Greetings Holy Cross!

This Sunday we will celebrate Holy Cross Day! It takes place on September 14^th each year, and so we are merely transferring the feast to this weekend. While we celebrate Christ’s passion and crucifixion on Good Friday, the “Exaltation of the Cross”, or the “Triumph of the Cross” is celebrated and dedicated to the Cross itself as a symbol of salvation. The date we celebrate on may seem odd at first thought. September, after all, is entirely in ordinary time, the post-Pentecost period of the liturgical calendar that is marked by green, whereas Holy Cross’s festal color is red. The date correlates to the completion of construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre (September 13^th) and it’s consecration with the Cross present the next day (September 14^th).

Emperor Constantine initiated an archaeological expedition in 327 AD, guided by Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem. He was empowered by Constantine to discover the Holy Sepulchre, and Constantine’s mother Helena joined them in the quest. Bishop Macarius began excavations of Calvary and Helena found along with the sepulchre the crosses of the two thieves crucified with Jesus, and Christ’s. Macarius determined them to be authentic, and Constantine ordered the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre which stands to this day.

From “Ecclesiastical Histories” by Socrates and Sozomenus, chapter XVII: “Since, however, it was doubtful which was the cross they were in search of, the emperor’s mother was not a little distressed; but from this trouble the bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, shortly relieved her. And he solved the doubt by faith, for he sought a sign from God and obtained it. The sign was this: a certain woman of the neighborhood, who had been long afflicted with disease, was now just at the point of death; the bishop therefore arranged it so that each of the crosses should be brought to the dying woman, believing that she would be healed on touching the precious cross. Nor was he disappointed in his expectation: for the two crosses having been applied which were not the Lord’s, the woman still continued in a dying state; but when the third, which was the true cross, touched her, she was immediately healed, and recovered her former strength. In this manner then was the genuine cross discovered.”

Perhaps this is all legend, perhaps it is all truth, likelier it is a mix of both. Whatever or however you believe, the message of the Cross is one that emperors, bishops, and ordinary Christians have always sought after, either to control or liberate. What is the message of the Cross to you? How will you carry your Cross? What will others see in your carrying it, miracles, pilgrimage, the upending of the ways of the world? May your contemplation and meditation on the Holy Cross bring your closer to the divinity within yourself and others, and may we be compassionate companions as we walk with Christ, this day and always.

In the hope of the Holy Cross,

We're delighted to welcome Finley Dicus to Holy Cross and our Tech Team. A message from Finley:

Hello everyone! I’m Finley and I will be taking over the livestream for Miles as he goes off to school at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO). I have been friends with Miles and worked with him for many years. Both me and Miles attended Carlsbad High School’s broadcasting program for four years, where I produced the sports live streams for two years. For the next two years I will be attending Mira Costa community college and so will be in the area. I cannot wait to get started here at Holy Cross and meet everyone!

Two Sunday's ago was Miles last Sunday with us. Miles has left to begin his studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. We give our thanks to Miles and wish him well in his studies and first year of college.

Is your email cutting off the full newsletter? - If you see a message at the end of your email that says something like "[Message clipped] View entire message" click on the "view entire message" link and the full newsletter will open - you may also click on the "View Entire Newsletter" link at the top of the newsletter (it's safe) and it will open the full newsletter in a new browser.

We use a screen to project the service bulletin. If you prefer your own worship booklet please download the booklet using the button below to your phone or tablet, or print a copy at home, and bring it with you. We are doing this for health precautions and to be better stewards of God's creation (reduce paper waste) - thanks for your understanding.

Miss last Sunday's service? Watch it below.

Video on Demand (VOD): All past service video's are available on our YouTube channel here.

