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The Episcopal Diocese
of Northern California
Beloved Community
Resource Newsletter
Published by
The Commission for
Intercultural Ministries
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Episcopal Church Becoming Beloved Community | |
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Newsletter Highlights:
- Bishop Megan's Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter
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I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice Upcoming Workshop at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Auburn
- Get Ready for Earth Day: Resources Spotlight from the Commission on the Environment
- Kick Off Your 2023 Earth Day Celebration - The Ants & the Grasshopper
- Interfaith Power and Light Webinar, Saturday, April 29, 1 pm
- Church of the Epiphany, Vacaville, Signs on to EMM's Rainbow Initiative Program
- Plenty of Pride Within Diocese of Northern California
- Racial Justice Audit Update
- Sacred Ground Graduates Visit Japanese Internment Smithsonian Exhibit
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The Resurrection | Easter Project | The Spirituals | |
Depicting the gospel message, listen to The Spirituals Choir reimagined songs with Karen Gibson MBE at Lambeth Palace and be enriched by the good news story. | |
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry: Easter 2023 Message
March 30, 2023 I Office of Public Affairs
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“We are here in a world struggling to find its soul, but the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not, cannot, and will not overcome it,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry said in his Easter 2023 message. “Jesus lives. He has been raised from the dead. That is the message of Easter, and that is the good news of great tidings.” | |
Bishop Megan’s Sermon
for the Second Sunday of Easter
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
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April Webinar: “What is Sacred Ground in 2023 and Why is It Important to Engage?”
April 27th at 3 pm PT
This month the informational webinar made when Sacred Ground was first launched in 2019 will be revisited. This webinar will address the questions, “What is Sacred Ground, and Why is it important in our world?” Beginning with introductions from The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation, and Katrina Browne, author of the Sacred Ground curriculum, this webinar will also include Sacred Ground community members who are engaging the curriculum in their local contexts. This webinar is for you whether you are brand new to the Sacred Ground community, considering using it, or revisiting it after walking through it a few years ago. In addition to being a good webinar to attend live, this offering will remain ‘evergreen’ on the Sacred Ground website as a resource for promoting the curriculum in the future.
Click the button below to register for this offering and to ensure you receive the recording following this webinar.
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Sacred Ground March Webinar Follow-Up:
Addressing Conflict
Last month Kathy Deal and Norma Williamson offered a training on addressing conflict. This training offers guidance to Sacred Ground facilitators interested in understanding and responding to tensions and conflicts that arise in their circles. They addressed cultural differences in how tension and conflict manifest; common conflict management styles; and the importance of assessing and addressing the conflict or tension within the circle. This training stresses the importance of the facilitator’s role in establishing and maintaining ground rules for respectful engagement; responding thoughtfully when sensing conflict avoidance or withdrawal; and slowing down the dialogue process so conflict can be addressed when it arises.
You can access the slides from the training here.
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I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward
Racial Healing and Justice Upcoming Workshop at
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Auburn
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These one-day in-person workshops were specially developed for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California by the Commission for Intercultural Ministries. Renew your Baptismal Covenant as we learn about forms of historic and contemporary racism and how to engage in ministry with sensitivity and respect for all.
Please note that due to the nature of the program, attendance is limited to 30 participants.
Saturday, April 29, 2023
9:30 am - 4:30 pm
St. Luke's Episcopal Church | Auburn
Register: https://forms.gle/YCgcdyRvdHWJfLBB8
Registration fee of $15 (cash or check) on day of workshop.
Contact Diane Williamson for questions: dianewilliamson864@gmail.com
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Watch for registration links in the Diocesan E-News and in the Beloved Community Resource Newsletter for these upcoming workshops:
- Saturday, September 9, 2023 - Virtual online workshop
- Saturday, October 7, 2023 - St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Napa
- Saturday, October 28, 2023 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Roseville
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Get Ready for Earth Day: Resources Spotlight from the Commission on the Environment
By The Rev. Dr. Pamela Dolan
One of the primary goals of our Commission is to seek out and provide to you, the people and congregations of the Diocese, the best resources we can find in the areas of creation care, environmental justice, and related topics.
