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By Pat McCaughan

Online worship during the pandemic brought an entirely new, eclectic digital congregation to St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Hollywood – one the Rev. Canon Ian Davies aims to keep as they resume in-person gathering.

“There’s a lady who’s become a pledging member who lives in Maryland,” Davies told The Episcopal News recently. “We have people tuning in from Australia, New Zealand and Britain and from all over the United States.”

Another new member “lives in Crestline and she’s snowed under, literally, at the moment,” said Davies. “She has contributed with love and affection and devotion, and financially as well. We’ve been really taken aback by the people that have wanted to contribute and that’s why we’ve invested in a camera, speakers and software. We are determined that we will continue live-streaming, even when we are back in person.”

One year after the pandemic forced suspension of in-person gatherings, Southland congregations, from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, from Barstow to San Clemente, shared some of their experiences with The News.

The Rev. Vanessa Mackenzie, rector of the Church of the Advent in Los Angeles, and most others, acknowledged that virtual worship is here to stay. It has helped people stay connected, she said, and fostered a real sense “not that we are a church because we have a building, but a real recognition that we are the church, there for one another.”

Yet praying by phone and worshipping virtually can feel like puny substitutes “for being in the presence of people, hugs and support and solidarity,” she added, especially for members of her mostly African American congregation, hard-hit by the pandemic.

That sense of loss, amid the cumulative impact of disproportionate COVID deaths, police violence, structural inequities, and divisive politics, has also forced a real reconsideration of “the very core of what it means to be a beloved community,” Mackenzie said.

As the congregation resumes in-person outdoor worship on Palm Sunday, “We can rediscover the meaning of being community. We lost what we thought was anchoring us and God was telling us what was anchoring us that we never saw. The incarnation for me is now more real than it ever has been before.”

Read more here.

A community gathering and talking circle in Ojai met on March 20 to stand against violence targeting Americans of Asian-Pacific Islander heritage. The Rev. Greg Kimura, rector of St. Andrew's Church, one of the organizers, addressed the group from his perspective as former director of the Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles. Other leaders included a local yoga instructor and a leader in the Ojai Education Equity Alliance. Photos: Greg Kimura

Bishop John Harvey Taylor invites the diocesan community to two online services in Eastertide.

The first will be The Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, April 3 at 8 p.m., coordinated by the Rev. Canon Susan Russell with participation by Taylor, Bishop Suffragan Diane M. Jardine Bruce and Canon to the Ordinary Melissa McCarthy. It will, according to Russell, be “a virtual service which will include participants from all ten deaneries as we celebrate the joy of Easter and the wonderful diversity of the Body of Christ here in the Diocese of Los Angeles.”

The service also will feature an anthem by the diocesan virtual choir.

The second diocesan service, on the second Sunday of Easter, April 11, will be a simple celebration of spiritual Holy Eucharist conducted by Taylor and Canon Kathy O’Connor.

Both services will be livestreamed and available for viewing on demand on the diocese's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Servants of the Spirit - Gifts for Ministry, the diocese's series of online workshops, will offer a special presentation titled "All You Need to Know About the COVID-19 Vaccines" on Saturday, March 27, 9 - 10 a.m. via Zoom.

Presenters will be epidemiologist Nina T. Harawa, PhD, MPH, and retired pediatrician Canon Steven Nishibayashi, M.D. The two will discuss the safety and efficacy of the currently available COVID vaccines.

To register for the presentation, click here.

Harawa is a professor-in-residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Trained in epidemiology, she also has a faculty appointment at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science where she serves as associate director of research for the university’s Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services (Drew CARES). Harawa’s research involves developing and testing holistic interventions for encouraging prevention, care, and treatment for HIV, STIs, and substance use disorders and leading efforts to examine the impact of various policies on racial/ethnic health disparities. She also directs the Policy Impact Core of the NIMH-funded UCLA Center for HIV Identification Prevention and Treatment Services (CHIPTS), which examines how proposed and enacted policies may support or hinder efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United States and abroad. Because of her commitment to health equity, Harawa started REACH UCLA Health, a faculty group dedicated to increasing access to the UCLA Health system for people of    color and those with publicly-funded health coverage. She is a member of Holy Faith Episcopal Church, Inglewood.

Nishibayashi is a pediatrician with an interest in infectious diseases, now retired after 37 years in solo private practice in Glendale. A graduate of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, he is a previous president of the Los Angeles Pediatric Society. Nishibayashi is currently secretary of convention for the Diocese of Los Angeles and has served as vice chair of the Bloy House board of directors for 15 years. An elected member of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, he is on its executive committee, and is the council's liaison to ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). He also serves on The Episcopal Church's Conant Theological Education Grants committee. A cradle Episcopalian and lifelong member of St. Mary's Church (Mariposa), Los Angeles, he has been on many diocesan boards and committees. Bishop Frederick H. Borsch named him an honorary canon of the diocese in 2000.

