The Cross and the Wolf Within

Readings for Good Friday Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 Psalm 22 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1 – 19:42 This sermon was preached on Good Friday at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 3, 2026. About 800 years ago, the people in the Italian city of Gubbio were being terrorized by a fierce wolf who was not […]

St. Francis and Sister Death

Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 22, 2026. “Well, everything dies, baby, that’s a fact / But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.” These are lyrics from the song “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen, whose biopic I watched as I flew […]

The Mysterious Conversion of St. Francis

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, February 18, 2026. Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Ha pater sou ha blepon en to krypto apodosei soi. Your Father (pater) who sees […]

The Zen of St. Francis

The Zen of St. Francis: An Episco-Bu-Jew’s Reflections on the Poverello This presentation was given at Ensō Village, Zen-inspired Retirement Community in Healdsburg CA as part of the Speaker Series on Wednesday October 8, 2025. It’s a joy and honor to be here and I’d like to thank my friend Kogen for inviting me. You […]

the Disciple who Took Christ Seriously

Readings for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18 – Year C – Track 2) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on September 7, 2025. Today we celebrate, for the first time in Christ Church Eureka history, the first Sunday of the Season of Creation, a new liturgical season established in 1989 […]

The Interior Castle Distilled: “Caterpillar Soup”

Readings for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 23, 2025. Over the last seven weeks, several of us have been gathering in the Pierson Room to discuss our reading of The Interior Castle, a spiritual classic written by 16th century Spanish mystic, Teresa […]

Sacred Saunter with “Franz von Assisi”

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi This excerpt from Herman Hesse’s novel Franz von Assisi was shared at the St. Francis Blessing of the Animals and the Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday October 4, 2024 at Sequoia Park in Eureka CA An excerpt from Franz Von Assisi by Herman Hesse […]

St. Francis and Forest Therapy

This article was written for the October 2024 Chronicle newsletter for Christ Church Eureka. St. Francis and Forest Therapy In the first biography of St. Francis written by Thomas of Celano in 1230, four years after Francis died, we see evidence of the saint’s love for the forest. Along with reporting the saint’s famous sermon to […]

The Water and the Blood

Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Sunday May 5, 2024. “This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, […]