What follows are more resources for your Green Team, worship planners, Sunday school teachers, or other caring individuals to do even more to make Earth Day a meaningful event.
Why celebrate Earth Day?
Evangelism: There is a widely-held belief that Christians don’t care about science or the environment. You can show your community that your church is different. We do care!
Formation: Our faith is the number one reason we care for God’s creation. Helping people of all ages within your church make the link between loving God, loving neighbor, and loving our planet is simply good Christian formation.
Hope: One of the foundations of the Christian faith is hope. Most of what people hear about the environment is depressing and even frightening. The Church has a different story to tell—one of reliance on God, faith in the future, and a shift toward working together on common goals.
Click here for Resources to help you have a great Earth Day.
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Kick Off Your 2023 Earth Day Celebration | |
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The Church of the Incarnation, Santa Rosa, and the Commission on the Environment are excited to invite you to a screening of the documentary film, The Ants & the Grasshopper, on Wednesday evening, April 19 at 6 pm.
The film will be screened in-person at the church and simultaneously broadcast over Zoom. We hope you'll watch with us!
Here is the Zoom information to participate online:
Topic: The Ants and the Grasshopper Screening
Time: April 19, 2023 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81516563752?pwd=WTQ3WW91QzFGRUUvRWc1TlZqOUNrUT09
Meeting ID: 815 1656 3752
Passcode: 719100
Or dial in: +1 669 444 9171 US
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kb9EcQkofY
About the film: Anita Chitaya has a gift; she can help bring abundant food from dead soil, she can make men fight for gender equality, and she can end child hunger in her village. Now, to save her home from extreme weather, she faces her greatest challenge: persuading Americans that climate change is real. Traveling from Malawi to California to the White House, she meets climate skeptics and despairing farmers. Her journey takes her across all the divisions shaping the US, from the rural-urban divide, to schisms of race, class and gender, to the thinking that allows Americans to believe we live on a different planet from everyone else. It will take all her skill and experience to persuade us that we’re all in this together.
This documentary, ten years in the making, weaves together the most urgent themes of our times: climate change, gender and racial inequality, the gaps between the rich and the poor, and the ideas that groups around the world have generated in order to save the planet.
For more information, contact Bob Wohlsen: bob.wohlsen@gmail.com.
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Interfaith Power and Light Webinar
Saturday, April 29, 1 pm
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The Commission on the Environment and Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) are hosting a webinar on April 29 at 1 pm.
During this one-hour webinar, participants will be introduced to the IPL Cool Congregation carbon calculator specifically designed for churches. They will receive instruction on the gathering of church energy-use data and entry of the data into the calculator.
Each church will have its own webpage for making entries and making an initial calculation about the church’s carbon footprint. Over time, as congregations make changes to decrease their carbon footprint, the webpage and calculator will be updated to follow the progress of the churches toward carbon neutrality.
Registration is required for this webinar. Here is a link to register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArd-6sqzMpHNV3cjhYCOsrEiM8Uvygur5g
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The webinar will be recorded and available the week after the event. To ensure that you receive the recording, please register for the webinar.
Episcopalians care about climate change because they care about Creation and their neighbors. Reduction of our carbon footprint is an important way we can care for Creation and our neighbors.
For more information, contact Miriam Casey at ednccoe@gmail.com.
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Church of the Epiphany, Vacaville, Signs on to EMM's Rainbow Initiative Program
Vacaville’s Church of the Epiphany has signed on to Episcopal Migration Ministries’ (EMM) new program, The Rainbow Initiative, to support forced migrants who are compelled to leave their country where they are persecuted for being part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Initiative is a pilot program created in response to General Convention 2022 Resolution D045: “On Supporting LGBTIQ+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers.” EMM estimates that, annually, nearly 30,000 LGBTQIA persons seek asylum in the U.S. Only about 1,000 are admitted, and many settle in Northern California.
The Rainbow Initiative will be developing materials to be distributed in June during Pride events and on World Refugee Day (June 20). Epiphany was invited to become a Rainbow Initiative Congregation when it reached out to acquire resources to hand out during Vacaville’s upcoming Pride in the Park celebration.
