The Episcopal Diocese 

of Northern California

Beloved Community

Resource Newsletter

Published by

The Commission for

Intercultural Ministries

February 2024 

Episcopal Church Becoming Beloved Community

Newsletter Highlights:

• This Lent, We Can't Give Up
• The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World
• Temptations of Jesus
• Diocesan Lenten Civil Discourse Group
• Recording of the Racial Justice Audit Webinar Now Available
• Truth Telling: An Offering to Sacred Ground from Facilitators of Color
• Beyond Sacred Ground
• I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice - Workshop Registration Now Open
• Come and See
• The Good News of Jesus Christ
• The Gray Bird Sings: The Extraordinary Life of Betty Kwan Chinn
• The Rainbow Initiative
• New CALL Course Begins April 8 - Attitudes of Care: Ecotheology in Practice
• Taking the Train
• Vote Faithfully (CIM March Webinar Planned)

Lent is coming and I don’t begrudge anyone their fasting.

But I’m tired of spending the “great 50 days of Easter” paying lip service to celebrating the gospel because I used up all my energy on making the 40 days of Lent miserable.

What if Lent was a time of preparation for joy, and what if we spent Eastertide doing everything from joyfully washing feet to throwing indulgent parties for the neighborhood?

Better still, what if we treated Good Friday with the same importance as Christmas Eve? I’ve always felt the occasion was especially suitable for prayers and preaching that hold nothing back about how terrible things have gotten, from the arrogance and apathy and prejudice that poison our capacity for compassion in the public square, to the literal genocide happening before our eyes.

What if Lent was less about patting our backs with personal piety and more about naming the forces of the human world that would deliver brutality instead of mercy and condemn an innocent to death. Then Eastertide could be about celebrating the liberation of the oppressed, rejoicing in mercy delivered to the despairing, and proclaiming the good news of new life that interrupts the old patterns of death.

That’s what I would like to find this Lent and Easter anyway, but it’s a tall order for one person. That’s why we need a whole community for this religion thing to work, and why those communities need regular help staying focused on it. The gospel is not an easy thing to carry.

Anyone else?

(T. Gartin I Facebook I February 13, 2024)

Beginning Sunday, February 18th at 2pm, St. John's, Roseville, will read and discuss The Book of Forgiving via Zoom.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Chair of The Elders, and Chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along with his daughter, the Reverend Mpho Tutu, offer a manual on the art of forgiveness—helping us to realize that we are all capable of healing and transformation.

The book can be purchased from Amazon.

You may join this study anytime during Lent. Contact Fr. Cliff Haggenjos, Rector, for more information.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81747311192pwd=bUxmV2E2Z2doSS9TWmxkUldUS3UzZz09

Meeting ID: 817 4731 1192 Passcode: 283596 

The Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman was a major influence in the African American churches during the 1950s and 1960s and beyond. His work provided much of the theological foundation for Martin Luther King, Jr’s nonviolent philosophy. This little book, "Temptations of Jesus," contains five sermons exploring the temptations that Jesus faced, temptations that are common to us all. Preceding each sermon is a prayer that invites us to enter into deep places of the soul.

This group will meet via Zoom for five Tuesdays starting February 20 at 1:00 pm. Contact Trinity Cathedral facilitator Bud Swank to register and receive the Zoom link.

A printed or electronic version of the book can be purchased from Amazon. 

Diocesan Lenten Civil Discourse Group

Feb 22 - March 21, Thursdays at 10 am, Zoom

Back in November, Alan Yarborough from the Office of Government Relations came to our Diocese and led an evening workshop on how to have difficult political conversations - civil discourse. Participants found the workshop so helpful that a group wanted to go deeper with the full Office of Government Relations 5-week online class on civil discourse.  

We would like to invite everyone in the Diocese to join us this Lent and this election year in reflecting on how we can listen to differing political opinions with grace and compassion. And how we can speak about our own values with truth and love. Contact Rev. Alex Leach, Director of Formation at Trinity Cathedral, to sign up for this class.  

Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage is a network of autonomous Christian groups with shared convictions who are engaging in a prayerful show of solidarity in cities around the world, where people during Lent will walk the length of the Gaza Strip.

