Supporting the Saint of Hopeless Causes

A reflection on St. Judas Thaddeus inspired by the oil painting of Fr. George Leonard Shultz (1896 – 1971). This same reflection was published in the Times-Standard on Saturday September 16, 2023 as Supporting the ‘Saint of Hopeless Causes’ Since the fall of 2020, I have been offering reflections on Father Shultz’s paintings of the 12 apostles, which […]

Riders on the Storm

“There is nothing more praiseworthy in friendship than loyalty, which is its nurse and guardian.” – St. Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship Jacob was my fellow rider on the storm. The two of us spent a lot of time on the road together; and one of my favorite memories of him was in 2001 when […]

Turning Towards Life’s Open Windows (THe Hebrew LEtter “HE”)

Readings for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Year A) Proper 18 – Track 2 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Sunday September 10, 2023. It’s good to be back indeed! After 15 consecutive Sundays away, it’s good to be back. One of my goals when I arrived here almost six years […]

Anglican Openness

Readings for the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time after Pentecost (Year A) This sermon was preached at St. Stephen’s Chapel at Judges Bay in Auckland New Zealand on Sunday August 20, 2023. It is a great honor to be with you here at this historic chapel where the first Māori Anglican priest, Rota Waitoa, is buried along […]

The Sensual Gospel of Hato Hone

This paper was presented at the College of St. John the Evangelist in Auckland New Zealand as part of the Te Piri Poho Research Seminar on August 17, 2023. On the island of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides, there is a well of St. Brigid which is considered the last remaining well of its kind […]

Mary’s Words of Wisdom

Readings for the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin (Evening) This sermon was preached at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland New Zealand on Sunday August 13, 2023. It’s a joy and honor for me to be preaching here at Holy Trinity Cathedral and I want to thank Fr. Ivica for his warm welcome and generous hospitality. […]

The Divine Prank of the paschal Lamb

This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Colloquium on Violence & Religion at the Institut Catholiqe de Paris on June 14, 2023. The Divine Prank of the Paschal Lamb: Putting Meat on Gil Bailie’s Interpretation of Exodus 12 In his book Violence Unveiled, Gil Bailie offers an interpretation of Exodus 12 that can […]

Abide in the Prayer of the Heart

Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Sunday May 21, 2023. Today is the last Sunday before my three-month Sabbatical; and today’s Gospel comes from the final section of the Farewell Discourse in the Gospel of John.[1] Scholars divide the Gospel of John […]

Experiencing the “Unknown” God

Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Sunday May 14, 2023. O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we may obtain your promises, which exceed […]

Emulating the Trees with Frances Perkins

Readings for the Feast Day of Frances Perkins This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday May 13, 2023 at Sequoia Park in Eureka. Frances Perkins was the first woman to serve a President of the United States as a member of the cabinet. Born in Boston on April 10, 1880, and […]