I met with our new diocesan Canon for Mission Jason Evans before going to Wisconsin. He has been particularly helpful in my thinking about all this and will be there for at least some of the BC retreat in Julian (November 19-21 at Camp Stevens). For one thing, beyond resources I’m now going through, he reframed Holy Cross’s situation to me as less one of a church plant and more of a church redevelopment, or congregational redevelopment. Whatever we choose to do next, it will be less church planting that a redevelopment project for this reason: we have an existing congregation that has been through consequential changes, so we are not starting from scratch, we are adapting to a new way of being, in a new space, place, and mission field. As such, we have a lot of resources at our fingertips to make a successful redevelopment really take off. We’ve seen this in some ways already, between the AV system, the continuity of the Altar Guild, and the congregation that stills shows up on Sunday. We also know that we have a new mission field not just because of the change in location, but because of the new people we’ve seen coming over the past months. This is still during a global pandemic, so the fact that we are still strong in many areas, despite still grieving our former building and the shorter drive for many of us, is a clear sign that the Holy Spirit is with us on this journey.

Church redevelopment was never what any of us thought we’d be doing during my call process with you all, but the pieces are all there for Holy Cross. A faithful community, generous giving, and the ability to broadcast beyond what we had before are all keys to success for our redevelopment. We already have what we need, our quest in visioning is how we apply it to the identity we know we have, and how we might be transformed moving forward. That seems like an attainable, achievable goal for us at Holy Cross!

I also want to thank Tom Mauro and Mae Chao for offering their services as potential members of the Visioning Team along with the Bishop’s Committee. I am still putting together resources for the kickoff Visioning Retreat which will be at Camp Stevens in Julian November 19^th-21^st. If you are interested, please let me know! The BC will prayerfully discern whom else we might call, as we hope to have five to seven congregants help in this conversation along with he BC.

Re. Richard

August 6th

As part of our ongoing visioning and discernment for the future, and due to the nature of our question from our Bishop, i.e., does Holy Cross desire to be a church plant of the diocese in Oceanside, I’ve had to adjust aspects of our visioning process. Donald Romanik, who had agreed to lead this process, has agreed to scale back on the long-term (5-10 year) strategic thinking that he typically does. Instead, he will now remain a strategic thinking partner with me moving forward, rather than leading the process for us as a congregation. He is happy to continue in this capacity, and we discussed a couple of innovative possibilities for how Holy Cross can function in the future. More on this to come! To continue reading click here

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July 16th

As you all know, the Bishop’s Committee is preparing for a visioning ministry/process to help the congregation determine our calling as a community and how that will relate to any future location. While the Bishop’s Committee and Bishop Susan have the final say on any such matters in terms of decision making, we emphatically want this to be a congregationally informed discussion. The result of this process will be the visioning ministers’ recommendations to the Bishop and the Bishop’s Committee.

Our first step will be to clearly identify our values, who we are, who we want to serve, who we want to become as we grow into our next milestone. continue reading here

All Saints Cemetery Clean-up

Contact Katie via call or text at 619.990.2298 or via email at [email protected] for more information or to let her know you're joining in.

Wounded Warriors

You may make a financial donation, via:

If you have not yet pledged, pledges are welcome at any time and you may do so by clicking the button below and completing the online pledge form or click here for a PDF to email to Mike at [email protected] or mail to the church office at 2647 Gateway Rd Suite 105 #290, Carlsbad, Ca. 92009. If you haven't already pledged this year please prayerfully consider supporting this blessed community of faith with a pledge.

MAILING ADDRESS: 2647 Gateway Rd Suite 105 #290, Carlsbad, Ca. 92009

Bishop's Committee (BC) meetings are the third Thursday of the month from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm. The BC will not meet in August due to summer travel schedules, the next regularly scheduled BC meeting is Thursday, October 21st via Zoom. If there is something for which you wish to bring to the BC's attention, you may reach out to our Wardens, Karen Sanchez and Katie Ho, or any BC member. Their contact information is in the church roster or you may reach them at the church office: [email protected].

