“Francis of Assisi” by Hermann Hesse – Prologue

I discovered that one of my favorite authors, Hermann Hesse, wrote a novella about one of my favorite saints, Francis of Assisi, and it’s never been translated into English. Using the original German version and an Italian translation, I have been slowly translating the novella Franz von Assisi (1904), with the help of AI. This […]

Compassion, ash, and DAsh

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 5, 2025. “For he himself knows whereof we are made; he remembers that we are but dust.” Ash Wednesday often falls around my birthday. During my first year here, […]

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 […]

Another Sermon on Trees

Readings for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 16, 2025. According to Jeremiah and the first Psalm, whose who trust in the Lord and those who delight in the Torah are like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots and bearing […]

“Peace and Plenteousness within these Walls”: Rector’s Report on 2024

Readings for the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 2, 2025. Today we celebrate one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, also known as Candlemas, which is always celebrated 40 days after Christmas. […]

Pray for our Prophets

Readings for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 26, 2025. So, a preacher delivered a sermon that was rooted in Scripture, emphasizing God’s love and care for the poor, the oppressed, the vulnerable, and the scared. Many praised this preacher for their grace […]

Jesus’s Commentary on Marriage and Friendship

Readings for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 19, 2025. I love that our readings today are all about weddings since today we are sandwiched between the fifth wedding anniversary of Jim Hendry and Lyn Klay (which was yesterday) and the first wedding […]

Friendship through the Fire

Readings for the First Sunday after the Epiphany – The Baptism of Our Lord (Year C) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 12, 2025. Eleven years ago, I was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of St. John in the Diocese of Los Angeles, a diocese that welcomed and […]

Abide in Abba (honoring John Cobb and St. John)

Readings for the First Sunday after Christmas This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday December 29, 2024. Three days ago, on December 26th, the Eve of the Feast Day of St. John the Theologian, we lost another theologian named John: John Boswell Cobb Jr., who died a couple months shy of his 100th […]

Putting it all Together in our hearts

Readings for the Feast of the Christ Mass This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka for the Christmas Eve service on Saturday December 24, 2024. “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” Mary treasured the words of the angels, the words of the shepherds, and she treasured the Word made flesh, […]