The Initiative also will be hosting monthly online webinars to educate all interested persons about forced migration. To learn more about The Rainbow Initiative, visit its website: https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/rainbowinitiative/.
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Plenty of Pride Within Diocese of Northern California
By Karen Nolan
CIM Rainbow Ministry Team Member
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If your congregation welcomes members of the LGBTQ+ community, you may want to let them know. One way to do that is to show up at Pride events.
Pride parades, picnics and fairs are typically held during June, which is Pride Month, and/or October, which covers both LGBTQ+ History Month and National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11).
Attending events or, even better, participating or sponsoring them is a great way to connect with the LGBTQIA+ community and let its members – as well as their families and friends – know they are welcome at your church.
If your area is having a June event, you’ll need to sign up soon if you wish to host an informational booth or sponsor a parade entry.
CIM’s Rainbow Ministry Team has put together a list of potential Pride events taking place in the Northern California Diocese.
Some churches may find multiple events where they are located. In less populated areas, countywide or regional events are more typical, in which case you may want to consider partnering with other churches.
This list, which is by no means exhaustive, is compiled by county:
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Racial Justice Audit Update | |
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The Mission Institute (MI) is in the process of receiving completed Racial Justice Audit surveys from Diocesan leaders. Leaders who have received the survey but have not yet completed it are reminded to submit their completed surveys to MI by April 30th. Responses go directly to MI and are anonymous. Your feedback is important to this process.
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Sacred Ground Graduates Visit
Japanese Internment Smithsonian Exhibit
By Diane Williamson, St. John's, Roseville
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George Nakano, right, with parents and siblings in a photo taken at Tule Lake dated February 1946. (Photo courtesy of George Nakano.) | |
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Imagine what it would be like to have the government notify your family that you had only a few weeks to dispose of all of your property, belongings and pets and to prepare for departure to an unknown place, where your whole family would be incarcerated under the guard of the US Military. You and your family members would be assigned a number and would only be allowed to take what each one could carry. How very confusing this must have been for the 120,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry living in the United States after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
In March, a group of Sacred Ground graduates from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Roseville made the trip to Mills Station Arts & Cultural Center in Rancho Cordova to see a traveling exhibit on Japanese Internment from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. There we saw letters from Internees, pictures, history, and a computer where descendants could look up ancestors. Many visitors that day were of Japanese heritage, and we could hear them speak solemnly of ancestors they had found on the computer. As I looked at the pictures of families in the camps, I was reminded of my grandchildren, whose mother is of Japanese heritage. They could have been forced to move to these camps.
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This photo, taken sometime between 1942 and 1946, shows children held at the Tule Lake Segregation Center. Tule Lake was one of 10 incarceration camps, and was the last to close on March 20, 1946. Courtesy of Satsuki Ina. | |
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Tongsung Kido: A Unique Korean Prayer
The Royal Cross I Terri Morgan I Winter 2022/23
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Note: At a meeting of the Salome [Daughters of the King] Chapter, Calvary Episcopal Church in Richmond, Texas, member Terri Morgan gave a presentation about a fascinating form of prayer none of them had heard of before. Chapter members found the experience to be so meaningful, they wanted Terri to share it with other chapters as well. This article has been edited to meet space limitations.
Exploring a new form of prayer is a corporate exercise of experiencing what the Apostle Paul means when he says that we are all members of one Body in Christ (1 Corinthians 12: 12-31) We need not only to learn from one another in the local church, but we also need to learn from members of the whole Body of Christ around the world and across time. As we learn, we grow with them together into maturity in Christ. This is the Lord's intention, that we would need each other as members of one Body.
In our Western Christian tradition, we are most familiar with three forms of group prayer:
- Popcorn prayer: group prayer in which people pray aloud by taking turns in no particular order. (adding our intersession after Prayers of the People)
- Unison prayer: group prayer in which people pray the same words aloud. (Lord's prayer, prayer after Communion, the Prayer of The Order [of the Daughters of the King], etc.)
