February 6, 2025 | VOLUME 37, ISSUE 6

VIEW AS WEBPAGE

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 9, 2025

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13]

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Psalm 138

Preacher: The Reverend Jennifer Wagner Pavia

Sunday, February 9, after 10:00 AM service: 60th Annual Meeting in Parish Hall

Saturday, February 15, 6:30 PM: "Let's Do Fondue" SoB venue at the Deutsche residence

Saturday, February 22, 6:00 PM: "Paint, Sip & Nosh Party" SoB venue in Luther Hall

Bible and Breakfast

Tuesdays | 9:30 AM

Luther Hall & Zoom

Midweek Eucharist

Wednesdays | 7:00 PM

Sanctuary

Adult Forum: Epiphany 2025

Wednesdays, 1/29-2/26 | 8:00 PM

Luther Hall & Zoom

Please join us on Sunday, February 9, after the 10 AM service for the St. Bede's Annual Meeting. There will be food and fellowship as we talk about reports, elections--and the future. If you've got opinions about how things are working and ideas for new ministries, this is your chance! See you there!

You're Invited to a Special Fundraiser Jazz Piano Concert

Join us for an evening of live jazz piano hosted by Daphne Moote’s mother, Barbara Jones, to support those in need. The concert will take place at Barbara’s home after the annual meeting, giving everyone plenty of time to stop by, enjoy great music, and contribute to a meaningful cause—with plenty of time afterward to catch the Super Bowl.

Free-will donations are welcome, with all proceeds going directly to charity.

To RSVP, please call or text Barbara at 323-397-7597. We hope to see you there.

This is your LAST CHANCE to attend our FINAL "Paint, Sip & Nosh" Sisters of Bede venue since Kelly Riggle-Hower and her husband, Mark, are planning a move to Spokane this summer. As an art teacher for children and a truly compassionate and beautiful soul, Kelly leads this venue with inspiration, encouragement and tons of positive feedback.

So we invite you to join Kelly and friends for a fun and relaxing evening at the Sisters of Bede Paint & Sip! No art experience is needed—just come ready to enjoy a creative and social atmosphere. Kelly creates a warm and welcoming space where everyone can unleash their creativity. Plus, all proceeds from Sisters of Bede events go directly to St. Bede's Outreach Programs—so you can have fun while supporting a great cause!

🔗 Sign up here: Register Now



For more information, reach out to Kelly or Daphne. We can’t wait to see you there! 🎨💖

Don’t abuse or take advantage of strangers; for

you, remember, were once strangers in Egypt. Exodus 22:21

This series from Episcopal Migration Ministries takes us through the season of Epiphanytide as we reflect on scripture, our history, and pause to remember our own sacred story. We will look forward and learn how we can continue to welcome, serve, offer sanctuary, advocate for, and build community with our newcomer siblings whatever may come in the days ahead.

Dear friends,

Many of you have shown concern about new immigration policies and how they will impact this vulnerable population among us here in Los Angeles. Below is information about how you can get involved through CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), an organization that St. Bede's works with and supports. Join us in preparation for this essential work.

Blessings,

Rev. Jennifer+

At the core of nearly every faith tradition lies the concept of a just, harmonious, and loving society where all souls are valued and everyone can thrive. 

It is unconscionable that people fleeing violence in other countries would be deported back to those places, regardless of threats to their safety and security.

Because the Trump Administration is threatening immigrant communities across the country (regardless of documentation status), CLUE is working across Southern California to protect immigrant workers and their families in a variety of important ways. 

You can join us in this work or support it with your donations knowing that you are doing your part to protect vulnerable people.

SUPPORT CLUES IMMIGRATION WORK

RAPID RESPONSE NETWORKS

If you see ICE Activity anywhere you go, you can report it to the Rapid Response hotlines in your area.

