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"Refugee Housing: A Ministry of Compassion," a video produced by The Episcopal News and hosted by Bishop John Harvey Taylor, briefly tells the story of how four people seeking asylum in the United States are being sheltered at St. John's Episcopal Church in San Bernardino. The four were in detention at Adelanto, a private prison used to detain refugees, until they were released on humanitarian grounds because COVID-19 was sweeping through the prison population. St. John's provided them with housing, which is a requirement before a detainee can be released. Guillermo Torres of CLUE (Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice) tells how congregations can turn unused space to hope and housing for asylum seekers, how CLUE can help, and why it's important. Watch the video by clicking here or on the image above. An Episcopal News story on St. John's ministry, written by the Rev. Pat McCaughan, is here.

Bishop John Harvey Taylor invites all in the diocese to log in to the Bishop’s Gala (previously known as the Bishop's Dinner), a virtual fundraising event set for Saturday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. and featuring the Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church as keynoter.

All are welcome, and while there is no charge to view and share in the event, generous online contributions are requested to benefit diocesan programs including Bloy House, the Episcopal Theological School at Los Angeles. The gala will be available for viewing via the diocesan YouTube channel and Facebook page.

"Bishop Curry will be the guest of the whole Diocese of Los Angeles, inviting his listeners along the way of love just four days after the historic 2020 elections," Taylor said, referencing Curry's initiative for prayer and service.

Donors of $200 or more will receive an autographed copy of Curry’s new book, Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times.

Inquiries about the gala may be emailed to [email protected].

[The Episcopal News - October 7, 2020] A general election of more than usual interest has prompted the Ecumenical and Interfaith Program Group of the Diocese of Los Angeles to issue a voting guide that reflects the priorities of the Episcopal Church in the diocese as established in diocesan convention resolutions of recent years.

Because the program group also includes members of other faith groups, their voices are also taken into account in the guide. Ravi Verma, chair of the program group, and diocesan interfaith minister Tahil Sharma led the development of the guide, which is available as a PDF in English here and Spanish here.

The Episcopal Public Policy Network of California has also issued a call for all who are eligible to make a plan to vote: by mail, early in person, or on Election Day. In addition, The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations has created a comprehensive suite of resources for advocacy, the U.S. election, and 2020 Census engagement.

Read more here.

The Diocese of Los Angeles' weekly Resource Roundup has returned to its original mission of providing information specifically for clergy, lay leaders, church administrators, wardens and lay professionals, and will no longer be sent to Update subscribers. Those who belong to one of the aforementioned groups and would like to receive the Roundup may email to [email protected] to be put on the list. (Include first and last name, your email address, and the name and city of your congregation.)

Subscribers will continue to receive the Episcopal News Update each week. Items to be considered for publication may be sent by email to [email protected]. The weekly deadline is Tuesday at noon.

By Pat McCaughan

[The Episcopal News – October 14, 2020] Delegates to the 125th annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles will be asked to amend diocesan canons to automatically include seat, voice and vote for lay members of nontraditional faith communities at future conventions.

For the St. Francis Episcopal Mission Outreach Center in San Bernardino, one such nontraditional community, approval would feel like “a big morale boost,” says the Rev. John Forney, priest-in-charge. “You can kind of feel like a stepchild when you don’t even have a voice.”

The Rev. Canon Kelli Grace Kurtz, who chairs the diocesan Commission on Constitution and Canons, wrote the resolution and said it would clarify nontraditional communities as mission centers but not change them operationally or structurally.

“We’re not changing anything. We’re just defining what already is,” said Kurtz, who also convenes the diocesan Program Group on Mission Congregations. “It [the resolution] provides clarity and it’s a prelude to the revisioning work that needs to be done on the "Theology of Mission," the policies and procedures manual of the diocese.

“There isn’t a dramatic backstory,” she said. “It really is cleaning up and making more clear what the relationship is between the communities in our diocese that are neither parish or mission.

In addition to St. Francis, other nontraditional communities include: Thad's, an emergent congregation in Culver City; Thoms, a Huntington Beach house church; St. Michael’s Episcopal Ministry Center in Riverside; Holy Spirit, a progressive community in Atwater Village and The Abundant Table, a church farm and farming collective in Camarillo.

Read more here.

[The Episcopal News - October 7, 2020] The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, canon to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Stewardship of Creation, will preach at the Sunday, Nov. 15 virtual Eucharist that will conclude this year's online Diocesan Convention, "Servants of the Spirit."

The convention will be held online on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 - 15. All business meetings will be held on Nov. 14.