Pilgrimages are taking place throughout Lent. We are encouraging people to find a date within Lent that works for them to host a pilgrimage. For those on the Western calendar, this year starts Wednesday, February 14th and finishes the day before Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday, March 30th. Lent is the 40 days (Sundays not included) that Christians meditate on the final period of Messiah Jesus’ life and his death. As Christians enter into the season of Lent, before the celebration of Easter, we are inviting anyone who wants to be involved in this prayerful, nonviolent pilgrimage that will be the length of Gaza – 41km, or 25 miles.

National Park Service

Black History Month

PBS Gospel

Extended Trailer

PBS KVIE

Black History Month 2024

In our home, mostly family portraits and photos are displayed; there are pictures of my in-laws in their college days, another of four generations of the Edwards family. One wall has three portraits: me from college, Frederick Douglass, and my ancestor, Nicholas Augustin Metoyer.

The Rev. Eric Metoyer stands next to a painting of his great-great-great-great grandparent, Nicholas Augustin Metoyer, who is gesturing toward St. Augustine Church in Isle Brevelle, Louisiana. The original painting hangs in the church. Photo by Rev. Eric Metoyer.

History is terribly complex, as I learned from my family. I am the descendant of slave owners and enslaved people. My branch of the Metoyers descended from Marie Therese (CoinCoin) Metoyer, an enslaved woman who bought her children’s freedom and gave them her land; they, in turn, built the plantation now known as Melrose in northwest Louisiana. My mother’s family, the Edwardses, descended from Gabriel Coakley, a Black man freed from slavery, and his wife, Mary (Calloway) Coakley of Washington, D.C. In those family files, I have copies of the manumission papers for Mary and their children; Gabriel purchased them and then gave them their freedom. The Metoyers and Gabriel Coakley each established a St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in their respective communities; founding and maintaining Black Catholic churches were important to both families. This knowledge of my past informed my commitment to building the Beloved Community in The Episcopal Church.

Join the Rev. Canon Eric McIntosh for a conversation about building Beloved Community through the lens of Jesus’ declaration in Luke 4 that the Spirit’s anointing was upon him to preach the Good News to the poor. McIntosh, an evangelism mentor serving as priest-in-charge at St. James’ Episcopal Church in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, will explore how we can begin this work in our own context.

Recording of the Racial Justice Audit Webinar Now Available

Findings and recommendations of the first year of the Racial Justice Audit of diocesan leadership were discussed at the webinar held on Thursday, February 1st, in addition to moving forward into Year 2.

Consultants from the Mission Institute were present and responded to questions about the audit.

Click on the link below to view the recording.

This webinar was an opportunity to hear from People of Color about their experiences leading Sacred Ground Circles. It was a powerful gathering that is worth visiting, or revisiting, especially for those organizing or facilitating Interracial Circles. 

The webinar included six speakers from the Sacred Ground Facilitators of Color Support Network. Their bios can be found here.

If you identify as a Person of Color and lead a Sacred Ground circle, please contact

Jo Ann Williams, bjwilli@surewest, if you would like to know more about this support network or would like to join the group.

Maree Gauper (right) with Charlese Harris who came down from Washington State for the 25-year anniversary of the march she started.

MLK Unity March in Marysville on January 13th. Photo credit: The Marysville Appeal-Democrat newspaper.

Twenty five years ago, a young woman named Charlese Harris started a new tradition in Marysville, California. She launched an annual Unity March in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday weekend. Every year a small crowd gathers in Yuba City, then marches together across the Fifth Street Bridge armed with placards and signs. Following the march, there is usually a reception in Marysville hosted by one of several participating churches, with speakers, entertainment, refreshments and so on.

Over the years my husband, Bob, and I have become regular participants and have made friends with several of the other “regulars.” One such friend is Pastor Marcia Chambers who took over the organization of the event after Charlese Harris moved to Washington State. This year Marcia texted me in late December to see if I wanted to be part of this year's program. She said I could say whatever was on my heart and I could speak for two to three minutes. I said yes.

As a fortunate coincidence, I was deeply immersed in The Episcopal Church's Sacred Ground program at that time, a dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. This 11-part online series is built around a powerful curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories. Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community.

