Special Report: 'The Rest of Convention'

December 3, 2024

Editor’s Note: In this Special Report: ‘The Rest of Convention’ The Episcopal News brings coverage of items that were trimmed from the agenda due to time constraints encountered during the one-day format of Diocesan Convention’s 129th Annual Meeting, held Nov. 8 at the Riverside Convention Center. Covered in stories below, these items include the address from the Canon to the Ordinary; a report on climate resiliency hubs proposed in the city of Riverside; and ministry video features on chaplaincy, service, and advocacy. Additional links are provided to Convention stories previously reported by The News.

Canon to the Ordinary’s address to Convention: Being the Church ‘inside out'

New initiatives include climate response, ministries with children, and 'Renaissance or Requiem’ for congregations

By Melissa McCarthy

Dear delegates, colleagues, and friends,

Our Diocesan Convention on November 9, 2024, in Riverside was our first one-day convention in many years and, as is always the temptation, we had an agenda bigger than our allotted time. As I saw the minutes tick by and noted how far behind we were, it seemed prudent to trim as many things off the agenda as we could. Decisions were made balancing the requirements of convention, the pieces other people had worked hard on, and what would be easy to set aside. Ultimately the things we postponed were my address and the videos we had prepared. I was sorry not to be able to offer my address. Speaking to all of you gives me as much energy as I share and it’s fun! What follows is nearly the exact text of my address, with changes only in terms of references to time specific-events.

Canon to the Ordinary Address

Nov. 9, 2024, Riverside Convention Center

How are you doing? Really? While our diocese is politically diverse – and I know there are many who are pleased with the outcome of the election – what I am more aware of from my pastor’s heart are those who do not celebrate for fear of what this election will mean to them personally.

I have spoken to people who fear deportation and are making plans about what happens to their children if that happens. I have spoken to people who fear what will happen to their marriages, their families, the lives they have built together, because they are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Riverside’s three Episcopal churches – (from left) All Saints, St. George’s, and St. Michael’s Ministry Center – stand ready to share in climate resiliency project.

Episcopal Diocese, Dr. Lucy Jones Center apply for grant to fund Riverside resiliency hubs

By Mostyn Trudinger-Smith

[The Episcopal News – December 3, 2024] The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, in collaboration with the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, has submitted a grant proposal to fund the creation of a series of "resiliency hubs," the basis of an eventual resiliency collaborative, in Riverside County.

The hubs would provide tangible support and shelter to vulnerable communities and community members in the face of environmental dangers including heatwaves, wildfires, flooding, and earthquakes, while attempting to combating broader climate change issues in the community.

The program would begin with the development of initial resilience hubs at three Episcopal churches in the city of Riverside: All Saints (3847 Terracina Drive), St. George’s (950 Spruce Street), and St. Michael’s Ministry Center (4070 Jackson Street).

The development of the initial sites would include the instillation of shade structures and solar panels, the creation of produce gardens, replacement of HVAC systems to filter the air, and seismic retrofitting, to make the buildings safe in case of an earthquake.

Convention videos

Three videos touching on convention themes of Chaplaincy, Service and Advocacy, which were not shown at the Nov. 8 - 9 meeting due to time constraints, are below. Click on each one to view the videos on YouTube.

Chaplaincy

Service

Advocacy

Diocesan Convention: Full Coverage

At Diocesan Convention Bishop Taylor calls Episcopalians to be ‘chaplains to a culture in crisis’

By Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News – November 13, 2024] Bishop John Harvey Taylor called upon the 129th annual meeting of the Diocese of Los Angeles to be “chaplains to a culture in crisis” by taking “EI,” or “Episcopal Identity,” out into the world.

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Festive Eucharist, keynote address at convention celebrate 50 years of women’s ordination to the priesthood

[The Episcopal News – November 13, 2024] The Rev. Carter Heyward and the Rev. Norma Guerra – key speakers at the Nov. 9 annual meeting of the Diocese of Los Angeles in Riverside – issued rousing calls to action, to love and to pursue justice in the uncertain aftermath of the recent contentious presidential election.

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Convention 2024 photo gallery

[The Episcopal News – November 14, 2024] Hundreds of people attend Diocesan Convention each year; clergy and lay delegates from the diocese’s 133 congregations, representatives of diocesan institution and ministries, diocesan staff and convention volunteers, youth volunteers, exhibitors, guests; and visitors. Below are some scenes from this year’s meeting.

Videos

Click on titles to view these videos, or visit the Diocese of Los Angeles YouTube channel.

Bishop's Address by the Rt. Rev. John Harvey Taylor

Keynote address by the Rev. Carter Heyward

Convention Eucharist sermon by the Rev. Norma Guerra

The Episcopal News Update is published on Wednesday afternoons. News items, job listings, calendar items, questions and comments may be sent to mtrudinger-smith@ladiocese.org. Weekly deadline is Tuesday at 12 p.m. Photos are welcome: please include them as email attachments (rather than embedded in a document). To subscribe, click here.

— Mostyn Trudinger-Smith, managing editor