All business sessions will take place via the internet on Saturday, Nov. 14. Clergy and lay delegates will check in on their own laptops or other devices, and will be able to vote using a secure website. All in the diocese will be able to watch the proceedings via livestream; information on how to log in will appear in the Update as the date draws near.

Delegates who are concerned about how voting will proceed will have an opportunity to test the system at a practice session, currently scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 - 10:30 a.m., a week before the actual meeting, according to Samantha Wylie, convention coordinator. She says she also plans for some virtual Q&A sessions in the week before the convention at which she and Secretary of Convention Steve Nishibayashi can respond to any concerns.

Read more here.

The Episcopal News has published a series about the councils, boards and committees for which Diocesan Convention will elect members during the 2020 virtual convention on Nov. 14. Those interested in running for any of these offices will find nomination information and forms at the convention website here.

Articles in the series are on the Episcopal News website or at the links below:

St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church, a historically Black congregation of the Diocese of Los Angeles, is the first stop on an audio walking tour of the African American History of Pasadena recently published by izi.Travel and sponsored by the NAACP. The narration for the St. Barnabas stop mentions that the church had its beginnings as early as 1909 when Black Episcopalians who had moved into the area found that they were unwelcome at established Episcopal Churches, and began to meet on their own in homes and later in the Grand Army Hall. The Rt. Rev. Bertrand Stevens, second bishop of Los Angeles, dedicated the church in 1933. Other stops on the way include the offices of Pasadena's first Black woman physician; memorials to local Black activists, physicians and business owners; sites related to the construction of the 210 Freeway, which obliterated ethnically mixed neighborhoods along the route while avoiding areas with mostly white residents; and the childhood home and a statue of Jackie Robinson, a lifelong Pasadena resident who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. The audio guide is free and may be downloaded here.

Girls Friendly Society-Los Angeles invites girls ages 5 and up to "Reconnect and Reboot" at a virtual Rally Day on Saturday, Oct. 24. The event will give GFS members who have been unable to meet together at their usual summer activities — pool parties, summer camp — an opportunity to get together for some fun, sharing and reflections on how they can "reboot" the way they interact as followers of Jesus.

The Rally Day will begin with log-in at 10:45 a.m. and continue until 12:30 p.m. To register and for Zoom meeting information, email Martha Watson, GFS leader at St. John's Cathedral, at [email protected].

The Rev. Janet Broderick, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills, will lead a virtual ecumenical bible study sponsored by the Southern California Christian Forum Ecumenical Bible Study on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 7 - 8:30 p.m. The text for the evening's study will be Matthew 6:6.

The Oct. 20 meeting is the fourth of these virtual bible studies, conducted via Zoom and including group study, dialogue, and prayer. This year’s studies are anchored by the theme of the 2021 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: “Abide in My Love, and You Shall Bear Much Fruit” (John 15:5-9).

To register, email to [email protected]. Organizers will send Zoom log-in instructions.

The Center for Spiritual Development will present “Abiding Reverence: Unity and Reconciliation through a Way of Non-Violence,” a video conference, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom. The presenter will be Julie Mussché.

"In a world where we are barraged with news of violence, do you find yourself holding your breath waiting for God to respond to the injustice? Perhaps God is extending an invitation for you to respond," says the conference description. "Do you feel called to a way of love, to a path of unity and reconciliation? Come join us online for a morning of exploring the non-violent traditions and self-reflection, opening vistas to a non-violent way of being."

Julie Mussché is a spiritual director, supervisor and presenter, and author of Navigating the Spirit: Charting A Year’s Passage Through God’s Kingdom, which was published in 2009. She has a background in geography, specializing in environmental cognition and behavior and social geography, particularly pertaining to religion and sacred space.

The fee is $40. For information and to register, click here or call 714.744.3172, or email to [email protected].

Known recently as Emmaus Ministries, the Center for Spiritual Development is a program of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange.

The Rev. Greta Ronningen, Episcopal deacon, monk of the Community of Divine Love and jail chaplain, and Canon Stephen Bruce, spiritual director and spouse of Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce, will be among the presenters for "The Sojourner's Well: Exploring the Boundaries of Spiritual Direction," an online session presented by the Center for Spiritual Development on Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Specifically designed for those who are already spiritual directors, the workshop will be a conversation about what “spiritual direction” looks like in four distinct communities – incarcerated, homeless, hospice, and sheltered. The speakers, who also include Gayle House, a spiritual director, supervisor, ordained minister and singer, and Leia Smith, a coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange’s jail ministry, have extensive experience in these areas and will share their insights and stories. Breakout room discussions will help participants explore their own discernment of the invitation from the Holy Spirit to consider “directing” people in these areas, even if the experience is not the traditional model of spiritual direction.

