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Episcopal Diocese
of Northern California
Commission for
Intercultural Ministries
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Episcopal Church Becoming Beloved Community | |
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Newsletter highlights:
- Epidemic of Gun Violence and Loving Our Neighbors
- Pride Eucharist at Easter Park
- Church of the Incarnation Participates in Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival
- LGBTQ+ Welcome and Ministry Conversation
- Requirement for Lay Licensing
- I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice - Faith Episcopal Church, Cameron Park
- I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice - Training Schedule
- Five Tips for Forming a Sacred Ground Circle
- Keeping Track of Sacred Ground
- Diocesan Racial Justice Audit Update
- Land Acknowledgement
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Diocese's Refugee Resettlement Ministry Lovingly Welcoming Refugee Families to Northern California
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"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."
- Matthew 2:18
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'Another tragedy of gun violence': Episcopal leaders grieve for 21 killed in shooting at Texas school
Episcopal News Service l David Paulsen l Posted May 25, 2022
| Episcopal leaders are joining a national outpouring of grief after the latest school shooting in the United States killed 19 children and two educators in Texas, as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and West Texas Bishop David Reed called on Episcopalians to pray. | | | |
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Episcopal leaders join outcry and lament over racist rampage in Buffalo that left 10 dead
Episcopal News Service l David Paulsen l Posted May 16, 2022
| Episcopal leaders are condemning a deadly, racist rampage at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket and joining in prayers for the victims and their families as hate-crime charges loom for the 18-year-old suspect in the shooting. | | | |
Epidemic of Gun Violence and Loving Our Neighbors
Miriam Casey, Co-Chair, Commission for Intercultural Ministries
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Our country is experiencing an epidemic of gun violence. It is on the front pages of our newspapers and on TV and online breaking news. Again and again, we learn about mass shootings taking innocent lives. All ages, including children. Any location, including churches. In small towns and large cities. Many times, from the use of automatic weapons.
In the midst of this epidemic of gun violence, we are called to love our neighbors. How do we answer that call?
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Episcopalians help launch national gun buybacks on June 11 to turn weapons into garden tools
Episcopal News Service l David Paulsen l Posted April 26, 2022
| Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians in Connecticut, Ohio and California are helping to launch a national ecumenical initiative called Guns to Gardens that will stage numerous gun buyback events on June 11 and turn the weapons into garden tools. | | | |
Pride Eucharist at Easter Park
Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 6 pm
Come and join Trinity Cathedral for a Pride Eucharist. They hope to strike a festival feel with a food truck and a great sense of community. This is an opportunity to celebrate the affirming culture of Trinity Cathedral towards the LGBTQ+ community. Easter Park is located in the back lot of Trinity Cathedral, 2620 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento. The service begins at 7:00 pm.
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The Church of the Incarnation, Santa Rosa, Participates in
Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival
By Allan Bolchazy, Vestry Member
The Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa, CA recently participated in the June 4, 2022, Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community in Sonoma County. This year was the first year in many years that Incarnation has participated in the parade and festival. We wanted to reach out to the community to let them know we are an Episcopal church that actively welcomes people of the LGBTQ+ community.
About 25 people from the church walked in the parade - wearing brightly colored shirts and beads, carrying a banner that proclaimed God Loves You. No Exceptions®️. The Episcopal Church. There were 60 groups who walked in the parade, down 4th Street through downtown Santa Rosa.
After the parade, there was a festival in beautiful Courthouse Square, with non-profit organizations, politicians, vendors of rainbow-colored merchandise, food, and beverages, and a stage with musical performances. Incarnation had a booth with our banner proudly displayed and an informational postcard. People came up to chat and find out more about us.
We received applause and cheers along the parade route, and had some great conversations at the festival. We are looking forward to continuing to support our ministry for the LGBTQ+ community.
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LGBTQ+ Welcome and Ministry Conversation
Saturday, June 25, 2022, 9-10:30 am
The diocesan Commission for Intercultural Ministries invites you to join us for a planning and dreaming conversation about how we can support churches in our diocese in being welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community and to dream what ministry opportunities there may be.
Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83777220021
For more information, contact Miriam Casey at norcalcim@gmail.com.
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Celebrate Juneteenth
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
From its Galveston, Texas, origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.
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The Washington Post suggests four ways to celebrate:
- Attend a celebration. Check your local newspaper for events.