- Call and response prayer: group prayer in which an officiant prays one line and the group responds. (Prayers of the People)
In several Christian traditions around the world, believers have practiced a fourth form of prayer as a regular part of congregational life. This style of praying is a "Korean" style of prayer, which has actually been practiced not only in Korea but also in African and Asian churches around the world, and even historically African-American churches in the United States.
This group prayer form, called tongsung kido (tong-sung ghee-do) in Korean, is the practice of praying one's own prayers aloud at the same time as others. Tongsung means "cry out together loudly," kido means "pray," so together tongsung kido means, "praying together out loud." This form of simultaneous prayer out loud is not intended to replace other forms, nor to be seen as a higher or more faithful practice of prayer. Rather, this fourth form, together with the other three forms, should be seen as complementary to one another and essential together in spiritual formation. Tongsung kido has value as an example of a fervent and earnest way of crying out to God.
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Resurrecting Peace
A Public Witness I Beau Underwood and Brian Kaylor I April 11, 2023
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Rep. Justin Jones marches with supporters and his legislative nameplate as he returns to the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville after being voted back into office on April 10, 2023. (George Walker IV/Associated Press) | |
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In the Tennessee House of Representatives last week, the words of Jeremiah rang out (the prophet, not the bullfrog). Rep. Justin Jones invoked the words shortly before the Republican supermajority in the House voted to expel him and another Black Democrat from the body for participating in a peaceful protest in the chamber that violated rules of decorum. During the questioning time, one of his Republican colleagues asked him about a chant Jones had joined during the protest following a deadly school shooting in Nashville.
“No action, no peace!”
Jones started his response by inviting the lawmaker to attend protest marches where a more common version of the chant is often heard: “No justice, no peace!” Jones then explained this wasn’t a threat of violence but an explanation that without justice and without action by Tennessee lawmakers toward life-saving gun reforms, then people in the Volunteer State would not experience peace.
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What's Eating Us?
April 6, 2023
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It has been said that a society that allows its children to be killed is ambivalent about its future. If that is true, then the United States is deeply ambivalent. One wonders how to think about our willingness to allow our children to be slaughtered while sitting in what is supposed to be one of the best spaces a child can be, their elementary school room.
Instead of it being a good space for our children, it is a space that is subject to the worse type of violence and a great possibility to be killed. What is the matter with us as a nation that we are unable to put this issue at the top of the agenda and address it as the urgent matter that it really happens to be? It is time for all of those who wish to play the guns don’t kill, people do game, and who are filled with platitudes laced with thoughts and prayers to be silenced. They need to be silenced by the noise of the footsteps of all of us who take to the streets and by our loud voices declaring, “not in my name anymore.” It is so far past time for this nightmare for our children, parents, teachers, and other school staff to STOP!
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Check out Redbud's April 2023 events here. | |
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Faith leaders and religious groups voice opposition to Biden's plan to restrict asylum
Episcopal News Service I Alejandra Molina/Religion News Service I March 30, 2023
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Taking advantage of a required public comment period, a broad array of faith leaders and religious groups, including faith-based refugee aid organizations, are speaking out against a proposed federal rule that would generally deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in any country the migrants passed through.
Put forward in late February by the Biden administration, the measure imposes dire limitations on asylum for migrants of any nationality, other than Mexicans, who less rarely travel through a third country to reach the U.S.
The new rules mirror restrictions set forth by the Trump administration that were eventually blocked in court by migrant activist groups, including the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, a Berkeley, California, nonprofit founded in the 1980s by six congregations committed to providing sanctuary for Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees. They were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Golden Cage: Trapped at the United States and Mexico border I ABC10 Originals | |
After a judge blocked lifting Title 42, a Trump-era health order restricting travel over U.S. borders in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, ABC10 went to the border to give northern Californians a first-hand look at the issues, policies, faces, and stories. | |
National Gathering and Lobby Day | |
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Ecumenical Advocacy Days is an annual gathering of Christian advocates and activists. We worship, delve deeply into the pressing issues of the day, and lift our voices by speaking truth to power on Capitol Hill.