• Los Angeles: 888-624-4752
• Orange County: 714-881-1558
• San Bernardino/Riverside: 909-361-4588
• Kern County: 661-432-2230
• Central Valley: 559-206-0151

CLUE is working with RRN partners to offer ongoing trainings for faith leaders and community members who want to show up for workers and families being targeted by ICE.  

If you want to be trained to be a rapid responder and you live in Orange County, Los Angeles or the Inland Empire, contact Sithy Bin at sbin@cluejustice.org. 

CLUE WELCOME NETWORK

CLUE is cultivating its vast network of houses of worship to create a network of congregations that provide respite, and even longer-term shelter, to migrants released into Southern California. 

Over 30 congregations are already participating in the CLUE Welcome Network that houses asylum seekers and refugees. We receive referrals from CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) for asylum seekers in need of shelter, from legal service providers that are seeking sponsors for people being released from detention, or direct walk-ins. Some congregations in the network provide temporary shelter or short-term housing, and others support those efforts with gifts of supplies, transportation, etc.

If your congregation is interested in joining the network, offering housing or supplies or services, please contact Sithy Bin at sbin@cluejustice.org.

SANCTUARY TRAINING

The Biden administration had instituted a policy prohibiting immigration arrests at “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals, and places of worship. 

Trump has repealed that policy through one of his executive orders, but the history of sanctuary is much deeper than this Biden-era policy. 

Many CLUE affiliated congregations remain interested in offering sanctuary to those that seek it. CLUE is partnering with legal groups to offer training to these congregations.

JOIN US SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16

4PM to 6PM

for Sanctuary Training

Offering a Safe Haven for Immigrants

St. Paul's Commons at Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese in Echo Park.

RSVP HERE

The struggle is bound to change, and as our immigrant siblings face new challenges CLUE's efforts will change and we’ll ask for your help.

Thank you for standing in intimate solidarity as we seek to build a society where everyone is safe and lives with dignity.

In faith and solidarity,

Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez

Visit the St. Bede's website and at the top of every page, look for the "Donate" button. When you click on the "Donate" button, you will be transported to St. Bede's Vanco eGiving and Payment Process Site.

Vanco is an industry leader in online payments. More than 40,000 churches, faith-based groups, nonprofits, schools, and educational organizations trust Vanco to securely complete transactions every day. Vanco complies with PCI Level 1 standards, the highest security standard in the payment processing industry.

You are invited to set up one-time or recurring gifts using credit, debit, or bank transfer on Vanco's secure payment processing platform. Giving online through the Vanco site saves time and the hassle of remembering to bring your offering. In addition, you decrease the expense incurred by St. Bede’s from handling and processing checks and cash.

Melissa McCarthy and Eric Weaver with Sheriff’s Dept. Capt. Jabari Williams. Photo: Rob Radtke

ERD President Rob Radtke preaching Feb. 2 at St. Augustine by-the-Sea. Photo: Bob Williams

Episcopal Relief & Development team visits diocese, pledges ongoing aid in recovery from Palisades, Eaton fires  

By Bob Williams and Mostyn Trudinger-Smith

Meeting with church leaders hardest hit by the Palisades and Eaton fires, Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD) President/CEO Rob Radtke and colleagues visited the Diocese of Los Angeles Jan. 31-Feb. 3, offering resources for disaster response and resiliency.

Bishop John Harvey Taylor and the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, diocesan canon to the ordinary, welcomed Radtke and the ERD team, expressing gratitude for ERD’s immediate and forward-looking support, Taylor said during a Feb. 1 gathering hosted by the Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel.

The bishop underscored particular focus on continuing care for “hardest hit neighbors, including domestic, restaurant, and undocumented workers.”

Highlighting disaster-response best practices, the forum was led by Lura Steele, ERD program officer for U.S. disaster programs, and followed a Friday-afternoon visit led by McCarthy and Sheriff’s Dept. Capt. Jabari Williams through burned areas of Altadena, including destroyed campus of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

Also joining the visit were Eric Weaver, ERD director of global disaster response and resilience, and the Rev. Mark Dibelka, missioner for disaster resilience of the Diocese of Northern California, a region also affected by wildfire disasters in recent years.

