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By Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News – December 9, 2020] Worshipping this Christmas may be with masks and in parking lots or online via Zoom and Facebook, but clergy and leaders of Southland congregations say “Silent Night” will still be heard, the Virgen de Guadalupe will still be venerated, and Jesus will still be present — in the creche and in spirit.

From Santa Ana to El Segundo to Thousand Oaks, congregations are preserving traditional commemorations of the miracle of the Nativity from Christmases past, and are forging new rituals through the present marvel of technology.

Celebratory opportunities abound, beginning with the traditional observances of the feast of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Bishop Suffragan Diane M. Jardine Bruce and the Program Group on Hispanic/Latinx Ministries invite the diocesan community to join a 6 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12, virtual celebration. The service will feature Oscar Alcántara from All Saints Church in Pasadena, who will share religious-historical data about the Virgen. The service will be offered in Spanish with English interpretation.

The feast commemorates four visitations of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego and another to his uncle, Juan Bernardino, in 1531 in Tepeyac, now a suburb of Mexico City. Images of the Virgen in Spain include a Black Madonna, revered in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe, in the town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.

The Rev. Abel Lopez, rector of the Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana, said the congregation chose to keep a 5 p.m., Dec. 12 bilingual virtual celebration of the Virgen while letting go, in this difficult year, of Las Posadas and some other services, because “there have been lots of pastoral requests to ask the Virgin for protection.”

“We went down the list of all the services we do every year and, the choices came down to the most essential ones, with higher attendance, where people feel more nurtured,” Lopez told The Episcopal News recently. “Church members who go to the Spanish service here have a strong faith in Guadalupe and they said, more than ever, we need that service.”

Bishop Bruce will lead an online “Christmas Around the Creche” service at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day for the diocesan community. Bishop Diocesan John Harvey Taylor will officiate at a virtual diocesan service of Morning Prayer at 10 a.m. on the first Sunday in Christmas, Dec. 27. Both services will be available via the diocese’s Facebook page and YouTube video channel. (See notice below.)

In an Asian twist on the traditional Lessons & Carols service format, The Gathering: A Space for Asian Pacific American Spirituality, will offer "The Advent Gathering: Lessons, Carols & Fellowship," 4:30 - 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. The diocesan community is welcome to join the online program, which will feature Asian Pacific American-themed reflections and music set to Advent themes of hope, love, joy, peace, and Christ.

Read more here.

By Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News – December 9, 2020] When Covid-19 hit, Karen Daisa moved her weekly 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in-person yoga ministry for St. Patrick’s Thousand Oaks parishioners onto Facebook.

Now, as the pandemic stretches on, she wants to gift it to the entire diocesan community.

“There’s so much stress right now and a lot of us are in chronic fight or flight with this pandemic. Yoga is a wonderful tool to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.”

“We’ve been getting people from all over,” Daisa told the Episcopal News recently. “One parishioner has family in Greece, and they’re watching.”

During a Dec. 8 class, she focuses on the lower back and knee areas, guiding the on-camera Rev. George Daisa, St. Patrick’s rector, to whom she is married, through a series of Hatha Yoga positions, designed to offer the twin benefits of flexibility, and core muscle and back strengthening with deep, calming, cleansing breaths.

“He’s my student,” she said of George. “A lot of people are visual and so they need to see the pose before they do it, and it’s been great.”

Read more here.

On Christmas Day, Bishop Diane M. Jardine Bruce and Canon Stephen Bruce invite the diocesan community to join them for "Christmas Around the Creche," a multilingual celebration of the Nativity featuring readers and musicians from congregations throughout the diocese. The service will be livestreamed at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 25. “We’ll have all the languages in which services are conducted in the diocese,” says Bruce, including English, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin and more.

On the first Sunday after Christmas, Bishop John Harvey Taylor will officiate at a "Festival of Lessons and Carols for Christmas," featuring multilingual readings and carols from all ten deaneries in the diocese. The service, to be livestreamed at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 27, will include a meditation by Bishop Taylor and a virtual celebration of Holy Eucharist.

Both offerings will be available via the diocese’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. No prior registration or signup will be needed to view the services, which also will be available on demand after their initial airings.

Members of the diocesan staff, including those currently working from home due to pandemic restrictions, will be off duty on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 24 and 25 for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; and on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The Resource Roundup and Episcopal News Update will be on hiatus for the weeks of Christmas and the New Year. Publication will resume Jan. 5 and 6.

The diocese's new series of online ministry workshops, titled "Servants of the Spirit: Gifts for Ministry," will continue with offerings scheduled from December to February.

