Gary presented this story along with Colin’s sermon on The Power of Story on July 5. Friday morning June 24th, I was at my favorite weekly event. At 8 a.m., I was breakfasting at Bread & Cie with our Dean and the cathedral’s “best and brightest” (just ask them). About 8:35 the thought entered … READ MORE…
Jeff Bates received this email from his friend Ann, in Seattle, and shared it with us. Ann writes, Hello everyone, I’ve thought about sharing this or not .. and finally realized that I just cannot NOT share it. This past Saturday, I got in my car with my dog Alex to drive to my boat … READ MORE…
“May I now present to you Hannah and Kathy Wilder!” Kathy and I were married five weeks ago at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Our ceremony began in the late afternoon, timed so the evening light would shine softly through the stained glass windows. It was a busy day, full of appointments and preparations. Luckily, I found … READ MORE…
This is the story of how our family Bible came to be with me in San Diego, California. I was born and raised in Chile. Our family Bible originally belonged to my mother’s family, the Serpells, who had lived in Cornwall, England. In about 1900, it left England and traveled around the Horn to Chile, … READ MORE…
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: … READ MORE…
Dear Friends at St. Paul’s, I just came back from a retreat in Healdsburg, CA – a Benedictine Experience! Thought I’d tell a story about it … Visiting my spiritual director last year, I scampered around her bookshelves, peering at titles of tomes. A small, slender volume squeaked from the shelf, its title faded, “Seeking … READ MORE…
Having written and published two novels over the past year has produced some interesting effects on other people. On me too, but first, other people. These effects range from a sort of hushed awe by some folks who have never been in the presence of a living, breathing (usually) writer whom they elevate to the … READ MORE…
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to sing in the choir? It can be done! Every July, the choir gets a well-deserved break, and anyone who is interested can step in. I wrote this description of our experience last summer, when my wife Lisa and I were still new to the Cathedral. The Cathedral … READ MORE…
As far back as I can remember, I have had a plan and a road map to where I think I needed to go in life. Whether it was planning for college, the job I would take after college, the perfect career, the house I would buy, the car, the perfect wedding and the perfect … READ MORE…
As some of you might know, I live next door to the Cathedral in the Park Chateau apartments. Because it’s so close, the cathedral staff and clergy have become a kind of extended family for me. And I am very grateful because I know they care about me and try to look after me.But, I … READ MORE…