Preaching during Sunday-morning services at St. Augustine by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Monica, Radtke brought a message of empathy and hope to those affected by fire in Pacific Palisades, where an estimated 75% of members of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church lost their homes.

READ MORE HERE

Washington National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith, left, and Washington Bishop Mariann Budde, right, present Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe to the congregation after his ceremonial seating at the cathedral on Feb. 2, as seen in the cathedral’s video of the service.

Presiding bishop in cathedral sermon: Jesus puts the marginalized at center of his kingdom

By David Paulsen

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, in a sermon Feb. 2 during his ceremonial seating at Washington National Cathedral, spoke out against contemporary political divisions as “not of God” and lifted up immigrants, transgender people, the poor and other marginalized communities as central to the kingdom Jesus envisioned.

“We live in a world in which the enemy is bound and determined to sow division among us, to make us forget who we are and to what kingdom we belong,” Rowe said in his 15-minute sermon. “God did not come among us as a strongman. God came among us as a child.”

Invoking the day’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, the presentation of Jesus at the temple, Rowe highlighted how the temple’s elders recognized that this “poor child born in a backwater to peasant parents” would upend the top-down order upheld by the authorities of Jesus’ time and our own.

“We’re beset by the powers and principalities of the world that don’t see it the way Jesus does. We’re told by the kings and the rulers of the day that the rich shall be first, that somehow compassion is weakness,” Rowe said, “that differences of race, class, gender identity, human sexuality are all divisions that must somehow separate us, and that we should regard migrants and strangers and those among us that we don’t understand with fear and contempt.

“But those divisions are not of God. … In God’s kingdom, immigrants and refugees, transgender people, the poor and the marginalized are not at the edges, fearful and alone. They are at the center of the Gospel story.”

READ MORE HERE

Trump’s foreign aid freeze halts Episcopal-affiliated humanitarian aid program in Central America

By Lynette Wilson

Cristosal, an Episcopal-affiliated organization committed to defending human rights and promoting democratic rule of law in Central America, was forced last week to cut its staff and terminate its humanitarian assistance program in response to the U.S. foreign aid freeze.

Cristosal provided protection and reintegration services to 1,600 internally displaced people through its humanitarian aid program.

“Essential legal and security assistance for human rights defenders and community leaders facing oppression has been drastically reduced, while Cristosal’s ability to represent thousands seeking justice for grave human rights violations is now at serious risk,” Noah Bullock, the organization’s San Salvador, El Salvador-based executive director, wrote along with Flor de María Salazar, Guatemala country coordinator, and Karen Valladares, Honduras country coordinator, in a Jan. 30 letter to supporters.

“These leaders and families partnered with us in courage, trusting we would stand with them—and we refuse to abandon them in their fight for justice and human rights.”

Cristosal was founded as a partnership between clergy in El Salvador and the United States in 2000. It has since become an independent nonprofit, with continued Episcopal support, and has expanded operations to Guatemala and Honduras. Over the past two and a half years, its staff has assisted over 7,500 internally displaced people in the Northern Triangle, where violence is driven by organized crime, narco-trafficking, and, increasingly, political instability.

“Family networks are the first protection response for Central Americans fleeing violence; most internally displaced people come from poor communities and cannot sustain themselves through prolonged crisis. Without humanitarian assistance [from organizations like Cristosal] victims are forced to choose between the risks of suffering new violence at home or the violence on the migratory routes,” Bullock told Episcopal News Service when asked about the cut’s broader implications.

Among the many executive orders signed during his first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on more than $60 billion in foreign aid to evaluate it against U.S. foreign policy goals. The administration’s cuts have decimated nongovernment and grassroots organizations serving migrants and other vulnerable populations across Latin America.

READ MORE HERE

View the latest edition of the Episcopal News Service