Smell the Air

Smell the Air of the Afterlife Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 26, 2023. Throughout this Lenten season, the Gospel of John has invited us to listen to the wind with Nicodemus, to taste the living water of the Word with the […]

The Feast of the Annunciation and the Power of the Incarnation

This sermon was published in “Seasonal Journal” – Lent / Easter 2023 (Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Colorado Springs, CO 80903), 31-32. The Rev. Dr. Daniel DeForest London serves as the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka, CA. He earned his BA in English and Religious Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara […]

See the Soil

Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent – Laetare Sunday(Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 19, 2023. The relatively new practice of Forest Therapy involves a guide who is trained to bring people into a therapeutic encounter with the healing power of the forest. The primary way that the […]

Shamrocks and Trilliums

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Patrick of Ireland This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday March 18, 2023 at Sequoia Park in Eureka. Today, our Scripture readings are the readings for the feast day of Ireland’s most beloved saint, Patrick, who actually was not Irish, but British. As a […]

Taste the Water

Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 12, 2023. Last Sunday, I echoed and emphasized Christ’s invitation to listen to the wind, including the wind that breathes through our own bodies. We’ve had some especially gusty days this last week, and I’ve enjoyed […]

Listen to the Wind

Readings for the Second Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 5, 2023. “I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul where I’ll end up, well, I think only God really knows” – Cat Stevens “Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the […]

The Temptation to Imitate Satan and the invitation to Imitate Christ

Readings for the First Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 26, 2023. Last December, I invited Fr. David Shewmaker to preach on this First Sunday in Lent and he said he would be happy to do so. Although he later told me that regrettably his heart […]

Homily for Fr. David Paul Shewmaker’s Celebration of Life

Readings for Fr. David Shewmaker’s Celebration of Life. This homily was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on February 25, 2023. One week after Fr. David Shewmaker died, he appeared to me in a dream looking especially spry, slim, dressed in a denim jacket, and nearly leaping with vivacity. When we embraced, I felt lifted […]

The Darkness of Taboric Light

Readings for the Last Sunday after Epiphany (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 19, 2023. Last Sunday, I concluded my sermon with the hope that our eyes may be open to see the uncreated light of God shining all around us. I recently learned a word for this uncreated light […]

Sermon on the Mount: Expressions of the Inexpressible Name

The Sermon on the Mount: Expressions of the Inexpressible Name Readings for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 12, 2023. This last Thursday, our dear friend Fr. David Shewmaker passed on to his eternal reward while deep in prayer. In the letter I sent […]