In this edition of ENews:
- News from Lambeth Conference
- Deputies Reflect on General Convention
- Diocese of California Bishop Marc Andrus announces Retirement
- Convention is coming - Our Diocese Needs You
- Upcoming Events around the Diocese
|
|
Episcopal bishops reject conservative Anglicans’ same-sex marriage ultimatum; ‘huge distraction’ for Lambeth
By David Paulsen | Episcopal News Service |Posted Jul 25, 2022
Over one hundred Episcopal bishops are heading to Canterbury, England, this week for the Lambeth Conference, where their professed goal of listening to and learning from the diverse global experiences of fellow Anglican bishops has been complicated by conservative Anglican bishops’ efforts to turn the conversations more narrowly toward disputed positions on same-sex marriage.
The Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops typically is held once a decade at the invitation of the archbishop of Canterbury. This Lambeth Conference had been scheduled for 2020 but was delayed by two years because of the pandemic. It is the first to be called by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who assumed that role in 2013. Bishops from all 42 provinces in the Anglican Communion were invited, and more than 650 bishops and 480 spouses were registered to attend as of last month.
UPDATE: Lambeth Conference planners issued revised Lambeth Calls documents on July 26 in response to the backlash over the initial draft’s reaffirmation of a 1998 resolution opposing same-sex marriage.
Click here for the latest from Lambeth Conference
Click here for Episcopal News Service
|
|
Diocese of Northern California Deputies Rev. Canon Cookie Clark, Peter Juve, and Rev. Robin Denney at General Convention |
|
After LGBTQ+ resolutions smoothly moved through #GC80, Anglicanism’s human sexuality debate returns ahead of Lambeth Conference
By Mary Frances Schjonberg | Episcopal News Service | Posted Jul 22, 2022
|
|
The 80th General Convention passed 14 resolutions, with little or no debate, speaking to the full inclusion and protection of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of The Episcopal Church and the larger society. Those actions represent a remarkable change from previous conventions, including the same-sex marriage access compromise in 2018, when such measures occupied large swaths of the gatherings’ time and emotional energy.
“Our church is on record—both officially and in practice—with our commitment to the full inclusion of all who seek to follow Jesus and his way of love,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said on July 22. “As we head to the Lambeth Conference, the same dedication leading us to the full welcome, embrace, and inclusion of LGBTQ+ children of God likewise commits us to communion with one another across our differences. We will be true to who we are while upholding our relationships and engaging in real and open conversation.”
|
|
Diocese of Northern California Deputies Reflect on General Convention |
|
We invited Clergy and Lay deputies to the 80th General Convention to share their experiences. This week we continue reflections written by Deputies to General Convention. |
|
Canon Charles Mack | Lay Deputy
I found this my fifth General Convention, this time as 1st Alternate Deputy, to be just as exhilarating as prior ones. A standout from prior conventions for me was the bonding experience of our deputation, meeting for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, sometimes as a whole, sometimes in part.
The Church has been well served by its leaders, PB Curry, President Gay Jennings and Secretary Barlowe. The House of Deputies will be well served by incoming President Julia Ayala Harris and Vice President Hamilton Tabor Hamilton. They are well poised to lead a new generation of emerging church-wide leadership that presented itself at the convention, a leadership that moves well toward to matching the demographics of our society.
Our pre-convention work paid off in that much of the product was adopted on consent agenda, the scarce floor time reserved for matters of major importance or of controversy. Nevertheless we worked from morning through the evening.
I served on the Resolutions Review Committee as Chair of its Racial Justice subcommittee. As such I had a ring-side seat in development of some of the major accomplishments. The most important was continuing and strengthening Becoming a Beloved Community, the TEC initiative for truth telling and racial reconciliation, where I had a minor hand in cleaning up coordination of the program with the budgetary process. I also served as a member of the subcommittees on Constitution and Canons and Title IV Clergy Discipline, reviewing each of the resolution proposed in these areas.