Join us at Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2023, April 25-27, a virtual conference to worship, educate, and advocate for the innovative and courageous policies needed to realize God’s promise of peace. Our theme is "Swords into Plowshares: Achieving Enough for All & Pursuing Peace."
In 2023, we will gather virtually during a time of fear and uncertainty. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands and created 12 million refugees. Newly-empowered populist regimes violate human rights and flout international law. Unnumbered conflicts rage in every corner of the globe. These wars—and the looming threats of others—are used to justify increases in military spending, investments in more efficient tools of destruction and death. Meanwhile, every four seconds someone dies of hunger.
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Advocacy Gathering in Washington D.C. May 17 and 18
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The Bishops United Against Gun Violence network invites gun violence prevention advocates from across the Episcopal Church to join us as we gather in Washington D.C. to learn from and build relationships with advocates working against the twin epidemics of gun violence and racism in Washington D.C. and other cities. Register online to join us! | |
As followers of Jesus, we are called to follow the way of love that Jesus teaches us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We understand that the laws enacted at the federal and state levels impact the systems that operate within our communities. They either contribute to building just systems and the Beloved Community, or they diminish justice and equity within societal systems. As people of faith, we have an opportunity to advocate for laws that are just and help to build the Beloved Community.
The Action Alerts provided below are supported by the General Convention and/or the Executive Committee. Please review these Action Alerts and consider submitting a letter to elected officials encouraging them to support legislation that builds justice and the Beloved Community.
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Begin the Easter Season
Advocating for the Beloved Community
As followers of Jesus, we are called to Love our Neighbor. Advocating for just legislation and policies is one very effective way we can fulfill this call. The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations provides excellent current information on legislation and policies and tools to use to advocate. Click on the topics and resources in this article to learn about the issues and to take action. For more information about the diocese’s advocacy team send email to norcalcim@gmail.com.
Action Alerts from the
Episcopal Office of Government Relations (OGR)
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Take Action on Sentencing Reform. Despite positive changes from criminal justice reform in recent years, much needs to be done to address lingering sentencing disparities and ineligibility for resentencing. Congress has reintroduced the bipartisan EQUAL Act (S.524/H.R.1062) that would end the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine offenses and apply this change retroactively.
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Urge Congress to End Gun Violence It is out of love for the living God and reverence for human life that The Episcopal Church calls upon Congress to act decisively to limit access to deadly firearms and invest in proven efforts to interrupt violence and make our communities safer.
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Support the Establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission for Indian Boarding Schools. Last year, the Department of Interior released a report documenting the legacy of the harmful Indian boarding school policies. Urge Congress to introduce and pass legislation that would mandate public hearings to help educate Americans about the sins of our country’s past and develop recommendations for our government to heal the historical traumas related to the Indian boarding school policies. The Episcopal Church has historical ties to the assimilation policies and cultural genocide committed by boarding schools making it important to us as Episcopalians that our nation begins these truth-telling and reconciliation efforts
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Support Statehood for D.C. The U.S. government taxes D.C. residents without providing them with voting representation in Congress. Statehood is one way this injustice can be remedied.
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Nationwide Advocacy Opportunities - Join with committed activists to learn about issues and actually lobby Congress to advocate for legislation that supports our ministries’ work.
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Join Refugee Council USA for National Advocacy Days May 2nd - May 3rd, in Washington, DC. Registration will be open until April 10th, 2023. Participants will also be able to attend a number of special training sessions to help build and expand their advocacy toolbelt for advocating for refugees.
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Register for virtual Ecumenical Advocacy Days, April 25 - 27, and then register for the Office of Government Relations Public Policy Network’s (EPPN) session at which Episcopalians from around the country gather and share their advocacy activities.
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The Office of Government Relations launches Podcast series. Tune into this public policy podcast to explore critical issues of federal legislation and policy, best practices for advocacy and more
Submitted by:
Bob Wohlsen, Commission for Intercultural Ministries - Advocacy Team
Lynn Zender, Episcopal Public Policy Network - CA Team
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The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
The Commission for Intercultural Ministries
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