Fill Up Like Philip

“Fill Up Like Philip, Be a Branch Like Bachos” Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 8:26-40 1 John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 Psalm 22:24-30 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Good Shepherd Sunday on May 2, 2021. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me […]

St. Philip the Approachable Apostle

A reflection on St. Andrew the Apostle inspired by the oil painting of Fr. George Leonard Shultz (1896 – 1971). This same reflection was published in the Times-Standard on the Feast Day of St. Philip May 1, 2021 as “The Story of Two Philips.” When I look at Fr. George Shultz’s painting of St. Philip, I see […]

Sauntering with St. Catherine of Siena

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Catherine of Siena 1 John 1:5 – 2:2 Psalm 36:5-10 Matthew 6:25-33 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday May 1, 2021 at Freshwater in Eureka. Catherine Benincasa was the youngest of twenty-ﬁve children of a wealthy dyer of Siena. At six years of age, […]

The Wolf’s Shepherd

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday) Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Good Shepherd Sunday on April 25, 2021 Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is one of my favorite Sundays of the year because it is Good […]

Sauntering with John Muir and Hudson Stuck

Readings for the Feast Day of John Muir and Hudson Stuck Revelation 22:1-5 Psalm 104:17-25 Luke 8:22-25 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday April 24, 2021 at Freshwater in Eureka. We have many patron saints of Sacred Saunter (St. Francis, Teilhard de Chardin, Mary Oliver, St. Richard of Chichester and […]

Sauntering with St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha 1 Kings 19:19-21 “Psalm”: a selection from Leonard Cohen’s novel Beautiful Losers Matthew 8:18-22 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday April 17, 2021 at Freshwater in Eureka. Tekakwitha, which means “She who bumps into things,” was born in the Mohawk village […]

Sauntering with William Law and the Perennial Wisdom of Silence

Readings for the Feast Day of William Law Deuteronomy 6:4-9Psalm 1Matthew 6:1-8, 19-21 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday April 10, 2021 at Freshwater in Eureka. William Law was a Church of England priest in the 18th century who challenged Anglicans to take Christian living seriously in his most popular […]

Death is Not the End

Readings for Easter Sunday Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 16:1-8 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Easter Sunday April 4, 2021 Alleluia Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia! Happy Easter, everyone! Ever since my first Easter here when this Great Feast of […]

Mark’s Slant on the Easter Proclamation

Readings for the Easter Vigil (Year B) Genesis 1:1-2:4a (The Story of Creation) Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 (The Flood) Exodus 14:10-31 (Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea) Isaiah 55:1-11 (Salvation offered freely to all) Ezekiel 37:1-14 (The valley of dry bones) At the Eucharist Romans 6:3-11 Mark 16:1-8 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal […]

Holy Saturday Saunter with St. Richard of Chichester

Readings for Holy Saturday Job 14:1-14 Psalm 31:1-5 John 19:38-42 This reflection was shared during the Holy Saturday Sacred Saunter on April 3, 2021. Today is Holy Saturday (when we remember Christ in the tomb) and it is also the feast day of St. Richard of Chichester, a 13th century English bishop. After King Henry […]