thanksgiving Diet Suggestions...


    Since Thanksgiving is all about feasting, here are a few suggestions.

    Starve the urge to want more, feed the urge to be thankful for what we have.
    Starve the urge to worry about not our lack, feed the urge to believe God will provide.
    Starve the urge to believe we’re inadequate, feed the urge that says we’re enough.
    Starve the urge to drink past your limit, feed the urge to connect with those around us.
    Starve the urge to eat more than we should, feed on the urge to stay balanced.
    Starve the urge to talk only to those you know, feed the urge to connect with new people.
    Starve the urge to believe we’re on our own, feast on the urge that says we are not alone.
    Starve the urge to be overwhelmed, feast on the idea that all will work out in God’s time.
    Starve the urge to speak ill of others, feast on the urge to compliment.
    Starve the urge of self-centeredness, feast on the urge to pitch in.

    Bon appétit-


    Fr. Chris+ 
  • Go Ahead, You've Got Permission...

    Go Ahead, You've Got Permission...


    Cards Against Humanity is trying to stick it to Donald Trump.

    The edgy, off-color, online toy company is offering no apologies about making a very political statement, by buying up a large piece of property along the Mexican, United States border, and hiring a seasoned law firm to make it as difficult as possible for the President to carry out his plans to build a wall between the two countries.

    What business does this feisty little privately owned company have getting into the political arena? Where's the precedent? Who gave the permission?

    Or, perhaps the better question is why aren't people of faith more proactively working for important societal change? Why don't we see more bold and creative acts of civil disobedience based on our convictions?

    On Sunday we will read a story about people
    receiving permission from their Master to go out into the world and use their talents creatively and fruitfully. And we will remember that Jesus gives precedent and permission for followers to stand up and get involved, especially in activities on behalf of the marginalized, the poor, and the movements that work to bring peace and justice into the world.

    Our biggest regrets in life are often not about doing the wrong thing, but about not doing anything. How is God calling us to take a chance, to give ourselves permission, to get out into the world more fully, and to truly engage with our culture and with our world? 
  • Our Biggest Problem Is that We Don't Know What We Don't Know...

    Our Biggest Problem Is that We Don't Know What We Don't Know...


    We see people and things not as they are but as we are. 

    This is why we have such differing experiences of people and places. In fact, the way we see others points out much more about ourselves than it does about others.

    That’s why growing in awareness is so important; awareness of who we are, who others are, who God is, and what the world is all about.

    We can do this in four distinct ways. We become more aware when we ask: 1) At regular intervals of the day and week, ‘why am I here and what do I want?’ 2) How am I making ongoing learning and education a strong component of who I am? 3) How do I get too busy? and 4) How am I in intentional relationships with others that allow me to hear alternative awarenesses?

    It’s been said that awareness is God's most valuable gift, that this is what Christ provided on the cross, and that is available to you and me through the gift of faith and the fruit of our labors. How are we being called to accept and cultivate awareness? 
  • Listening for Saints

    Listening for Saints


    I heard from my dead mother the other day.

    It was in a dream. I couldn't believe how vivid and authentic her voice, cadence, and wisdom came across. I had no idea my clumsy memory was able to store such detailed recollections, and then assemble such precise projections. The words and advice were spot on, I awoke with an errie yet oddly fulfilling sense of presence and accompaniment. And was quickly alerted to the fact that, more than likely, this also happens to you.

    Since humans have walked the earth, we've been trying to make sense of who we are and why we're here, and an integral component has been the fate and presence of the beloved who have gone before us.

    The image accompanying this essay is the Pantheon in Rome. It is by far the best preserved of all the ancient Roman wonders because it was built to house the 12 major dieties of the time, and subsequent conquerors were too spooked and superstitious to touch it. So there it stands, now converted by the Christians, yet in keeping with an original principal: it is the Church of St. Mary and All Saints. Gone are the gods, present are His messengers. The Pantheon continues to serve as a monument to our lingering desire to make sense of the world with the help of forces beyond us who await our bidding.

    On All Saints Sunday you and I pause to consider this distant yet eerily proximate other world: who's there, what's being said, and how might it concern us today?

    The Church has always been clear here: the saints are unseen allies. Among their duties are to encourage, inspire, and better equip you and me for the Work. Amidst our frequent feelings of fatigue, confusion, insignificance, and just plain overwhelming, they come to us at strange times and weird places to remind us of a vision of something bigger, better, and far more purposeful than we allow ourselves to imagine.

    So go ahead and be confident. Dream. Dare. Let us open ourselves anew to our higher calling, take risks, and chance it. Go with your intuition. It's usually right. 
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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