Two workshops will be held each month; one on a ministry topic (the first Wednesday of each month, in the evening) and one on a financial topic (second Saturday mornings.) No workshops will be held in July or August. Dates and topics for March will be announced soon.

Presenter: The Rev. Michele Racusin. Register here.

Presenters: Marisol Barrios Perez and Rose Hayden-Smith of the diocesan Program Group on Communications. Register here.

A discussion about senior wardens and their relationships with and responsibilities to their congregations, communities, and the diocese. Led by Steve Yeazell, with contributions from the Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam. Register here.

TIC is understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma. A trauma-informed approach aims to help us create an environment that is sensitive to the needs of those effected by trauma. Presenter: Stacey Roth, LCSW. Register here.

If you haven’t started working on your 2021 budget, utilizing one or both of these methods of budgeting might help. If you are done with 2021 budgeting, and you’d like to think fresh for 2022 and get a jump on planning for that, this workshop is for you. Led by the Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce. Register here.

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

By Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News – December 9, 2020] Alyssa Voboril remembers her first conversation about race.

The Madison, Wisconsin, native was 23, serving an Episcopal urban intern year in Los Angeles when she and other interns participated in a group activity led by her mentor, Canon Suzanne Edwards-Acton (pictured at left).

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Voboril, 31, told The Episcopal News recently. “The activity was to select from a group of black and white photos; of people, of obscure objects, just whatever you felt you could use to describe your experience with race.”

A young African American woman in the group shared a reflection about her daily experiences, Voboril recalled. “She was saying ‘you have no idea what it feels like to be me every day, to wake up in the world and to be marked with trauma.’”

Until that moment, “I thought I got it, about race,” Voboril recalled. “I had friends of color. I had worked at the Boys and Girls Club. I had dated a Black guy. I had all these qualifiers. That was the most profound moment for me, to think about how different her experience is from mine. And it wasn’t just what she said, it was the reaction of the other white people in the group, who got so angry at her for saying it.

“They were so offended. Their response was, ‘that’s not me and how dare you tell us about ourselves. That’s why we’re in this program in the first place.’ We quickly jumped to anger, gaslighting her experience. It took Suzanne following up with all of us to say, this is exactly the problem. She changed the course of my life in that moment. She shared with me in a way, it just woke me up. Ever since that day I have felt like this is the most important work that needs to be done.”

Read more here.

The Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, a noted advocate for social and racial justice, recently joined the staff of All Saints Church, Beverly Hills. In this video interview with Episcopal News correspondent the Rev. Pat McCaughan, Tutu talks about how being the daughter of Nobel Peace Price laureate and retired Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu helped form her ministry; how efforts toward reconciliation in South Africa succeeded and failed; and how those experiences resonate with the current state of race relations in the United States. A story by McCaughan based on this interview appears on the Episcopal News website here.

The Rev. Vincent Shamo, rector of St. Mary's in Palms Church, Los Angeles, since 2005, died Dec. 3 after a long struggle with stomach cancer. He was 66.

Survivors include his wife, Florence K. Shamo; their children, Patience Barnie, Vincent Agoe and Obed Agoe; and a grandson, Ezra Barnie.

Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m., streamed live on St. Mary's Facebook page and via Zoom. For more information, click here.

An obituary is here.

The members of the Program Group on Hispanic / Latinx Ministries believe that a primary step towards unity is to know our stories and our differences, and how they intertwine with each other, and how they also intertwine with God's history.

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, Bishop Diane M. Jardine Bruce and the members of the Program Group invite all to share an afternoon with the diocesan Latinx community to hear from Oscar Alcántara (All Saints, Pasadena) some religious-historical data about the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, followed by a space for questions and answers.

We will have the opportunity to see some of the cultural elements (music, dance, and rituals) that give color to these celebrations; and the event will end with a liturgical celebration (Celebración Guadalupana).

The event will be conducted in Spanish with instant interpretation to English.

Log in to Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/98833725755.

Read more here.

En el Grupo de Programa de Ministerio Hispano/Latinx, creemos que un paso primordial hacia la unidad es darnos la oportunidad de conocer nuestras historias y nuestras diferencias, y como se entrelazan entre si, y como se entrelazan también con la historia de Dios.

A las 6 pm. el sábado 12 de diciembre, la Obispa Diane M. Jardine Bruce y los miembros del Grupo de Programa te invitamos a compartir con la comunidad Episcopal Latinx una tarde en la que escucharemos de nuestro amigo Oscar Alcántara (Iglesia de Todos Los Santos, Pasadena) datos histórico-religiosos acerca de la Virgen María de Guadalupe, con un espacio para preguntas y respuestas.

