The Shepherd Who is With Us in the Valley

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 26, 2026. Yesterday, I attended a stimulating presentation on addiction at the Town Church by a philosophy professor from Los Angeles named Dr. Kent Dunnington, author of Addiction and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease […]

A Reflection on St. Mark and Simplicity

Readings for the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist This reflection was shared at the monthly gathering of Postulants, Associates and Oblates of the Community of the Transfiguration on April 24, 2026 in Eureka CA. In his final published journal titled The Road to Daybreak, Catholic priest Henri Nouwen writes the following reflection on the captivating story […]

The First Eucharist

Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 19, 2026. This last week, I had the honor of speaking as a guest lecturer in a seminary Bible class and then a World Religions class at the College of the Redwoods and then another […]

A Moving Letter Between Medieval Friends

A version of these remarks were shared at the What Moves You? event in the 222’s Moss Sculpture Garden in Healdsburg CA on Easter Wednesday, April 8, 2026 What Moves You? is a contemplative experience of shared spiritual reflection upon a sacred text. What Moves You? I am moved by the liturgical calendar! The Liturgical Calendar is […]

Seven “First” Words

Readings for Easter Sunday (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 5, 2026. Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! There’s a popular Good Friday service called the “Seven Last Words” which includes meditations and musical reflections on the last words and phrases spoken by Jesus […]

“Come, Dervishes: Here is the Water of Life”

Sermon begins at 35:55 Readings for the Easter Vigil (Year A) Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea] Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6 [Learn wisdom and live]Isaiah 55:1-11 [Salvation offered freely to all] Romans 6:3-11Psalm 114Matthew 28:1-10 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA at the Great Vigil of Easter on April […]

Seeing Christ’s Healing Power in Sister Earth

Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent – Laetare Sunday (Year A) This sermon was preached at St. James Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy on Sunday March 15, 2026. It’s a joy and honor for me to be worshipping with you and preaching here at St. James in Florence among fellow Episcopalians! I’m grateful to Father […]

Listening to the Wind and the Silence with Nicodemus

Readings for the Second Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 1, 2026. During these Sundays in Lent, we will be reading passages from the Gospel of John that each invite us to engage with one of our five senses. John’s Gospel emphasizes the mystery of the […]

Sensual Asceticism

Readings for the First Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 22, 2026. There’s a scene in C. S. Lewis’s science fiction book Perelandra in which the hero of the space novel named Ransom travels from Earth to a Paradise-like planet named Perelandra. There we watch him […]

It Is Good for us to Be Here

Readings for the Last Sunday after Epiphany (Transfiguration) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Shrove Sunday February 15, 2025. “It is good to be here. It is good for us to be here.” During an ecumenical event in Sacramento last month, Roman Catholic priest and Executive Director of the Interfaith Peace Project Fr. […]