- Visit a museum
- Explore readings or documentaries
- Get involved in the community
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The Episcopal Church has committed itself to healing present and historical racism and slavery. Juneteenth was made a local commemoration of the Episcopal Church by Grace Cathedral in San Francisco as part of a movement toward a church-wide commemoration. Their celebration arises from those commitments and honors the leadership and contributions of Black Episcopalians. | |
Deputies of Color Support Presiding Officers' Working Group Report on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing | On March 23, 2022, the Presiding Officers' Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning, and Healing released a 39-page report, which contains seven resolutions to be considered by the 80th General Convention. We, the Deputies of Color (a confederation of 253 deputies from the four ethnic caucuses of The Episcopal Church), wholeheartedly support the 92 recommendations contained within the report and urge that the following resolutions that are also contained within the report be adopted by the General Convention. | | | |
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Episcopal Church invites participation in Poor People's Campaign Moral March on Washington
Episcopal News Service l Egan Millard l Posted June 6, 2022
| Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians are invited to take part in the Moral March on Washington held by the Poor People's Campaign, the ecumenical initiative advocating economic justice for poor and marginalized Americans supported by The Episcopal Church. "The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church first endorsed this refreshed iteration of the Poor People's Campaign in 2018. | | | |
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Light in the Darkness: When Monuments Attack - Washington National Cathedral
Tuesday, June 21, 2020, 4 pm PST
| Monuments and memorials are public symbols that tell the stories communities want remembered and uplifted. The last two years have brought a renewed scrutiny and reckoning of these spaces and histories that have led to a wave of removals, renaming, and reexamination. As the nation celebrates and reflects upon the importance of Juneteenth this year – now a day of national observance – join Washington National Cathedral for an evening exploring these spaces and what racialized symbolism and iconography is and how they shape our public history and memory. | | | |
As part of Washington National Cathedral's Honest to God series, David Brooks, founder of Weave: The Social Fabric Project, and Dr. Catherine Meeks, Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing, take a deep dive into the importance of local relationships amid global challenges. Dean Randy Hollerith invites his guests to share their own experiences of local engagement and explore how healing in our local communities contributes to healing the soul of the nation. | |
Requirement for Lay Licensing | |
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From the Office of the Bishop:
As we come upon June 30, many of you will be renewing your lay licenses. As we know, lay licenses expire after 3 years.
As a Diocese and part of the Wider Church, we have committed to taking steps towards racial reconciliation. These small steps allow us to become more of who we are: recipients of the grace of God. We who have received grace also share it forward with love and patience for others.
To ensure that all our lay leaders receive the proper training, starting July 1, 2022, we will require that proof of racial reconciliation training is presented with each renewal of a lay license. (An example: if you are renewing the Lay Eucharistic Minister license of 10 people, we will need proof of racial reconciliation training for each person – 10 certificates).
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I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice
Faith Episcopal Church, Cameron Park
On June 4, 30 individuals from 5 churches in the Capital Deanery attended the racial healing workshop--I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice. The workshop at Faith Episcopal in Cameron Park focused on our spiritual grounding in our Baptismal promises, learning the truth about racism in our country and communities, and how we might engage with our local communities as healers.
Special thanks to The Rev. Tom Gartin and the Faith, Cameron Park, staff who created a welcoming environment for the workshop!
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I Will, With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice
Training Schedule
The workshop will be offered four additional times in the Diocese during 2022.
- July 23, 9:30 am - 4 pm, at St. Luke's Episcopal in Auburn:
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- August 27 at Christ Church Episcopal in Eureka
- September 10 at All Saints Episcopal in Redding
- September 24 at Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa
Details for the August and September workshops will be forthcoming in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California E-News and in the Beloved Community Resource Newsletter.
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Five Tips for Forming a Sacred Ground Circle
By Karen Nolan
Diocesan Sacred Ground Coordinator
Thinking about forming a Sacred Ground Circle on the journey to Becoming Beloved Community? Here are five tips:
1. The Sacred Ground program offers step-by-step instructions on how to form a circle, beginning with what to consider before setting out. Watch the videos and read through the materials on the “Getting Started” webpage: www.episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground/getting-started/.
2. A journey is more rewarding when you share it with someone. Enlist a co-facilitator, someone to bounce ideas off of and share duties with.
3. Don’t be overwhelmed trying to recruit a lot of people to join your circle. Sacred Ground is designed for small groups. Four is the recommended minimum number of participants, with 12 at most.
4. Thanks to technology that many have become familiar with during the pandemic, proximity is no longer a barrier to participation. Zoom circles can include people from throughout the Diocese – and beyond. (And the Commission on Intercultural Ministries can help you get the word out.)
5. Remember you aren’t alone. There are experienced facilitators throughout the diocese and beyond who are willing to answer questions and share ideas. We can help put you in touch with them. Email norcalCIM@gmail.com for details.
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Diocesan Racial Justice Audit Update
In April 2022, the Commission for Intercultural Ministries (CIM) met with the Board of Trustees to discuss and answer questions about Racial Justice Audit Resolution R3-2021 which passed with a majority of votes at the Diocesan Convention last year. The CIM is charged with facilitating the audit and is grateful for the almost unanimous support of the resolution and is committed to the work of building Beloved Community in the diocese.