We had just completed the Sacred Ground session in which we learned about the church's complicity in America's history of slavery and its aftermath. Since this had made such an impact on me, I felt I should talk on that topic for the MLK program. Also, I wanted to offer a prayer of repentance on behalf of the church.

Keeping Track of Sacred Ground

Are you forming a Sacred Ground Circle? Let the Commission for Intercultural Ministries know by registering it here: https://forms.gle/hriHCPKmLwjUHEyEA

Are you interested in joining a Sacred Ground Circle? Sign up here: https://forms.gle/G26EPxDzEFSpnsZW7

The Rev. Canon Tina Campbell, Indigenous Missioner of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, was invited to preach at St. Augustine's in Rocklin on January 14th. Hear what she has to say about faithful call and response, her Indigenous work in the diocese and within the larger church, and Indigenous and other cultural spiritualities. Her sermon begins at 25:54.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral I Posted December 12, 2023

“Whether it’s because of the color of your skin, your sexual orientation, the gender identity you have, all the varieties of ways that the world out there … tells us that there are ways about us that are wrong, bad, set up barriers, and make it harder for you to just be in the world. Christ comes to set us free from all of that.”

We invite you to reflect on Rev. Alex’s sermon and the readings from Isaiah, Peter, and Mark. How can we actively demonstrate Christ's love in our community?

She worked tirelessly to establish homeless shelters and to feed thousands in her community. As a child, she was separated from her family and exposed to the worst of humanity. Despite these monstrous conditions, she journeyed from fear to forgiveness and became a beacon of hope for those most vulnerable and an inspiration for all.

Meet Betty Kwan Chinn.

(Amazon description)

[Editor's Note: From the Rev. Daniel London, Rector: "Ironically, the one person who has done the most to heal the social wounds of Humboldt County is a woman from China and it is her courageous work that has inspired a partnership between my parish (Christ Church Eureka) and the Humboldt Asian & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity (HAPI), a partnership that seeks to acknowledge the reality of the Chinese expulsion in Eureka and to start working together, courageously, towards healing and reconciliation .]

Episcopal Migration Ministries I Posted January 25, 2024

Dear Friends,

We hope that your new year is off to a wonderful start!

First of all, we want to say how grateful we are to everyone who participated in the Rainbow Initiative during its inaugural year, 2023, and in particular to our 21 formal RIC partners throughout the U.S. and in Europe. For a review of what we accomplished together, see this blog post and report.

As you might remember, in 2023 RIC membership was a commitment for the calendar year. In 2024 we are again inviting partners for the calendar year, and we have tried to make the process as simple as possible. Please register for this new year, even if your congregation or organization was registered in 2023. Simply follow this link and complete the form by February 29th.

We will be in touch again soon to get the ball rolling, looking forward to Pride, World Refugee Day, and General Convention in June.

As always, we welcome your questions and any ideas you would like to share. Please write to rainbowinitiative@episcopalchurch.org.

Best wishes,

Sarah Shipman, Director of Operations

Kendall Martin, Senior Communications Manager

Allison Duvall, Senior Manager for Church Relations and Engagement

Max Niedzwiecki, Consultant

As Christians one of the most important things we bring to the table with others concerned with ecological issues is theology, the deep, reflected reasons for our responsibility toward the more-than-human creation. Over seven weeks, Attitudes of Care will trace an arc of our dispositions toward creation, from lament to hope. An activity each week will encourage participants to be engaged with their neighborhoods, regions, and congregations. The emphasis in the course forums will be on what participants learn from the activities, and from one another as they build community through dialogue, not primarily on discussion of texts; but there will be a reading by a theologian each week to support and inform reflections on the activities.

Instructor Phina Borgeson has been engaged with nature all her life, and with theology for most of it. She brings a deacon’s perspective to encouraging others in ministry.   

