The Feast of the Annunciation: Bishop's Reflection
[The Feast of the Annunciation 3.25.2020 ] This is the Annunciation Icon at Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Scottsdale. The iconographer is Laura Fisher Smith, and as the vicar of Nativity, I worked with her to commission this remarkable icon. I hoped for a depiction of Mary that would show her not as the Queen of Heaven, but as an ordinary brown-skinned peasant girl from Galilee.  Read More
Holy Week and Easter Sunday
Holy Week
The Bishop's Office is offering resources for worship on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. You can lead them in your home, or your congregation might choose to use them in a virtual service. Keep an eye out for these upcoming resources.

Easter Sunday
This Easter Sunday, at 10:00 am, tune into a Festival of Lessons and Music on the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego’s Facebook page . We’ll be celebrating as a community online, with music offerings and readings from all over the diocese. Come and celebrate the Risen Christ. 
Easter Sunday: Call for Photos
To include as much of the diocese as possible, we are requesting a few things to be used in the video broadcast:
  1. Photos of Easters past--flowers, friends, family, egg hunts, etc.
  2. Photos from church during Easters past.
  3. Photos or video of you and your family’s smiling faces—'we are one body.'
Please email Chris Tumilty, Director of Communications with your submissions.
Palm Sunday at Home or Online
This service has options for inserting YouTube videos. You’ll find the first two after the reading of the Palm Gospel. You could sing along with the recordings, or process around your yard or room with branches. The first video is a recording of All Glory, Laud, and Honor, the traditional Palm Sunday hymn. The second video is a film of children processing and singing Jesus is Coming, Pave the Way with Branches. This is an easy song to learn and the procession shown is very charming. The third YouTube insertion is a filming of our own diocesan youth reading the Passion Gospel in parts, using Zoom.  Download the Palm Sunday at Home bulletin service here.

Note: The Diocesan youth are currently recording a Zoom reading of the Passion Gospel in Parts. This document will be updated as soon as that is finished. In the meantime, you can look at this document and make any changes you like

The 3pm: A Daily Digital Gathering Place
The Office of Evangelism and Discipleship is offering daily, virtual meet-ups to help people stay connected during the COVID-19 crisis. Every weekday at 3pm, you are welcome to join a different offering at this zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/489972961

  • Mondays: A book study on A Jesus Shaped Life led by Canon Christian Gillette
  • Tuesdays: Open office hours for discussion about family faith formation and discipleship at home with the Faith-to-Go team.
  • Wednesdays: A book study on C.S. Lewis’ legendary classic, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe led by Charlette Preslar
  • Thursdays: Open office hours for clergy and lay leadership to discuss discipleship in a virtual setting with the Faith-to-Go team and the Diocesan Evangelism and Discipleship staff.
  • Fridays: A Netflix video series on the new hit Messiah led by the Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija

It is more important than ever to stay connected. We hope these offerings will brighten your week. 
Salt and Light: Widening Your (Streaming) Circle
Widening Your (Streaming) Circle
By: Greg Tuttle
We need multiple participants during worship. We rely on lectors, intercessors, preachers, celebrants, and many more for a Sunday service to go ‘just right.’ During our current season of prevention many of us are streaming services, some even twice a day, and our congregations have grown into global communities using Facebook Live, YouTube, Intagram Live, and many more. And we still need everyone to participate.    Read More
Faith to Go: Your weekly formation resources
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
Virtual Attendance
We are grateful that many of you are looking at innovative and alternative ways of providing meaningful worship services to your congregations. Some of you have asked about how to account properly for people who worship online with you. Canon Michael Barlowe, Executive Officer of General Convention, wrote a letter to dioceses addressing this issue . His advice is to keep track of the virtual attendance and worry about how we’ll be treating it on the parochial report at a later date.    Read More
At-Home Video Recording Guide
Aptly named, most Windows PCs come with a recording app called Camera. To get started, open up the Camera app. The easiest way to do that is to search for it (the search bar is in the bottom left corner of your screen in Windows 10). If this is the first time you’re firing it up, you may need to give the app some permissions. Read More
COVID-19 Resources
Episcopal Diocese of San Diego
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is here to support you through this difficult time. The sudden impact of COVID-19 on our community-life does not mean we need to give up community. Find a list of resources that can help here : including a bulletin for Morning Prayer, resources for online giving for your congregation, help in setting up video meetings, Faith at Home resources, and more .
If you have or need any type of resource that is not listed here, please email Christian Gillette, Canon for Evangelism and Discipleship with your materials or request. 
Diocesan Staff: Working Remotely
holy trinity building
Due to COVID-19 the Diocesan Staff will be working remotely. You can find contact information for each of the staff members here. Feel free, as always, to call Bishop Susan, Canon Gwynn, Canon Christian, Rev. Kirby, or Chris for any reason. Please email the other members of the Diocesan Staff as their cell phone numbers are not listed. 
Upcoming Events (Canceled due to COVID-19)
Renewal of Vows
(New information to become available)
Upcoming ( Still Scheduled ) Youth Events
Episcopal Youth Bonfire
Sunday, May 31 beginning at 4:00 pm
2020 Episcopal Youth Event
July 7-11, 2020
University of Maryland, College Park