When Fennie, Katherine, Thomas, and I visited the city of Taichung, on Taiwan’s west coast, during our visit last September, we got a morning tour of St. James Episcopal Church and School from its beloved rector, the Rev. Lily Chang. This was right after kids arrived for the day. It was just like drop-off here […]
When President Nixon began the process of normalizing relations with the Peoples Republic of China in 1972, he hoped we could continue to maintain our friendship with the people of Taiwan. Nowadays, when people say “China,” they usually mean the mainland. Taiwan has been pushed to the margins in the political conversation. Yet when Fennie, […]
My scrapbook from the first hours of the 10-day pilgrimage of Hannah and the Rt. Rev. Lennon Yuan-rung Chang and their colleagues from the Episcopal Diocese of Taiwan, including two priests and several missionaries from Malaysia. The Revs. Dr. Fennie Hsin-Fen Chang and Thomas Ni and I met the delegation at the airport, and the […]
Love made Vince Mazzuchelli a calligrapher. He first turned the words of scripture into fine art in the 1970s, he said, during The Episcopal Church’s arguments over the new prayer book and women’s ordination. Vince was in favor of reforming the church he loved to make sure that all were included. For his first work, […]
Our nation’s personality is being chemically altered. Someone has ordered us a heart transplant, and we don’t recognize the provenance of the new organ. The light of liberty and justice for all, streaming from the imperfect though earnest work of the founders, the light of the American dream – it’s been wired to a dimmer […]
My colleagues in Christ, I’d like to devote my time, and perhaps a few minutes extra, to exploring the likelihood that the cruel road the Trump administration is following will bring our neighborhoods and our nation to the brink of a catastrophe that will demand a strenuous prophetic and pastoral response from the church of […]
Canon Kathy Hannigan O’Connor believed in the idea of having my portrait painted long before I did. My reaction was that the first six guys actually looked like bishops. I couldn’t quite imagine sharing their wall space. She was gentle and gracious, but she insisted that we were going to do it, and so we […]
Many Sunday mornings, the Rev. Bill Garrison performs double duties, celebrating the Eucharist at 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s and at 9 a.m. at Emmanuel churches in Fullerton. Recently, he juggled bishop’s visitations — with different bishops — the same day at each. “I enjoy the people, I enjoy the services,” said […]
The Guibord Center asked me to speak about spirituality in times like ours. I discussed being mindful about my incoming, my outgoing, and my indwelling. My thanks to president and CEO Lo Sprague for the gracious invitation. The cover photo features the late Rev. Dr. Gwynne Guibord, the center’s founder and Lo’s partner and co-innovator […]
The Rev. Canon Richard Estrada died in March after scores of years of brilliant and brilliantly effective witness for the love of the Risen Christ. Founder of Jovenes, Inc., a nonprofit serving unhoused and housing-insecure youth in southeast LA county, he was a Roman Catholic priest and then — by the grace of God, as […]