El Gran Convivio, es un programa (inspirado por “The Gathering”) que tiene la finalidad de reconciliar esas diferencias y reencontrar la armonía, y colaboración entre los elementos de la creación, en especial entre nosotros los humanos, a través de sesiones de inmersión cultural.

Inicie sesión en Zoom en https://zoom.us/j/98833725755.

Leer más aquí.

Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce invites the diocesan community to "The Advent Gathering: Lessons, Carols & Fellowship" on Saturday, Dec. 12, 4:30 - 6 p.m. This event, an Asian twist on the traditional Lessons & Carols, will feature Asian Pacific American-themed reflections and music set to Advent themes of hope, love, joy, peace, and Christ.

The event is free. Everyone interested in this topic is welcome to attend virtually. For additional information, email [email protected]. Register here in advance to receive Zoom information.

Read more here.

The Rev. Gayle Fisher-Stewart — Episcopal priest, former police officer and author of 2020's Preaching Black Lives (Matter) — will keynote the Diocese of Los Angeles' annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, to be held online at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 16, 2021.

"Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community" is the event theme, drawn from the title of King's last book, published in 1969.

The event will be streamed on the diocese's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Read more here.

From Meagan Taylor, executive director of IRIS (Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service, a ministry of the Diocese of Los Angeles): The City of Los Angeles is hiring people who have been laid off due to pandemic-related causes to help support COVID-19-related relief and recovery efforts. Work up to 200 paid hours through Dec. 30, earning $22 per hour in non-supervisory roles. New hires will receive appropriate safety training. Applicants must be City of Los Angeles residents, ages 18 and older, and must have been affected by the recent pandemic (been laid off, had hours reduced or suffered a pay cut). For places to apply, see the flyer here.

Since convention delegates and visitors couldn't walk into a convention center hall this year to visit exhibits from ministries, services, institutions, spirituality and education providers and the wider church, the exhibits have come to them online — and will remain there until the end of the year. Visit the exhibit hall here.

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.

Christ Episcopal Church

1127 N. San Antonio Avenue, Ontario 91762

Register here or call 1-800-RED-CROSS

Sponsor code: CCPOntario

By appointment only. Donors must be healthy and be able to show identification. Christ Church will host an additional blood drive on Monday, Jan. 4.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church

12692 Fifth Street, Yucaipa 92399

Sign up here

Sponsor code: ST ALBANS

St. Alban's will host a blood drive on the following Tuesdays: December 29, January 26, February 23; continuing on fourth Tuesdays through August 2021.

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

This holiday season, Episcopal Relief & Development invites supporters and congregations to sow seeds of resilience in communities around the world by giving a gift from Gifts for Life, the organization’s alternative gift catalog.

Gifts for Life enables individuals and groups to transform lives in communities worldwide through the purchase of a wide range of gift offerings to support those communities. The 2020 catalog features new offerings such as the ONE THOUSAND DAYS OF LOVE package, which supports the organization’s campaign to expand its work with communities and families to help children up to age six so they can thrive and achieve their full potential. The package includes:

Also new this year is a special COVID-19 relief kit. This gift will equip partners with the resources and knowledge to assist their communities in effectively preventing and reducing coronavirus transmission and to respond to cases as they arise.

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. An additional session is now being held from 5 to 6 p.m. each Monday. "Becoming More Human" will take a break after Christmas Day and will resume January 11.

Center for Spirituality in Ontario

A four-session virtual discussion of the revolutionary meaning of the Gospel birth narratives, led by Jim Dunkly, Ph.D., and the Rev. Gianluigi Gugliermetto, Ph.D. Suggested donation is $100. To enroll, contact Ashanti Smalls at [email protected]. For more information, visit the center's website here.

Registration/Information here.

Presented online via Zoom by the Rev. Peter Traben Haas, a sought-after contemplative teacher and author, an ordained teaching pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) and author of Centering Prayers, The God Who Is Here, The Advent Remedy and The Contemplative Church. We have all lived through a historic year of global COVID concerns and unprecedented human connection and care for one another. As such, we are also experiencing a profoundly different, yet deeply meaningful Advent season. We will use this retreat as an opportunity to take rest and remember what we have experienced, and in so doing use Advent as a kind of remedy for that in each of us that awaits deeper healing, hope, integration, transformation and the birth of new joys in a post-COVID new year. Registration: $60 per person

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. (Please note the date change. The Passion Play was postponed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.)

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.

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.

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.