[The Episcopal News] The heavens opened, the skies poured torrential rain but it didn’t dampen spirits as more than 600 people packed St. James Episcopal Church for a March 25 live-streamed Solemn Festival Eucharist joyously celebrating the congregation’s century of ministry in downtown Los Angeles. The Rev. Dr. Paul Kowalewski, St. James’ rector, said he […]
[Episcopal News Service] Gay marriage supporters rejoiced Feb. 7 after an appellate court ruled California’s controversial Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. “Today’s 9th Circuit Court decision is not just a victory for gay and lesbian couples in California – it is a victory for all Americans […]
The Episcopal Church is a bastion of white privilege and wealth and segregation — one that will rapidly decline if new ways are not found to lead it into becoming the body of Christ, Boston priest and emergent church leader Stephanie Spellers told a capacity congregation at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day service […]
Four simple words encompass what those who serve with Prism do: “listen, listen, love, love,” the Rev. Dennis Gibbs told about 75 people attending the diocesan restorative justice ministry’s fifth annual appreciation luncheon Dec. 13 at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul in Los Angeles. Prism executive director Gibbs, founder of the Community of Divine […]
Erin Tharp of Corona preached a powerfully inspiring sermon Nov. 20 at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church without uttering a single word. The 28-year-old former straight-A student, who has been in a wheelchair and unable to speak for nearly half her young life, inspired the congregation to meet an “Advent Challenge.” They promptly and […]
Attending Instituto de Liderazgo classes this year sent a powerful message to Rosa Santana, a parishioner at All Saints Church in Pasadena, “that the diocese is really concerned about reaching out to those who speak Spanish in Los Angeles.” Foundational courses in Scripture, church history and theology bolstered her lay ministries at the Pasadena church’s […]
The Rev. Jamie Hammons has a vision of Southland congregations and Episcopalians creating a quilt – or quilts—as a tangible remembrance of loved ones who have died from AIDS. She hopes that the quilt, when finished next spring, will also be a concrete reminder that the AIDS epidemic “is still in front of us. It’s […]
Delegates to Diocesan Convention on Dec. 3 noticed a strange buzzing noise and were startled by youth volunteers racing into the room to hand out packets of information and Bishop J. Jon Bruno being wrapped in netting to ward off the attacks of several hungry “mosquitoes” — quickly revealed as Bishops Diane Bruce and Mary […]
Bishop Jon Bruno recalled the diocese’s rich legacy of transformational leadership in tough times and challenged delegates and visitors to continue to “be the light, be the peace” during his Dec. 3 address to the 116th annual convention meeting of the Diocese of Los Angeles at the Riverside Convention Center. “Today I am calling us […]
The bishops of Los Angeles, speaking from “One Light, One Peace, One World”, the 116th annual meeting of the convention of the diocese in Riverside, condemned as “draconian” recent anti-gay legislation approved by the Nigerian Senate. “Our commitment to our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being demands that we speak out […]