I would encourage those interested in doing the hard work of the Church in building a more just and loving society to the glory of God to seek nomination for the next General Convention. The work is exhilarating.
My impression of the church overall is one that sees clearly the challenges of forming a society that loves both God and Neighbors, understands the both the failures and successes of past generations, and seeks mightily to do the hard work of truth telling and reconciliation, all challenges for which our society is ill equipped to meet.
|
|
Rev. Jim Richardson | Clergy Alternate Deputy
“We know you love to hear us pray.”
Each morning in the House of Deputies, our chaplain, Lester Mackenzie, a South African native who grew up under apartheid would open us with prayer with those words.
General Convention is primarily a legislative body, the highest governing authority in our denomination. But General Convention is also soaked in prayer. In the moments that were hard, or veering into contention, Chaplain Mackenzie was called upon to pray.
“We know you love to hear us pray.”
This was my fifth General Convention, and probably the most memorable for me. It wasn’t just that everything was condensed into four days. It was how deputies (note: not “delegates”) treated each other with respect and compassion.
I was the clergy alternate deputy, but I spent as much time on the floor as a deputy than off the floor, giving our deputies a break.
I immersed myself primarily in the issues of the church calendar of “saints.” The calendar matters because how we tell our stories shapes us.
As a diocese, we sponsored two resolutions to add to the church calendar civil rights icon John Lewis and Black theologian Howard Thurman. The Thurman resolution was advanced by General Convention to the commission that is responsible for developing prayers and appropriate biblical lessons for what will become his feast day — April 11.
The Lewis resolution, however, was held by General Convention with no action he had died only a year ago.
On a personal note, I am very grateful to Brother Simeon (Lewis) Powell for leading our deputation, for his wisdom throughout, and his friendship.
Our deputation became a close knit group, working together for the wider good of the Episcopal Church. Thank you for letting me be a par of this extraordinary General Convention.
|
|
News from the Wider Church |
|
Diocese of California Bishop Marc Andrus announces plan to retire in 2024
Posted Jul 22, 2022 | Episcopal News Service
California Bishop Marc Andrus announced in a message to his San Francisco Bay-area diocese on July 22 that he plans to retire in 2024, after the election and consecration of his successor.
“I share this news with a full heart, full of appreciation for the time that Sheila, our children, and I have lived with you in this extraordinary place of possibilities,” Andrus said. “There is much to celebrate.”
Andrus, bishop of California since 2006, is best known in The Episcopal Church as a leading voice for care of creation and combating climate change. He has led Episcopal delegations to several meetings of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP, including the 2015 meeting where nations reached the ground-breaking Paris Agreement.
Most recently, Andrus was among a group of bishops who this month persuaded their fellow bishops to approve a “mind of the house” statement at the 80th General Convention underscoring the importance of environmental issues and addressing climate change as inter-connected with most other social justice issues that elicit The Episcopal Church’s engagement.
His message announcing his retirement plans also outlined triumphs and challenges in the diocese during his 16-year-tenure as bishop. “More recently, we have been finding new ways to be a compassionate and vibrant church in the Bay Area during the Covid pandemic using new technologies and resources that can sustain ministry.”
|
|
Only 84 Days until Diocesan Convention! |
The 112th Annual Convention is October 21–22 in Redding. Registration is now open for Clergy, Delegates, Alternates and Visitors. to register, visit the convention website.
|
|
|
Have you ever considered serving on the Standing Committee or Board of Trustees? Nominate yourself or someone else for one of these important positions.
Download Nomination form here.
|
At our Diocesan convention in October, we will also elect clergy and lay deputies and alternates to the 2024 General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
We will be electing four clergy deputies, four clergy alternates, four lay deputies, and four lay alternates. At that convention, the House of Deputies and House of Bishops will elect the next Presiding Bishop.
