The Rev. John Philip Newell, internationally acclaimed author, scholar, and teacher, is the featured preacher for Christmas Day, Dec. 25, on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally syndicated ecumenical radio program also accessible online at Day1.org.
Ordained in the Church of Scotland, Newell is known for his work in the field of Celtic spirituality. His books include Christ of the Celts and Listening for the Heartbeat of God. More recently he has written Praying with the Earth: A Prayerbook for Peace, and A New Harmony: The Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul.
Formerly the warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, Newell is the Companion Theologian for the American Spirituality Center of Casa del Sol in New Mexico. He resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Newell’s Christmas sermon, based on the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2, is entitled “Look to the Child.”
“We bow to the Child who was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, the Child who shows us what is at the heart of every child, every man, every woman,” he says. “But it is not just to the past that we bow. We don’t have to look back, nor do we have to look far. For the Child is here and now, in our midst right now, in our family and in every family.”
The program includes interviews with Newell conducted by Wallace, who is also executive producer.
“Day 1” has been broadcast every week for 66 years, formerly as “The Protestant Hour.” It is currently distributed to more than 200 radio stations across America and overseas. “Day 1” is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in cooperation with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and other mainline denominations.