The proposed diocesan audit will be modeled on the churchwide Episcopal Church audit if funding is approved. It is anticipated that this work will take place over a 2-year period with the governing bodies at diocesan level audited during the first year with the hope that the Board of Trustees will approve funding for audits of congregations in the second year. The funding request for the first year is currently under consideration with the Board of Trustees. The proposed audit work is in alignment with the Baptismal Covenant and The Episcopal Church standard of practice.
Contact Lynn Zender, zenderlynn@gmail.com, or Jo Ann Williams, bjwilli@surewest.net, Racial Justice Audit Co-Chairs, for questions about the proposed audit.
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AB 3121: California Task Force to
Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans
On June 1, 2022, the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans issued its interim report to the California Legislature. The interim report surveys the ongoing and compounding harms experienced by African Americans as a result of slavery and its lingering effects on American society today. The interim report also includes a set of preliminary recommendations for policies that the California Legislature could adopt to remedy those harms. A final report will be issued before July 1, 2023.
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Land Acknowledgement
The Rev. Canon Tina Campbell
Diocesan Indigenous Missioner
Trinity’s Land Acknowledgement Committee has just one more meeting with RedBud Resources as we prepare to craft a Land Acknowledgement noting that our Cathedral stands on the traditional homeland of the Nisenan people.
It has been a journey of learning about California history before the settlers came and about traditional values held by Native people. To underscore an understanding that Indigenous people are NOT relics of the past and do indeed live in our community, we were instructed to map the locations of local offices, agencies and gathering places for Native people. This was a group Zoom project and our map has been completed. (Thanks, Patricia Heinicke, for capturing our responses.)
All this, we hope, will undergird our efforts as we move forward and begin to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous people in and around the Cathedral.
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Diocese's Refugee Resettlement Ministry Lovingly Welcoming
Refugee Families to Northern California
For the past 10 months churches and individuals have been actively engaged in efforts to resettle refugees in their new communities. The Refugee Resettlement team is so grateful for the many folks who have donated money, food, furniture, winter welcome kits, warm blankets, go to work kits, and their time and talents to embrace these new neighbors.
There is much more work to be done. Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing war and violence and waiting to begin their new lives here. You can help. Please contact the Refugee Team to find out how. Email Bob Wohlsen, Volunteer and Donor Coordinator, bob.wohlsen@gmail.com.
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World Refugee Day
Monday, June 20, 2022
World Refugee Day is next week on June 20th! The United Nations designated World Refugee Day (WRD) to honor and celebrate refugees around the world.
World Refugee Day is an opportunity to highlight the journeys refugees face, their dreams and hopes for a better future, and our responsibility to advocate for pathways to protection for all people forced to flee home.
We also celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month, a celebration of the important contributions of immigrants from around the world.
Join Episcopal Migration Ministries during the month of June as we celebrate World Refugee Day through education, dialogue, prayer, advocacy and action!
All of EMM's World Refugee Day Resources can be found on the EMM website:
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Meet Cynthia Bonta
AAPI Activist
Cynthia Bonta is an incredible activist who organized alongside labor giants Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz and continues to mentor young activists to this day.
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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.
| | It has been eight years since the current war in Yemen began. The current truce between the government and the Houthi rebels provides an opportunity for the warring parties to find a negotiated resolution to the conflict. The U.S. government can play a constructive role in this conflict, rather than engaging in actions that exacerbate the conflict. Please take action and encourage your representatives to support this important legislation. | | We ask all Episcopalians to take action and to urge their members of Congress to pass legislation to restrict the ownership of firearms, require background checks for all gun purchases, eliminate background check loopholes, tighten laws against gun trafficking, require gun safety training, fund gun violence prevention programs, and address gun violence as a public health crisis. | | Our faith calls us to care for God’s creation, including the earth, plants, and animals. Since 2003, The Episcopal Church has recognized that “responsible care of animals falls within the stewardship of creation” and the Office of Government Relations has been charged with advocating for “legislation protecting animals and effective enforcement measures.” Animal testing in the cosmetics industry is one critical area where we can advocate for ethical and humane treatment of animals who are suffering. | |
As part of our Church’s work on racial reconciliation, justice, and our commitment to truth-telling, we are dedicated to addressing the legacy of violence and abuse perpetrated by boarding schools, including our Church’s role in the kidnapping of Indigenous children from their families by participating in the boarding school system. The initial findings publicized in Volume 1 of the Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs investigative report, make it clear that the federal government should further commit itself to reconciliation work regarding the boarding school policies. Congress must act urgently to pass the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act (H.R. 5444/S. 2907). | |
Recently, The Episcopal Church joined a diverse group of leaders from the faith, business, agriculture, education, and national security communities, as well as advocates from across the political spectrum to form the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus (ANIC), in support of bipartisan legislative solutions on immigration reform and border security in 2022. | |
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The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
Commission for Intercultural Ministries
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