Download Nomination form here.
|
|
Standing Committee Openings
Board of Trustees Openings
-
Two Clergy or Lay
- Two Deanery Elections – Sierra, Wingfield
2024 General Convention Deputation Openings
- Four Clergy Deputies
- Four Clergy Alternates
- Four Lay Deputies
- Four Lay Alternates
Note: Nominees may run for Board of Trustees or Standing Committee, and for General Convention Deputation.
|
|
Deadline for nomination submission is Friday, August 19. |
|
2022/2023 Best Skills,
Best Churches Program Registration is Open
Click here for the schedule and additional information.
|
|
Commission on the Environment Now Forming – Seeks members |
|
In 2019 the Diocesan Convention approved a resolution to form the Commission on the Environment. The purpose of the Commission is "to encourage and support congregations in their efforts to be environmentally friendly and to minister in ways that honor Creation."
The Commission had its first organizing meeting on July 7 and began the process of outlining how the Commission will function.
The next meeting will be on August 4th at 1:00 pm.
If you have an interest in contributing to the formation and work of the Commission on the Environment, please contact Miriam Casey at mlcasey7@yahoo.com.
|
|
Mission for Disaster Resilience |
|
Peter Fire update:
On July 14 the Peter Fire ignited and burned into the City of Anderson, (just south of Redding). While not one of the big fires that has garnered media attention, it was a terrible reminder to our siblings in Redding of the Carr Fire that devastated their community four years ago to the day.
At All Saints, Redding, the reminder was focused and raw. A beloved family, deeply involved in their community, lost their home in the early stages of the Peter Fire. In the chaos of the immediate response, the diocese was able to provide emergency housing, thanks to the funds that you have generously donated to the Bishop’s Disaster Fund. All Saints’ Redding has stepped forward and ensured that clothing, as well as other daily needs are available; using their experience to guide survivors to healing.
Oak Fire Update (Mariposa):
I have contacted my counterpart in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, but at this time, they have not identified any needs that we are able to fulfill. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go to our siblings as they work with the Oak Fire and the inevitable aftermath.
Knowing there will come a time when the good people of our diocese or even a neighboring diocese will need assistance in a disaster, please consider the following:
-
Become involved in Project (Re)Start to help provide the basic necessities for those who have been forcibly un-homed. Contact Lis Padula at (916) 477-0828 for more information
-
Donate to the Bishop’s Disaster Fund to help fulfill the immediate needs of survivors as they work their way through recovery
– Mark G. Dibelka | Missioner for Disaster Resilience
|
|
From the Episcopal Foundation |
|
$100,000 Foundation Grant Fund –
Application Deadline is August 1, 2022
|
|
July 31, 2022
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 12:13-21 – The Parable of the Rich Fool
Here is a passage less read and studied than some of the more famous parables like the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan. But it is no less important. Both the parable (the mashal) and the surrounding material (the nimshal) need to be read together.Both address a searching question: In what do you place your trust?
The more I read the story of the questioner in the crowd, of Jesus’ answer and of the parable, the more I began to hear the words of Psalm 49. The question which Jesus leaves the man, the crowd, and ourselves to answer is, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? This question and the parable that precedes it is the same as the observation of Psalm 49: Those who are honored and have no understanding, are like the beasts that perish (vss 11,20). Interestingly, these words of the end of Psalm 49 and the beginning of Psalm 50 are found in the earliest known piece of Christian writing!
What Jesus is questioning is not riches as such, but our attitude toward riches. Psalm 49 is all about those who put their trust in their goods, and boast of their great riches (49:5). For the man in the parable this was precisely his problem. So, too, the man who asked Jesus to be the divider of inheritance between him and his brother.
Jesus’ sharp, almost rude reply and the wisdom saying that followed showed that Jesus knew what was in him. It was the money (or land) that was truly important to the man, and division of the goods would lead to a separation between them. Jesus came not to be a divider, but a reconciler. To know this reconciling ministry of Jesus is to begin to be truly “rich toward God.”
