August 9, 2026 Transfiguration Sunday In his book about biking across America with his brother, Stan Purdum remembers being in Oregon early in the journey and discovering that, even though it was summertime, they should have packed some cold-weather clothing. After camping for the night in Prairie City, they set out heading east. The days so far had been quite hot, though chilly in the mornings. Here’s how Purdum described what happened next: “Although we were soon wet with s

August 2, 2026 Trinity 9 “Sermon” Version (My friends, in lieu of a sermon this week, I will read some words that I gave private letter to Abbott Gentzsch’s wife, with some private words meant for here alone removed. Many of you have asked how the funeral went, which I will explain after this missive.) When I first met Chuck (who I will occasionally refer to as “Fr. Charles” as he was known at the parish early on and then “Abbott Gentzsch” as he became more fondly known here

July 26, 2026 Trinity 8 It was a beautiful, sunny, summer day in Baltimore, Md. People in a neighborhood of neatly kept brick rowhouses were going about their usual business. A few minutes before 10 a.m. — BOOM! — a massive explosion rocked the entire neighborhood. A great plume of white smoke shot into the sky, and a hail of debris — bricks, scraps of wood, roof shingles — came raining down on the manicured front lawns. Articles of clothing were left hanging from tree limbs.

July 12, 2026 Trinity 6 Everybody knows about the Nobel Prizes, given each year in categories including physics, chemistry, medicine and economic sciences. But how about the “IG Nobels”? This set of awards is given for scientific research that “makes people laugh, then think.” As the word “ignoble” suggests, these awards are not particularly honorable. They carry much less social status than the lofty Nobel Prizes. (The Nobel Peace Prize that was coveted so much by “You-know-

July 5, 2026 The Fifth Sunday after Trinity St. Juniperro Serra On a sunny Saturday last year at Wimbledon, Centre Court had the pleasant buzz of a summer outing — the kind where spectators sip Pimm’s, nibble strawberries drowned in champagne, and pretend they are simply out for a gentle afternoon rather than watching world-class athletes battle nerves and destiny. Amanda Anisimova — young, immensely talented and having just played the match of her life, beating top-ranked Ar