This Sunday, October 9th, we're delighted to welcome Father Richard Smith, Ph.D., as our guest preacher at both the 8am and 10:15am services. Fr. Richard is the former Vicar of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in San Francisco’s Mission District. He holds a Ph.D. in Ethics and Social Theory from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and has taught Religious Studies at various Bay Area universities. In his time at St. John's he organized Mission Nightwalks, a coalition of neighborhood faith communities; partnered with the Gubbio Project, a homeless outreach program offering "safe sleep" inside the Church during the week to those without a home of their own; supported the Julian Food Pantry, which distributed food from inside the sanctuary every Saturday; and advocated for immigration and police reform in San Francisco and beyond. Fr. Richard and our Rector, Rev. Claire, have known each other since 2007, when Rev. Claire was a lay member of St. John's, which eventually sponsored her for ordination.