Meetings are open and anyone may attend. Please reach out to Rev Richard for the Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Whenever you have a concern or problem you would like to discuss confidentially, when a loved one is ill or has died, or whenever a visit with someone from Holy Cross may be of help to you, please contact Rev. Richard at 715.492.0297 or the church office at 760.930.1270. Our clergy and members of our lay Pastoral Care team are commissioned to bring God’s grace and offer a time of listening, companionship, and prayer with those who are unable to attend worship or otherwise are in need of receiving such care. Short-term counseling, crisis intervention, and referral to other social service providers are also available.

If you would like to be added, or suggest someone to be added (please get their permission first) to Notes of Care please contact the church office at: [email protected] or 760.930.1270

Note: If you have lost a member of your family and would like us to include you and your family in "Notes of Care" please provide the name and relationship of your loved one, the date they entered into glory, and the address of where you would like notes of care sent.

As we move through the Season of Creation this fall, the EDSD Creation Care Task Force and a number of churches in our Diocese are hosting events, services, and more to help us engage in learning and work focused on care for the earth, one of God’s most precious gifts to us. Here is the complete calendar of offerings. To learn more about the EDSD Creation Care Task Force, contact Deann Rios at [email protected].

Click here to continue reading

To find out more information or to join our diocese’s interest group on border and migration ministries, please contact our Border and Migration Missioner, Troy Elder, at [email protected].

Resources for veterans dealing with grief and anger over the situation in Afghanistan are available here through the VA website. Our diocese’s Missioner for Military Ministries, The Rev. Frank Munoz, is also available to talk with any veteran who would like a listening ear. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and shares in the sorrow many veterans are feeling. He will share with our diocese anything he finds about helping with tangible needs of the families of those killed this week. He can be reached at [email protected].

In all the emergencies that confront us, our faith assures us that Jesus Christ is present with those who suffer. His suffering in his life on earth demonstrates his compassion for our world and the people who are in danger, fear, and pain. May God be with all who suffer in this perilous and conflicted time, and may Christ bring peace and comfort in this stricken world.

Find out how to stay involved in the work of advocacy in ensuring the U.S. government honors its commitments to our Afghan allies at https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/office-government-relations/  

To contribute financially to provide for housing, medical and financial support, and expanded community sponsorship to serve our Afghan allies, visit bit.ly/supportafghanallies to make a secure donation online, or text “EMMALLIES” to 41444.

Visit www.conventionedsd.org for regular updates and registration information.

2:00 - 5:00pm Convention Workshops

5:15pm Opening Prayer and Conversation between Bishop Susan Brown Snook and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

8:00am Registration Opens

9:00am Convention Opening Worship

10:30am Business of Convention begins

Please email the Director of Communications, Chris Tumilty, with any questions regarding convention deadlines.

If you have questions regarding the festival, please feel free to contact the Director of Communications, Chris Tumilty, who is always happy to help.

Bishop: The Rt. Rev. Susan Brown Snook ***

Vicar: The Rev. Richard Hogue - [email protected] **

Assisting Priest: The Rev. Walter Edelman

** office hours: Sunday - Thursday 9 am - 5pm. Fridays and Saturdays are his Sabbath days. Rev. Richard will always be available for pastoral emergencies regardless of the day, but asks that you understand he will not be responding to general emails, text messages or phone calls on his Sabbath days as he is trying to get the rest that God requires of all of us.

Bookkeeper: Muriel Wahl

AV Tech Guru: Jack Cater

AV Tech Asst: Miles Fesler

Sr. Warden: Karen Sanchez - [email protected]

Jr. Warden: Katie Ho

Members at large: Mike Collier, Marci Stafford

Treasurer: Larry Sebastian

Clerk: Robyn Hill

Church office: 760.930.1270

Church email: [email protected]

Mailing address: 2647 Gateway Rd Suite 105 #290, Carlsbad, CA. 92009

*** To contact the Bishop's office or another member of the diocesan staff ("EDSD"):

EDSD phone: 619-291-5947

EDSD staff directory: https://edsd.org/staff/

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