James Nobuo Yamazaki, 104 – for many years a prominent and revered physician in Los Angeles, activist against nuclear arms, and member of St. Mary's Church (Mariposa), Los Angeles – died in his White Salmon, Wash., home on March 5.

Yamaziki was the son of the Rev. John Misao Yamazaki, first vicar and rector of St. Mary's, and the brother of its second rector, the Rev. John H.M. Yamazaki.

Survivors include his son, Paul (Sara) of San Francisco; daughters Katharine of Taos, New Mexico, and Caroline (Brad) Roberts of White Salmon, Wash.; his grandchildren, Yuki (Andrew) Romero, Taro, Mariko, Jazmin (Austin) Krentz and Taniya; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was predeceased by his wife of nearly 70 years, Aki (who died on March 5, 2014); a son, Noel; a grandson, Masami; and his siblings John (Fumi), Peter (Joy) and Louise.

According to his family, Yamazaki requested that no services be held, nor flowers or koden sent. Memorial gifts may be made to a charity of the donor's choice supporting social justice, peace, children, the arts or the environment.

After a stint in the U.S. Army in World War II – during which he was a prisoner of war – Yamazaki completed his pediatric residencies at children's hospitals in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, where he was put in charge of wards of children stricken in the polio epidemic. Later he relocated to Japan to study the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the war. He became a lifelong anti-nuclear activist as a result of this work, which he described in his book, Children of the Atomic Bomb: An American Physician’s Memoir of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and the Marshall Islands.

Yamazaki returned to Los Angeles in 1951 as a professor for the newly formed UCLA medical school, and opened a private pediatric practice, where he worked for more than 35 years. He was a mentor to many other doctors, including Steven Nishibayashi, M.D., another lifelong member of of St. Mary's Church.

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 9 a.m.

Register here

Hosted by Dr. Nina Harawa, epidemiologist and professor-in-residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (learn more about Dr. Harawa here, or see the listing under "News" above).

Register here

This workshop is an introduction to My Work To Do: an online affinity group designed to help white people build stamina for discussing racism, systemic injustice, racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in their everyday lives. We invite those feeling lost or overwhelmed into the conversation, especially white people who might not have a local anti-racism program or accessible discussion happening in their life. Presenter: Canon Suzanne Edwards-Acton

Register here

Learn valuable tools and best practices and procedures to help you serve as treasurer for your congregation. Presenter: The Rev. Michele Racusin, CFO of the Diocese of California, former CFO of the Diocese of Los Angeles

Register here

Hosted by Jack Rutledge, VP of Client Services for Church Insurance Agency. He’ll cover Cyber Liability and how it affects churches in handling their online presence, data, payments, and communication.

Additional information about the workshop series is here. All workshops are livestreamed and recorded, and will be made available for on-demand viewing here.

[St. George's Church, Laguna Hills - March 23, 2021] In response to the recent and ongoing violence in our nation, particularly against Asian Americans and Pacific Islander sisters and brothers, St. George's Episcopal Church is hosting an “Embrace the Love, Stop the Hate,” vigil at 7 p.m. on Palm Sunday, March 28.

"We welcome all people of faith and good will to come together in unity and embrace love, to become allies for one another and to denounce violence of any kind," says the event announcement.

The vigil will be held outside on the church’s campus at 23802 Avenida de la Carlota, Laguna Hills. Masks and social distancing are required. CDC safety protocols will be observed.

For more information, contact the church office at 949.837.4530 or the Rev. Canon Pat McCaughan, vicar, at 949.892.0525. (Click image or here for PDF flyer.)

St. Andrew's Church, Fullerton, is beginning a Spiritual Support Group for those suffering with critical illness, such as cancer, MS or stroke). The group will be "a safe place to vent, cry, share insights, ask, complain, give gratitude, support and pray with other Christians walking this tough part of the journey together."

Contact co-facilitator (with Melinda Dodge) Ron Bonilla at [email protected] for more information and to receive the zoom link. At this time, meetings are planned for Mondays at 11 a.m., beginning April 12.

Camp Stevens, the Diocese of Los Angeles facility in Julian, California, is now open for day use and family weekends. "It only takes one glance at our guest surveys to remind us that all the hard work, preparation, sanitation, and organization is worth it!" says Kathy Wilder, executive director. "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, Wilder says. "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 get away. 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."

For options, click here or email [email protected] or call or text 760.896.7113.

Seeds of Hope is seeking volunteers to help out at several upcoming food distribution events in and near Los Angeles. "Without the dedication and support of volunteers, there's no way we could do the work we do," says the Seeds of Hope staff in a Facebook post. "From sorting and boxing produce, unloading trucks to passing out food, volunteers are essential to helping us feed hungry folks!"