– The Rev. Peter Rodgers
|
|
Commission for Intercultural Ministries |
|
Refugee Resettlement Update
Refugees Rebuilding their Lives in our Diocese
Currently, Afghan families are lovingly being welcomed and accompanied by Sponsor Circles and World Relief Good Neighbor Teams in Napa (St Mary’s) and Cameron Park (Faith). A Ukrainian family is being assisted by a community group preparing to be a Sponsor Circle in Redding (All Saints).
Churches in Petaluma (St John’s) and Santa Rosa (Incarnation) are continuing to support eleven Afghan families.
You can join in this renewing and inspiring ministry by applying to resettle a Ukrainian family via the Sponsor Circle website or an Afghan family through our resettlement agency partners via Episcopal Migration Ministries’ Neighbor to Neighbor program or World Relief's Good Neighbor program.
Please Advocate for Refugees
Last summer, 75,000+ refugees were evacuated from Afghanistan and allowed to enter the United States. Many of these refugees’ entry permits (Humanitarian Parole) will expire this summer. To remain here, they must apply for a one-year extension or receive the immigration status which puts them on a path to obtaining a green card. To date, Congress has failed to provide a clear path for refugees to do this.
It is very urgent that two pieces of legislation be passed to make it possible for many of the refugees to remain here and rebuild their lives. Please ask your Congressional Representative and Senators to move this critical legislation forward via the links below:
|
|
Diocesan Partners in Ministries of Health |
|
NEW! Healing and Health Ministries Mini-Grants
The Diocesan Partners in Ministries of Health received funds from Episcopal Health Ministries for use in our Diocese. Episcopal Community Services matched those funds. In partnership we are offering Mini-Grants in the amount of $100-$500 and can be applied for throughout 2022.
These grants can be utilized for:
- Health resources for congregations or for workshops and forums
- Trainings, for example: Stephen Ministry, Parish Nurse training, Living Compass
- To attend conferences
- Honoraria for Speakers on Health &/or Healing
- Special Projects
Click here for the Mini Grant Application form.
|
|
Upcoming Events Around The Diocese |
|
Sacred Ground Dialogue Circle
St. John’s | Roseville
11-session program, with small group discussion and reflection.
Bi-weekly on Wednesday evenings from 7pm-9pm
Begins August 10th and will be offered via zoom.
For more information contact
|
|
Benefit Concerts for Ukrainian Refugees
Oleksandr Savchenko | Pianist
August 14 & 21 | 2:00 – 4:00 pm
St. Paul's Episcopal Church | 1430 J St. | Sacramento
|
|
I Will, With God's Help: Journey toward Racial Healing and Justice
In person anti-racism workshop
Saturday, August 27 | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Christ Church | Eureka
|
|
Diocesan Day of Discernment
Saturday, October 15 | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
This is the first step for those interested in the ordination process. Discerners and sponsoring clergy must register and attend.
|
|
Job Opportunities Around The Diocese |
|
All Saints, Sacramento, is seeking a ¾ time Interim Rector.
See position description here.
|
|
St. John the Evangelist, Chico, is seeking a full-time Interim Rector.
See position description here.
|
|
St. Clement's | Rancho Cordova is seeking a 3/4 time Priest-in-Charge.
See the position description here.
|
|
St. Paul's | Sacramento is seeking a Music Director.
Read the job announcement here.
|
|
Trinity | Folsom is seeking a Director of Children’s and Youth Ministries (Lay Position). Read the job announcement here.
|
|
Trinity Cathedral | Sacramento is seeking a Temporary Business Manager. Read the job announcement here.
|
|
Diocesan Commissions | Committees | Ministries |
|
The ENews is published weekly on Tuesdays.
|
|
|
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
Making Disciples, Raising Up Saints & Transforming Communities for Christ
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
