3.3.24 Sunday Sermon by The Very Rev. Randy Hollerith 

Thank you, Sir.

You are an amazing speaker, Father Randy! God Bless You for a wonderful sermon that mirrors the way I feel. 😊❤🙏

I wish that dean Randy would minister more often.

I'm 74, and this is the first time I've heard a minister explain why the money-changers were there in the temple. Thank you!

Dean Hollerith is this thoughtful servant of God.

As always an insightful sermon. Also, appreciate your remark regarding clapping. I have been amazed at the amount of clapping that takes place inappropriately during church services. I think some people think they are a concert or a play. Thanks for wonderful words and for all do in your ministry.

Wow, Randy putting the wood to us! An excellent sermon. And, yeah, Randy is making it clear this isn’t a “speech” at some competition, but a sermon inspired by the Holy Spirit and one doesn’t applaud those.

I am not sure Randy was totally excluding clapping in the Cathedral as much as making the point for us to “practice what he preached” as opposed to merely applauding it. This is no easy feat these days. I took home a copy of the Deseret magazine which was offered before the With Malice Toward None forum and found a lot of wisdom in its pages, especially the article on MLK Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Randy’s sermon and those articles pointed me more to introspection rather than recognition of the words for words’ sake. Amen!

Stunned by Randy Hollerith's criticism of applause, I found this online-- The preaching of John Chrysostom 1,600 years ago troubled people of nobility but was cheered by the masses. Chrysostom’s sermons often were interrupted by applause. On one occasion, he urged to his congregation to discontinue the practice. The worshippers, moved by his appeal, applauded! A case can be made in favor of applause. First, our spiritual ancestors brought their hands together to make noisy praise to God. “Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy” (Psalm 47:1). This imperative suggests ancient Israel invited clapping as a regular worship practice. Second, healthy worship is dynamic. It is an opportunity to employ all our senses as a response to the grandeur and grace of God. Applause adds sound to worship. It stimulates our aural sense. Third, applause is the primary way groups in our culture express affirmation and agreement. Applause is to some worshippers what a chorus of “amens” is to others. It allows the congregation to participate in worship and announces the congregation agrees with the substance of what is read, said or sung. Randy has encouraged us to listen to one another. Having listened to his sermon, I hope he will "listen" to this feedback.

Thank you, Dean Randy, for so thoughtfully bringing up the inappropriate nature of applauding the sermon. I'm sure this new post-COVID trend has been quite bothersome to the Cathedral Clergy, and I am glad that it's been mentioned publicly. Sermons encourage us to act on our faith, and we can celebrate/acknowledge those callings by acting on them. Randy proves yet again that he is a compassionate and incredibly thoughtful leader.