An Easter Message from Presiding Bishop Curry |
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“Our work goes on. Our labor for love continues,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry said in his Easter 2021 Message, “We will not cease, and we will not give up until this world reflects less our nightmare and more God’s dream where there’s plenty good room for all God’s children. Hallelujah anyhow.” Read More
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Youth Collaborative Easter Vigil - Live - Saturday at 4pm |
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The Youth Collaborative is proud to offer another video production based on The Great Vigil of Easter. Featuring students and musicians from our diocesan family (as well as two familiar angels), this 16-minute video moves through the mystery of Jesus’ journey from death into life. This amazing offering can be downloaded here. Join the Diocese on Saturday, April 3 at 4pm on the Diocesan Youtube and Facebook channels for the live premiere of this wonderful offering.
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Holy Week & Easter Offerings |
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The EDSD Virtual Liturgy Team is again happy to provide several worship services for your use during Holy Week. See the descriptions below, along with when they will be made available for your congregation to download and use as you wish.
A Service of Shadows – With the traditional feel of a Tenebrae service, the Service of Shadows has a simpler format and opportunities for worshipers to sing along at home. With readings from Psalms and Lamentations from readers around the diocese and with a diocesan band to lead us in Taize chants, you can look forward to a spiritually filled time of worship. Watch the Service of Shadows here. Download the Service of Shadows Here
Good Friday Service – a traditional Good Friday service with Bishop Susan from the Episcopal Church Center in OB. The service was livestreamed at 3:00pm on Good Friday through the Diocesan Youtube and Facebook channels.
Holy Saturday Service (English and Spanish) – a simple spoken service. The Holy Saturday service will be available via livestream on Holy Saturday, April 3, at 9:00 a.m.
2 Easter – The Diocesan Offices will provide a recording of the Rev. Canon Gwynn Lynch's 2-Easter sermon next week. Canon Gwynn will also be celebrating and preaching at St. Bartholomew’s on 2 Easter. The service will be available for viewing through St. Bart's livestream.
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Migrant Children Worship on Good Friday and Easter |
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EDSD is honored to be asked to coordinate worship and chaplaincy services for the migrant children being housed at the San Diego Convention Center. Up to 1,450 girls ages 13-17 are expected to be housed there through July. Working with our ecumenical partners, including Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Ramon Bejarano and musician Gina Seashore from the Lutheran Church, and several Episcopal clergy, laity, and diocesan staff created the Spanish-language worship videos below for the migrants. People who are interested in volunteering are asked to email The Rev. Rebecca Dinovo at [email protected].
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Alcohol Consumption and the Pandemic |
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By: The Rev. Dr. Suzanne Watson |
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A recent article in the Journal of Addiction Medicine reported changes in alcohol consumption in response to the COVID -19 pandemic in the United States. The researchers found that during the pandemic, there has been a 29% increase in the number of alcoholic drinks people are consuming, a 20% increase in those exceeding the recommended drinking limits, and a 21% increase in binge drinking. Among the researchers, the conclusion is that there is an association between the COVID-19 pandemic and the amount of alcohol consumption and that public health monitoring is warranted. Read More
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Congregational Audit Information |
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Each year all churches are required by The Episcopal Church to conduct a financial audit. Each diocese is allowed to determine the types of audits congregations are required to have. The Diocese of San Diego has in the past stipulated an array of audit types based on the total revenue of congregations.
Due to the transition occurring in the finance and accounting department of the diocese, we are simplifying the guidelines this year and will require either an external audit or a committee audit depending on congregational revenue. Revenue thresholds that require an external audit are listed below. All other congregations will conduct an internal (committee) audit.
External audits are required as follows (These requirements were revised February 2020):
- Churches with revenues greater than $2 million: Audit performed by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) on an annual basis.
- Churches with revenue between $500,000 and $2 million: External audit every third year with committee audits or diocesan reviews in intervening years
- Churches with revenue less than $500,000: Committee audit and/or diocesan review performed every year with a diocesan field audit at least once every three years.
- All revenue from your church, school and thrift shop are to be included to determine the type of audit necessary.
Your submittal to the diocese will be reviewed. Additional information may be requested particularly for congregations in transition of rector, vicar or priest in charge or that prior audits indicated insufficient internal controls or financial statements.
Please email Julie Young at [email protected] by May 1 to inform her of what type of audit will be conducted. Upon receipt of that email, you will be sent the audit package electronically.
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Simpler Living Faith Forum |
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Spring is here, and Simpler Living, St Paul’s Cathedral's ministry focused on creation care and environmental justice, will host four Faith Forums on Sundays, April 11 - May 2, from 9am to 10am via Zoom. You are invited to join these conversations! Recordings will also be available. The forums will speak to the theme, Rising to the Challenge.
April 11 - Good Neighbor Gardens: Mia Vaughnes, co-founder and developer of an innovative approach to community gardening aimed at improving access to good food for neighbors grown by neighbors, will describe how the Gardens program works and how we can get involved.
April 18 - Honing Spirituality for OneEarth Ways: Author and co-leader of JubileeEconomics Ministries, Lee Van Ham, will address three life choices that impact our challenge of living together at this critical time: where we bank, what we eat, and a theology that includes finding new relationships with all beings and with the meaning of the cross.