Register for Attitudes of Care here: https://cdsp.edu/call/online/call-spring-2024/

During a recent holy conversation, the Saint Alban's Creation Care team discussed gas-saving tips for cars - one tip was to simply stop riding in cars. I had a chance to do just that while riding Amtrak for part of my recent work trip – the part from Oxnard, CA to San Diego, CA. After flying (admittedly not environmentally friendly) into Southern California, I attended a sales meeting in Oxnard, CA. The plan for the last half of the week was to attend a solar/storage conference in San Diego, CA. While a few of my co-workers drove from Oxnard to San Diego - a few of us decided to take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner.

The overall experience on the train was great - I caught up on work emails, collaborated with colleagues, had a snack in the dining car, and just enjoyed the view out the window, although I was disappointed traveling between San Clemente and San Diego at night and not being able to see the ocean. The train takes longer than driving (5 hours vs. 3 hours), but it was more relaxing than driving on LA and Orange County freeways. Each seat has a power outlet, table and looked clean. Unlike an airport, we did not have to pass through security. My business class ticket (which was only $64) included a free drink and a snack pack. The San Diego Santa Fe Depot train station was conveniently located in downtown San Diego, CA – very close to the convention center hosting the solar/storage conference.

When traveling please consider riding a train. One train has 487 seats - which can displace 291 cars on the road. Additionally, the new clean locomotives now used by Amtrak run on renewable diesel and are 16% more fuel-efficient than previous locomotives.

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Theresa Cardinal Brown, the Bipartisan Policy Center's senior adviser for immigration and border policy, about why America has struggled to fix its immigration problem.

Migrants walk towards the US-Mexico border wall for processing by US Border Patrol agents in February 2024. John Moore/Getty Images

The biggest spectacle in Washington this week was the unraveling of an immigration deal in Congress, a border security bill that Republicans pushed for, only to turn against it because former President Donald Trump didn’t want any legislation that might help President Biden stay in the White House this fall.

But more complicated and consequential is what’s been happening on immigration far from Washington. And although the political stakes of immigration in Congress and at the White House are high in an election year, they are far higher for the growing number of migrants who have been making their way to the US in recent years.

Here are the answers to seven big questions about migrants, immigration, and the situation on the US border and beyond.

“It is a Christian obligation to vote, and more than that, it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls.” - Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

As you know, there is so much at stake in this year's elections, locally and nationally.  The Episcopal Church has long stood for voting rights and secure elections. The church’s Office of Government Relations, in partnership with other faith based organizations, has created an excellent tool to facilitate you and your church’s efforts to encourage and enable all eligible residents in your community to vote. 

The Vote Faithfully Election Engagement 2024 Toolkit  includes resources to:

●    Help Run Elections

●    Register voters

●    Mobilize - Help your community members access polling stations on Election Day

●    Communicate - Use common church platforms for quick and easy communication to encourage your community to get out the vote

●    Advocate for voting rights

●    Plus - Resources for Vote Faithfully Sunday, November 3, 2024 - Quotes for thought and communal reflection, Music, Prayers

The CIM Advocacy Team will present a webinar for clergy and lay leaders in March to go over the toolkit and answer your questions. For more information contact Bob Wohlsen - bob.wohlsen@gmail.com.

“Participating in our country’s political life isn’t just about casting our own vote – it requires working together so we can all vote and vote faithfully. There are many ways to get involved – from participating ourselves to supporting others in our congregations and communities. We can all play a role in getting “souls to the polls!” - OGR

Let’s get started, today!!

Submitted By

Bob Wohlsen - bob.wohlsen@gmail.com

Advocacy Team Chair

Commission for Intercultural Ministries

Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

Nearly four months of conflict have devastated Gaza’s infrastructure and dangerously reduced essential supplies like food, water, and medicine. Hundreds of thousands of civilians—the vast majority of them children and women—are now displaced and at grave risk of starvation and deadly disease. 

This week, a coalition of more than 50 national organizations sent a letter to President Biden urging him to support the protection of civilians in the conflict in the Occupied Gaza Strip by restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

• Call for a Ceasefire Now
• Urge Congress to end slavery without exception (see Colorado example)
• Expand the Child Tax Credit
• Abolish the Death Penalty
• Tell Congress to Protect Uyghurs (see China Primer - Uyghurs)

For more information, contact Bob Wohlsen, Advocacy Team Chair, bob.wohlsen@gmail.com.

The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

The Commission for Intercultural Ministries

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