Upcoming dates are:

George Washington Carver Park

1400 E. 118th Street, Los Angeles 90059

Ted Watkins Memorial Park

1335 E. 103rd Street, Los Angeles 90002

Mona Park

2291 E. 121st Street, Compton 90222

Salazar Park

3864 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles 90023

To volunteer, contact Erica Nieves at [email protected].

The Rev. Canon Susan Russell, canon for Engagement Across Difference and leader of the Diocese of Los Angeles' One in the Spirit initiative, has launched a series of Lenten reflections on its blog. To read the blog, click here. To receive the reflections by email as they are posted, scroll to the bottom of the page, enter an email address, and click "subscribe."

Episcopal Communities and Services still has openings at Spring training sessions for By Your Side Vigil Companions, a program that trains volunteers to be a compassionate presence for those nearing the end of life.

"This year has brought all of us to an acute awareness of life’s fragility, and of the immense value of being companioned," says the course announcement. "The mission of By Your Side, which has always been to be supportive of people in palliative care and to be at the bedside at the end of their lives as needed, has had to adapt to the realities of COVID. We've needed to ask: 'How can we practice presence without proximity?' We have also grappled with the need many of us feel to talk about what we are living through, perhaps to grieve. Together we are exploring being together, in the hospitals, in our communities, over technology or the phone, in whatever ways we can."

Each of the two upcoming training programs will be conducted in 2-hour sessions over five weeks via ZOOM. Available session dates and times are:

There is no obligation to volunteer at the completion of the training. A fee of $70 ( which includes all materials) is due by the second class. Scholarships are available. CE credit (12 hours) for nurses is available for an additional $30.

For more information or to register, contact Susan Brown, By Your Side administrator, at [email protected] or 818.822.6044. Enrollment is limited to 30 people.

Blood supplies are critically low in California, and congregations in the Diocese of Los Angeles have stepped up to help replenish them by hosting blood drives. Currently scheduled events are listed below.

Donors may save up to 15 minutes by completing pre-donation reading and answering health history questions here, rather than filling out forms on the day of donation.

All donors and staff will be screened before entering the facilities.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

100 N. Third Avenue, Covina 91723

Information: 626.967.3939

Red Cross reservations here or call 1.800.RED.CROSS (1.800.733.2767)

Sponsor code: HTEC

Holy Trinity will offer a blood drive each month. Upcoming dates are: Thursday, May 6, June 10, July 8, August 5. Reservations through the Red Cross are required.

All Saints Church

132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena 91101.

Reservations here or call 1.800.RED.CROSS (1.800.733.2767)

Sponsor code: ASEC

Information: [email protected]

Donations will be by appointment only, scheduled through RedCrossBlood.org. Upcoming dates at this location are June 22 and Aug. 17.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church

12692 Fifth Street, Yucaipa 92399

Register here or call 1.800.RED.CROSS (1.800.733.2767)

Sponsor code: ST ALBANS. Upcoming dates at this location are Mondays; May 24, June 28, July 26, Aug. 23, Sept. 27, Oct. 18, Nov. 22 and Dec. 27.

Will your church host blood drives in 2021? Send the information to The Episcopal News ([email protected]) for inclusion in the calendar.

By Egan Millard

[Episcopal News Service] As the United States grieves for its second mass shooting in a week, Episcopalians continue to respond with calls to action, pastoral care and prayer.

A gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, on March 22, as Americans were still mourning the killings of eight people – six of them Asian American women – in Georgia on March 16. In addition, there were five other incidents around the country in the days between in which multiple people were shot.

“Let us be silent and humbled before the sense of violation this brings to us,” the Rev. Mary Kate Rejouis, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Boulder, told her parishioners during an online vigil hours after the shooting. Rejouis’ parish is across the street from the University of Colorado Boulder and is home to its Canterbury Club. She and her family were out of town at the time of the attack.

“So much was broken tonight, or perhaps the brokenness we live in was revealed here, as it was in Atlanta just a few days ago. I feel broken too — both for the reality of this experience today, and also for the truth of it — we know this ritual. Violence, devastation, prayer, come together, burials, grief, some hand wringing … until the next one. I have had enough of that,” she said.

Colorado Bishop Kym Lucas shared her reaction in a video message to her diocese the same evening, saying the back-to-back shootings left her heartbroken and angry. [Lucas is pictured above in a screenshot from the video.]

Read more here.

By Egan Millard

[Episcopal News Service] In 2001, when the Church Pension Group first started publishing differences in average compensation between male and female full-time Episcopal clergy, men earned 18% more than women. Five years later, CPG, the financial services corporation that also tracks clergy demographics, reported that the clergy gender pay gap had only narrowed by half a percentage point, to 17.5%.

“Hence the progress towards compensation equity is slow,” the 2006 report concluded.