Cost is $50. For more information and to register, click here, call 714.744.3172, or email to [email protected]

The Brass Rubbing Medieval Arts Center at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in downtown Long Beach will open its doors for its 34th season starting Oct. 20 and concluding Nov. 14. The center brings medieval history alive as it offers the art of brass rubbing to youth as an enhancement to on-line learning and to adults as a delightfully unusual outing. The event will this year be held outside; all Covid 19 safety measures of social distancing and masks will be observed.

Each presentation is 90 minutes of learning about medieval times, knights' armor, and ladies' fashion, and making art to take home. The price is $8 per person, which includes all materials. Reservations are required for all groups Tuesdays - Fridays; presentation times are 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.. Saturday hours are 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. with no reservation for individuals. The center is closed on Sunday and Monday.

St. Luke’s is located at 525 E. 7th St. Long Beach, at the corner of 7th & Atlantic. For more information, click here or email for a flyer or reservations to [email protected].

Camp Stevens launched an online fundraising auction on Oct. 1, with new items for purchase announced each week until Oct. 31. New items will be posted on Thursdays on social media — Facebook and Instagram (@campstevens). Offerings include original art and photography; handmade textiles and jewelry; private classes led by camp staff; day trips and overnight stays; homemade goodies; exclusive Camp Stevens gear; and even an opportunity to name a camp chicken.

Camp Stevens, located in Julian, California, has served the dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego since the 1950s with summer camp programs for families, weekend family camps, off-campus excursion programs and facilities for conferences and retreats. Although many of its programs were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic, the camp continues to offer short retreats for family groups, and will reopen its other programs as soon as it is safe to do so. For more information, visit the camp website.

Weekly online discussion will foster spiritual exploration with help of Matthew Fox's Original Blessing

"Becoming More Human: A Spiritual Exploration," a series of interactive online meetings presented by the Center for Spirituality in Ontario, will use Matthew Fox’s book Original Blessing as the springboard for exploration and reflection. The series, which began Oct. 12 and continues on Mondays, 7 - 8:30 p.m., 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 will be led by the Rev. Gianluigi Gugliermetto, director of the Center for Spirituality. He is a native of Italy, where he studied music, philosophy, and theology. He earned a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion and theology in 2008 from Claremont Graduate University. He worked as translator of theological works into Italian and as a spiritual retreat leader after moving back to Europe in 2008, often in collaboration with Matthew Fox, who is an Episcopal priest and theologian. In 2013 Gugliermetto founded the “Associazione Spiritualità del Creato” in Italy as a non-profit offering retreats and seminars. In 2015 he was ordained by Bishop J. Jon Bruno and now serves at rector of Christ Church, Ontario.

Suggested donation is $7 per session. For information, click here. To enroll, email to Ashanti Smalls at [email protected]

Speakers from four traditions — Muslim, Christian, Jewish and non-religious — will take part in "Inspiring Stories for Uncertain Times: Healing Our World," a virtual time of storytelling and guided conversation sponsored by The Guibord Center - Religion Inside Out and IslamiCity on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 4 - 6 p.m.

"We’ll hear moving stories from people of various faith traditions and backgrounds about how their spiritual values or ethics have given them the grit and vision to continue serving the greater good - especially in times as challenging as these," according to a Guibord Center release. "You’ll have a chance to share your own thoughts in a small group setting. We’ll talk about the strength and wisdom we find in our spiritual and ethical traditions and reflect on how to apply it in our own lives."

Storytellers will be: Dany Doueiri, Ph.D. (Muslim), co-founder of IslamiCity; Andrea Hodos (Jewish), associate director of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change; Kandee R. Lewis (Christian), executive director, Positive Results Corporation (PRC); and Tim Phillips, co-founder and vice-president of Animal Defenders International (ADI).

For more information about the speakers, click here. To register for the event, click here.

The Guibord Center is an interfaith organization founded by the late Rev. Canon Gwynne Guibord, a priest of the Diocese of Los Angeles. It works to increase understanding among Los Angeles' diverse religious communities. IslamiCity is a global Muslim e-community.

Stillpoint: The Center for Christian Spirituality will present "Lament, Protest & Praise: Praying with Spirituals," a one-day virtual retreat on Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., led by Belva Brown Jordan, Disciples of Christ minister and seminary teacher and administrator.

"Participants will listen, sing, prayer and engage in theological reflection on a selection of traditional and contemporary spirituals," according to the course description. "At the end of the day retreat participants will walk about having rehearsed a piece of our common American history, experiencing through this genre what continues to expressions of “lament and protest and praise.”

