The Sword and the Sparrow

Readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7 – Track 1 – Year A) Genesis 21:8-21Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17Romans 6:1b-11Matthew 10:24-39 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on June 21, 2026. Happy Father’s Day! Ironically, Jesus’s message for us this Father’s Day is, “I have come to set a man against his […]

Blessed are Bert and Sheena

Readings for the Wedding of Ralph Herbert Hafar III and Sheena Marie Ruchte Song of Solomon 2:10 – 13; 8:6 – 7 Psalm 67 1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13 Matthew 5:1 – 10 This sermon was preached at the Wedding of Bert and Sheena on Saturday June 13, 2026 at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka CA Blessed are […]

A House of Blessing for All Families of the Earth

Readings for the Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5 – Track 1 – Year A) Genesis 12:1-9Psalm 33:1-12Romans 4:13-25Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on June 7, 2026. This year, we begin the long green season of Trinitytide with a call, a vocation, and the beginning of a journey. […]

One Heart

Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on May 17, 2026. Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart there ascend, and with him continually […]

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 […]