Nearly 20 years after CPG published its first report, the gender pay gap has inched closer to parity. The median compensation for male clergy is now 13.5% higher than it is for female clergy, according to the most recent report.

The primary factor in the lingering clergy gender pay gap is the imbalance of women in higher-paying senior positions, according to the data and the observations of diocesan leaders who say it’s one of the areas they’re targeting as they work to close the gap.

“If you look at it from a simple mathematical standpoint,” the Rev. Mary Brennan Thorpe, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Virginia, told Episcopal News Service, “the biggest lifter of average compensation, the fastest way to get there, would be for female clergy to be called to large churches, to be rectors of large churches which compensate more highly. And yet, there’s still some resistance on the part of some parishes.”

The 2019 report covers 5,344 clergy members, 4,677 of them in full-time positions, in the domestic dioceses (those within the 50 states and the District of Columbia). The report separately covers 248 clergy members in United States territories and other countries. The current makeup of domestic clergy is 60% men, 40% women. The vast majority are priests; 1% of male clergy are deacons, while 4% of women are. Bishops’ salaries were not reported.

Read more here.

St. James in-the-City Church, Los Angeles

Live-streamed and on demand here

Center for Spirituality in Ontario

Information here

Enrollment: Ashanti Smalls, [email protected]

A series of interactive online meetings using Matthew Fox’s book Original Blessing as the springboard for exploration and reflection. The series, which began Oct. 12, is for persons of any age or walk of life, who share an interest in processing their inner journeys. Participants may join at any point, though regular participation is presumed. Sessions are led by the Rev. Gianluigi Gugliermetto, director of the Center for Spirituality. Suggested donation is $7 per session.

September 2022

Join Bishop Guy Erwin of the ELCA and Canon Jim Newman of the Episcopal Church for a 13-day journey across central Europe to Oberammergau, Germany. The day-long Oberammergau Passion Play is produced every decade and is a four-century “thank you” to God for saving the people of this picturesque Bavarian Alpine village. Experience this spiritual event and look at the culture and religion of Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Auschwitz and Czestochowa), Hungary (Budapest), Czech Republic (Bratislava), Austria (Vienna & the Salzkammergut) and Germany (Oberammergau & Munich). Cost is $4,899 from Los Angeles including $450 taxes/airline surcharges.) Information: Jim Newman, 3590 Grand View Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066; 310.391.5522 or 888.802.6722; [email protected]. A full itinerary is here.

ALTADENA: Church Office Administrator, St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Part-time (20-25 hours/week, Monday - Friday). Responsible for church communications, maintenance of office a records, assisting with financial operations, administrative support for the rector and other staff. A full job description is here. Salary is commensurate with experience. Contact: The Rev. Carrie Patterson Grindon, rector, at [email protected].

BEVERLY HILLS: Administrative Coordinator, All Saints Episcopal Church. Seeking a detail-oriented person to handle a wide range of responsibilities, including financial, calendar, coordinating volunteers, offices support, phone and more. Compensation based on experience. Benefits include health (dental and vision) and pension. Full job description and application information here.

CLAREMONT: Spirituality center executive director. The Center for Spirituality & Practice (CS&P), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing resources for those seeking wisdom and spiritual practices for their daily lives, seeks a committed spiritual practitioner and high-capacity nonprofit leader to be its first executive director. A respected name in the spiritual enrichment landscape, the Center runs the multifaith/interspiritual website SpiritualityandPractice.com which offers a vast array of resources for the spiritually hungry. The new executive director will collaborate with founders Mary Ann and Frederic Brussat to advance their legacy and develop the organization into its next phase. A detailed position profile can be found here.

EL MONTE: Bookkeeper (part time), Our Saviour Center. Earn extra money by working 20 - 24 hours per week, Monday – Friday, during regular business hours. Wonderful work environment. Flexible work schedule. This position requires work in Our Saviour's El Monte office. No virtual or remote working permitted. Full Covid safety protocols observed. Full job description and application instructions are here.

HOLLYWOOD-LOS ANGELES: Seeds of Hope Food Distribution Associate. Bilingual (English-Spanish). This position will be an essential part of the Seeds of Hope team getting healthy, nutritious food to more families in need in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Job duties include picking up, sorting, organizing and delivering produce; providing great customer service; documenting quantities and submitting data for reports. Work hours are full time, but variable. Valid Class C driver's license, experience with driving 16-ft or larger truck required. Full job description is here.

SANTA ANA: Office Manager, Church of the Messiah. Part-time. The Office Manager will serve as the focal point for parish business operations, and is responsible for a broad range of administrative, specific operational and oversight functions. Bilingual proficiency (English/Spanish) required. More information is here.

Additional job listings are here. Listings are free: send information to [email protected]. Applications for jobs must be sent to the contact included in the listing.