A native of Texas, Belva Brown Jordan was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1986. She served the denomination in its general offices in Indianapolis, Indiana, then transitioned into theological education in schools ranging from Lancaster Theological Seminary to Harvard Divinity School to Phillips Theological Seminary to Claremont School of Theology. She is currently interim president of Disciples Seminary Foundation in Claremont.

For more information and a song list, playlist and discography of music to be used in the workshop, click here. Cost is $60 per person. To register, click here.

"Trauma & (Un)Truths," a series of webinars examining systems of oppression in church and society, presented by New Community, the Diocese of Los Angeles' multicultural ministry, and Bishop Suffragan Diane M. Jardine Bruce, will conclude Oct. 17. The first of the four webinars, held on Aug. 22, introduced three topics to be covered more extensively in following sessions. The second webinar, "Doctrine of Discovery," was held on Sept. 26, and the third, "Racial Identity," was on Oct. 3. Videos and presentation materials from the first three sessions are available here.

All are invited to join the remaining webinar. There is no charge, but advance registration is required: click on the registration link below. More information about the series is here.

Cosponsored by The Gathering – A Space for Asian Pacific American Spirituality (Diocese of Los Angeles) and Episcopal Asian Supper Table (Diocese of New York). Led by Jonathan Tran, of Baylor University and Liz Lin of Progressive Asian American Christians in San Francisco. Register here.

Spanish-language interpretation will be provided for the webinar, which will be conducted via Zoom. For additional information, contact Bishop Bruce at [email protected].

"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. Currently scheduled blood drives 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.

St. James Episcopal Church

3209 Via Lido, Newport Beach

Sign up here (search “stjamesnewport”) or here. By appointment only.

Grace Episcopal Church

555 E. Mountain View Avenue, Glendora 91741

Sign up here.

Sponsor code: GECG

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: November 24, December 29, January 26, February 23; continuing on fourth Tuesdays through August 2021.

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 additional blood drives on Thursday, Dec. 10 and Monday, Jan. 4.

By David Paulsen

[Episcopal News Service - October 12, 2020] It was inevitable, heading into the October meeting of Executive Council, that the coronavirus pandemic would color much of the work of the church’s governing body. Cases of COVID-19 are still on the rise in the United States and worldwide, and some dioceses and their congregations are struggling with decreased revenue as the virus and precautions to slow it upend parish life.

Over Executive Council’s four days of online sessions, Oct. 9-12, the pandemic’s impact on church operations and finances was evident in ways big and small. In one of its most significant moves, Executive Council approved The Episcopal Church’s 2021 budget on the final day of the meeting, after a debate over staff cost-of-living adjustments and financial relief to dioceses.

The pandemic also has affected planning of the church’s triennial General Convention. The 80th General Convention, which had been scheduled for July 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland, could be moved online or postponed. It will be up to the church’s presiding officers, after consulting with Executive Council, to make that call.

“We can expect a decision in November, so stay tuned,” said the Rev. Michael Barlowe, secretary of General Convention.

Some of the other resolutions and discussions at this Executive Council illustrated how thoroughly the ground has shifted under the church since the pandemic took hold in mid-March, forcing suspension of in-person worship and face-to-face activities. With much of the work of the church moving online, church leaders are grappling with fundamental questions about how to assess congregational life today and plan for the future.

Read more here.

[Episcopal News Service] As the United States struggles through a time of turbulence and tension, Washington National Cathedral will host a national interfaith prayer service on Sunday, Nov. 1 – two days before Election Day – featuring Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and other spiritual leaders. The service, titled “Holding Onto Hope: A national service for healing and wholeness,” will be livestreamed on The Episcopal Church’s Facebook page in English and Spanish from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Eastern time (1 - 2:30 PT).

“In the midst of pandemic, racial reckoning and a historic election, the livestreamed service will gather Americans for prayer, song, lament, hope and a call to love God and neighbor,” said the Rev. Stephanie Spellers, canon to the presiding bishop for evangelism, reconciliation and stewardship of creation.

Curry will offer “wisdom and encouragement,” along with the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, and Valarie Kaur, a Sikh filmmaker and speaker. Curry will also preach that same day at the cathedral’s All Saints’ Day Eucharist at 11 a.m.

Read more here.

