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Young people from St. Athanasius' Church, Los Angeles, most of them members of the extended Cossio family, spent all of Thanksgiving Day preparing and serving food to people living in tents in Echo Park, across the street from St. Athanasius' and St. Paul's Commons. They prepared ham, vegetables, mashed potatoes and more at the Cossio grandparents' home, then packaged the food into individual containers. The young people chatted with the park residents as they handed out some 120 dinners. They financed the project with contributions from church members.

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.

By Pat McCaughan

CPE — clinical pastoral education — was once designed to hone pastoral care skills for clergy-hopefuls only, but an exciting new program in the Los Angeles diocese aims to offer the training to laypersons also.

The program, called CPE for Laity, is the vision of the Rev. Jana Milhon-Martin (pictured at left), a chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital who is betting that in just about all of the diocese’s 135 congregations are lay people with strong gifts and skills that, if empowered, will enrich the entire community.

CPE offers freedom from the belief that chaplains, or pastoral caregivers, “have to have all the answers,” Milhon-Martin told The Episcopal News recently. Rather, those who are suffering need someone to just be present with them.

“It sounds so simple, but it is incredibly difficult,” added Martin, who received a $125,000 Trinity Wall Street grant and diocesan funding for the project.

“Even now, as a chaplain who’s been training for four years beyond my ordination, I still responded to a fetal demise a few weeks ago feeling like I needed to do something,” Martin recalled. “I needed to fix something. The work is not to respond to those anxious expectations we place on ourselves but instead to be present to those who are suffering.”

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.

Above: Jon Huckins, co-founder of the San Diego-based Global Immersion Project, delivers a keynote address at the Border Ministries Summit. Below left: A video about the asylum-seekers housing program at St. John's Episcopal Church, San Bernardino, was included in the virtual meeting Nov. 20. Photos: Screenshots

by Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News - November 24, 2020] The St. John’s, San Bernardino ministry that houses recently released asylees from the Adelanto Detention Center was featured in a video presentation at the Nov. 20-21 virtual Border Ministries Summit hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego.

The video, one of several reports of Episcopal Church work concerning immigrants and refugees, showcases Bishop Diocesan John Harvey Taylor’s visit with the asylees, who received a compassionate release from the privately-owned detention facility because of COVID-19.

Taylor joined bishops from Central and South America and the southwestern United States online at the third annual and first-ever virtual border summit, which focused on Christian peacemaking, building church connections and advocacy opportunities for the immigrant community along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"The summit enabled those of common resolve and spirit to come together and compare notes about how, in practical terms, to do the church’s essential work of respecting the dignity of every human being, especially the sojourner, asylee, and immigrant worker,” Taylor told The Episcopal News. “All have new hopes for their ministries in the year to come, as political winds change.”

Read more here.

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 Update will be on hiatus for the weeks of Christmas and New Year's Day. Publication will resume Jan. 5 and 6.

Those planning January events are encouraged to send information to [email protected] as soon as possible for advance notices before the holidays.

By Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News – December 2, 2020] The Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu is very much her father’s daughter, yet from an early age was determined to chart her own course.

The third child of 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu, she bears a striking resemblance to her father but has emerged from his shadow as an activist, advocate and priest in her own right.

“What is funny is, that having my dad as my dad and looking so much like him, I was clear from very early in my life that I was never going to be a priest,” Tutu told The Episcopal News during a recent virtual interview. Engaging and joyful, she pauses, laughing: “I didn’t care if there was no other job available—I would be on the stripper pole, before I would do that.

“Even when I first felt a call to ministry, at about 24, I pushed it away and ignored it and fought it and I did that for the next 25, almost 30 years.”

Ordained in 2017 in the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, Tutu joined the staff of All Saints Church in Beverly Hills in September 2020 as associate rector for pastoral care. Her reflections about growing up in apartheid South Africa, carving her own niche, and racial reckoning in the United States form the inaugural interview for a new Episcopal News “Voices of Justice” series about Episcopalians seeking "the dignity of every human being" within the Diocese of Los Angeles.

Read more here.

by Bob Williams

[The Episcopal News, Nov. 22, 2020] Bringing experience in Southland parishes and her native Guatemala, the Rev. Norma Guerra will join the staff of the Diocese of Los Angeles on Dec. 1 as associate for formation and transition ministry, the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, diocesan chief of staff, announced Nov. 22.

Guerra will play a key role as liaison to the Bishop’s Commission on Ministry in helping to guide processes through which candidates pursue ordination. She and the Rev. Thomas Quijada-Discavage, continuing interim for clergy formation and transition ministry, form a departmental team working closely with McCarthy.

“Bishop Taylor, Bishop Bruce, and I are excited to welcome Norma to the staff,” McCarthy said. “She brings so many gifts to the work, not least of which is her bright, cheerful spirit and a deep sense of call to this unique ministry. Norma is a wise leader with solid experience that will be of great benefit to all of us. She and Tom will make a great team united in insightful, deft work with strong pastoral presence.”

Read more here.

Kathy Wilder, director of Camp Stevens, will be among the panelists for "Living Christ's Call in a Weary Land," a webinar to be presented at 12 p.m. (PST) on Thursday, Dec. 10 by the U.S. Disaster Program of Episcopal Relief & Development. Wilder will join the Rev. Glenna Huber of Church of the Epiphany, Washington, D.C.; the Rev. Ed Gomez of St. Paul/San Pablo Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas; and the Rev. Lois Maberry, The Episcopal Church in Western Louisiana, Shreveport to discuss ways "to live out Christ's call to serve their neighbors even through a global pandemic, economic crisis and racial reckoning," according to the even announcement. "Our presenters will look back on where we have been, where we are and where we can go from here. Let's mourn together, celebrate together, and forge forward in caring for our most vulnerable communities even in the most difficult of times."

The webinar is free and open to the public, but registration is required: click here. Previous Episcopal Relief & Development webinars are available 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.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have made it impossible to hold on-site ministry workshops at Diocesan Convention and forced cancellation of the March 2021 Ministry Fair, but opportunities for learning will continue with a new series of programs titled "Servants of the Spirit: Gifts for Ministry," to be held online beginning in December and continuing throughout 2021.

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.

Workshops planned for December, January and February are:

Take part in a roundtable discussion about the challenges and opportunities posed by the eventual transition to in-person worship. Led by the Very Rev. Canon Michael Bamberger. Register here.

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 is here. All workshops will be livestreamed and recorded, and made available for on-demand viewing.

Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce invites the diocesan community to "The Advent Gathering: Lessons, Carols & Fellowship." 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.

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. Visit the exhibit hall here.

"My Work to Do," an online affinity group designed to help white men and women build stamina for discussing racism, systemic injustice, racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in their everyday lives, is planning new sessions and invites members of the Diocese of Los Angeles to participate.

"We invite those feeling lost or overwhelmed into the conversation," says Canon Suzanne Edwards-Acton, project founder, "especially white people who might not have a local anti-racism program or accessible discussion happening in their lives." The initial program is a five-week session, with one 1.5-hour online meeting per week at which participants will discuss such topics as housing discrimination, implicit bias, whiteness as a function, and systems of white supremacy — and where to go from here.

To learn more and to register for upcoming sessions, visit the website here. For more resources see “Countering Racism, Building Community” 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.

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. on Mondays. "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.