Ash Wednesday Sermon 2019

Readings for Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58:1-12 Psalm 103 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 This homily was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019. It was Johannine scholar and Salesian priest Frank Moloney who first called my attention to the incongruity built into the Ash Wednesday service, in which […]

Sacred Saunter

Readings for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Jeremiah 17:5-10 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26 Psalm 1 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on February 17, 2019. This last Fall I attended a conference at the WayCross Conference center in Morgantown Indiana for Episcopal clergy across the country sponsored by the Church Pension […]

Fanny Crosby and the Blessed Providence of God

Readings for the Feast Day of Fanny Crosby Isaiah 42:10-12, 16 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 9:35-39 Psalm 108:1-6 This reflection was shared at the monthly gathering of Associates and Oblates of the Community of the Transfiguration on February 7, 2019, in honor of Sister Diana Dorothea who became the official Lent Madness Hymn Writer in Residence (!). Last […]

Fulfilling Our Mission: Christ Church Eureka Rector’s Report on 2018

Readings for the Third Sunday after Epiphany Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Luke 4:14-21 Psalm 19 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on January 27, 2019. In our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus shares the mission statement for his entire ministry: “to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim […]

Mary, Martin, and the Creatively Maladjusted

Readings for the Second Sunday after Epiphany Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11 Psalm 36:5-10 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on January 20, 2019. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.”[1] By “creatively maladjusted” he meant those who refuse […]

God’s Love Made Flesh in the Sacraments

Readings for the First Sunday after Epiphany: the Baptism of Our Lord Isaiah 43:1-7 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Psalm 29 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on January 13, 2019. In her spiritual memoir titled Strength for the Journey, Episcopal author Diana Butler Bass describes some of her experience as a […]

God’s Glory Discovered in the Disruptions

Readings for the Feast of the Epiphany Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12 Psalm 72:1-7,10-14 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on January 6, 2019. I’m sure we all know those days when we wake up and make a plan to accomplish all the tasks on our long to-do list and even […]

Prayers for Christ Church Eureka for the New Year (Reflection on 2018 for 2019)

This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA at the Christmas Lessons and Carols service on the First Sunday after Christmas, December 30, 2018. On this penultimate day of 2018, I invite us to reflect on this year together, specifically what we have heard read from Scripture and preached from this pulpit throughout the […]

Be Refreshed by the Word Made Flesh

Readings for Christmas Day Isaiah 52:7-10 Hebrews 1:1-4,(5-12) John 1:1-14 Psalm 98 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on December 25, 2018. Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas on this first day of how many days of Christmas? Twelve! Many of us know that from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” […]

Treasuring Angelic Words in Our Heart

Readings for the Feast of the Christ Mass Isaiah 62:6-12 Titus 3:4-7 Luke 2:(1-7)8-20 Psalm 97 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Monday December 24, 2018. “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be […]