The Center for Religion and Environment at the University of the South will host a virtual conference titled “Deep Green Faith: Earth-Hearted Hope Amid Crisis” Friday evening, Oct. 23 (4 p.m. PT) and all day (three sessions) on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Episcopal priest, co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (2019) and a noted activist and retreat leader, will be the keynote speaker. The Rev. Walter Brownridge, an Episcopal priest in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, who holds a law degree, will speak about political theology. Other presenters will include Collin Cornell, Ph.D., visiting instructor at Sewanee's School of Theology; Amy Patterson, Ph.D., professor of international affairs at the University of the South; and John Gatta, Ph.D. and Robin Gottfried, Ph.D., professors emeriti of the University.

Conference events, including presentations, contemplation, and worship, will explore the question: "What grounds for hope, faith, and perseverance might we find to sustain us during this troubling period, when an accelerating climate crisis, together with a global pandemic and renewed challenges to racial justice in the U.S. have left many engulfed in what’s been called 'a tsunami of sadness'?"

Tuition for the course is $59. More information and registration may be found here.

[The Episcopal Church - September 30, 2020] The Task Force to Develop Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies & Safe Church Training is looking for Episcopalians interested in participating in Listening Groups related to the development of new and updated Safe Church (formerly called Safeguarding) training materials and approaches.

The purpose of the listening sessions is to ensure the diversity of voices within our church is represented in the topics, training methods, and personal stories in each training area. To achieve this diversity of voices, the Task Force invites those interested in participating to complete a demographic survey. The data provided will be used to set up listening groups with the goal of reflecting a true representation of The Episcopal Church.

Survey responses are due by October 18, 2020. Read more here.

[Episcopal News Service — September 22, 2020] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s latest book, Love Is the Way, was released on Sept. 22, and like his 2018 book, The Power of Love, it emphasizes Christian teachings, particularly Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor, as a powerful force for unity and healing in a troubled world.

Whereas the earlier book was a collection of notable sermons, including the one Curry preached at the royal wedding in May 2018, Love Is the Way takes a more autobiographical approach to the lessons of his faith. Curry illustrates core Christian beliefs and applies them to today’s social context by mining personal stories, from his early childhood in Buffalo, New York, to his work as a parish priest in Baltimore, Maryland, to his time as bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina.

Read more here.

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

Live-streamed and on demand here

The Center for Spirituality in Ontario

Information: Ashanti Smalls, [email protected]

The Rev. Peter Fritch and spiritual director Kathy Sperling will lead a six-workshop online series beginning on Oct. 17 and continuing on alternate Saturdays through Dec. 6. The workshops are based on the Jungian tradition of dream interpretation and will provide insight into the meanings of subconscious expression. More information is here.

The Center for Spirituality in Ontario

Christ Episcopal Church

Information here

Registration: Ashanti Smalls, [email protected]

"Learning to understand and 'work' our dreams, with the help of expert guides, is a beautiful way to connect to the soul and experience human wholeness, which brings freedom, spaciousness, and meaning," says the course description. "... [W]hether or not you can remember your dream clearly or you have worked with dreams in the past, this will open up for you new possibilities to develop greater compassion for yourself and the world around you." The workshops will be based on the Jungian tradition of dream interpretation and will be open to all spiritual expressions. Workshop titles and dates, as well as more information about the series, presenters and individual session, are here. All workshops will be held via Zoom beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 12 p.m. Cost is $380 per person for the series. Enrollment is limited; some scholarships are available.

Virtual conference: Register here

Information: Kimberly Corner, [email protected]

The program, which will explore the question "Lord, what will you have us do?" from the DOK prayer, will include Morning Prayer, special guest speakers, election of new diocesan officers, and adoption of revised bylaws.

Stillpoint: The Center for Christian Spirituality

Virtual retreat: Information here. Register here.

A one-day virtual retreat led by Belva Brown Jordan, Disciples of Christ minister and seminary teacher. "Participants will listen, sing, prayer and engage in theological reflection on a selection of traditional and contemporary spirituals," according to the course description. "At the end of the day retreat participants will walk about having rehearsed a piece of our common American history, experiencing through this genre what continues to expressions of “lament and protest and praise.”

Episcopal Communities & Services

Information/Registration: contact Susan Brown, [email protected] or 818.822.6044

This program trains volunteers to be a compassionate presence for those nearing the end of life. The training will take place in 10 2-hour sessions over five weeks via ZOOM. It will have a special focus on the needs of staff at PIH Good Samaritan Hospital, but will be open to everyone. A fee of $70 ( which includes all materials) is due by the second class. Scholarships are available. CE (12 hours) for nurses is available for an additional $30 under California Board of Registered Nursing Provider Number CEP 16239. Deadline to enroll is Oct. 30. (Due to an editing error, this item in last week's Update included some incorrect information about the number and duration of sessions. The News regrets the error.)

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.)

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