April 25 - Creation Care Sunday, Rising in Faithful Challenge: Simpler Living ministry members Erika Morgan, Joan Reese, and Diane Lopez Hughes will share their efforts related to three climate change solutions and invite discussion to increase our commitment.
May 5 - Joyfully Embracing our Vocation to Restore God's Gift of Creation: Climate Church, Climate World author, Jim Antal, will invite us to embrace our
role at such a time as this (Esther 4:14), a time when our commitments and
actions will affect countless generations.
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Camp Stevens Open for Day Use and Family Retreats |
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It only takes one glance at our guest surveys to remind us that all the hard work, preparation, sanitation, and organization is worth it! If you’re looking to get away as an individual, a couple, or a family we’d love to be a place for you to retreat this spring. Until we can host large groups again, this is the best way for us to sustain camp and share our mission with all of you. Rooms and cabins range in size and style but always include private restrooms and sleeping areas. Meals are cooked from scratch and with lots of love from local organic ingredients and served outdoors. There are 256 acres to relax, explore, breathe deep, and getaway. Take things at your own pace with a retreat weekend, or choose a monthly Family Camp for a full slate of activities for all ages. View options at campstevens.org/visit-us or email Sam at [email protected] or call/text her at 760-896-7113.
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Next month, for the second installment of Transformation Academy, we have invited the Rev. Dawn Davis- the creator of Forward Movement's Revive discipleship program, to be our keynote speaker at Discipleship Academy! Two breakout sessions will follow: The first will feature Charlette Preslar, our diocesan Youth Missioner who will speak on the topic of discipleship in our youth groups. The second breakout will feature the Rev. Dawn Davis who will lead us through a practical exercise on prayer.
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New TENS Resources and Log-in for 2021 |
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The diocese is a member of TENS (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship), an association of church leaders, both lay and ordained, “who are committed to living generously and helping others live lives of generosity.”
All churches in the diocese can access member resources, which include creative materials for the annual pledge campaign. To access TENS membership materials please contact Director of Communications, Chris Tumilty for the new TENS password.
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RenewalWorks: Where is God Calling Us to Grow? |
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What is RenewalWorks and how can it help your church?
Through an anonymous online evaluation of each parishioner, and a series of guided workshop discussions with our staff, the RenewalWorks process helps churches (and the individuals in them) refocus on spiritual growth and identify ways that God is calling them to grow. The methodology has been tailored to the Episcopal tradition, adapting over 10 years of research that has uncovered key characteristics of flourishing congregations. It will inspire your congregation and leadership to rediscover who Jesus is, and what it means to follow him.
How does it work?
The RenewalWorks process begins with an anonymous, confidential, online survey (we call it the Episcopal Spiritual Life Inventory) taken by congregants, exploring that individual’s spiritual life. Individual responses are combined and viewed as a group, providing a snapshot of the spiritual vitality of the congregation based on research from more than 1,800 churches (of all denominations) and almost 500,000 congregants.
When can you participate?
Although you could launch RenewalWorks at any time, several congregations in EDSD are planning to participate in RenewalWorks during this upcoming season of Lent. This project is perfectly suited to the reflective spirit of this season and would provide an opportunity for us to seek God's direction together, even as we remain socially distanced.
Contact Canon Christian Gillette at [email protected] as soon as possible for more information on how your congregation can participate in this exciting discovery and discernment process.
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Beware of Phishing Attempts |
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If you receive a suspicious email from an address that seems to be Bishop Susan, but it is not from an @edsd.org email account, it is a phishing attempt. Bishop Susan will never email you asking for funds or financial support by way of gift cards. Nor will the bishop's emails be filled with grammatical errors. Every official email from the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego comes from an @edsd.org email address. |
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Phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised email as a weapon. The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need — a request from their bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company — and to click a link or download an attachment.
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Faith to Go: Your weekly formation resources |
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A Weekly, On The Go Resource for Parents and Non-Parents Alike
Hosted by the Faith To Go team in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, David Tremaine and Charlette Preslar. Joined each week by a special guest, the Faith To Go team highlights themes from the Sunday Gospel reading for you to take into your faith discussions and reflections throughout the week. More Here
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EDSD.org Under Construction |
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404 Error: Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
EDSD.org is going through some changes. You may find that your bookmarked or saved links are now broken, or that information you're used to finding has been moved.
Please be patient as we work to update EDSD.org to better serve you into the future. If you have questions or come across a broken link, please email Director of Communications, Chris Tumilty. Thank you for your help while we work to better our digital presence.
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Resources for Emotional Support |
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The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is changing life for all of us. You may feel anxious, stressed, worried, sad, bored, depressed, lonely or frustrated in these circumstances.
You’re not alone!
Find resources to connect with real people that can help, here.
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Public Statement of our Commitment |
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Any church in our diocese is welcome to use this statement, for instance as a clergy-vestry joint statement, or as an ongoing statement in your bulletin. |
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As part of the Jesus Movement and the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, we pledge to love our neighbors and protect the most vulnerable among us, remembering our baptismal vows to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” We live these pledges out by actively engaging in dismantling racism. For many of us, this will mean learning more about our racial identity, listening to those who have experienced racial prejudice, speaking out against racism, and showing up alongside those in our community working to change unjust systems in our society. We also live out this pledge at worship during this pandemic, by wearing face-coverings, respecting distancing guidelines, foregoing the common cup and refraining from congregational singing. |
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Diocesan Staff: Working Remotely |
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