A Letter from the Episcopal Bishops in the State of California
Beloved in Christ,
Like all Californians, we are watching with great concern the events unfolding around immigration protests in Los Angeles. We are deeply concerned about the ICE raids and about the potential for violence arising from the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area. We are concerned that military deployments will escalate the confrontations unnecessarily, and worry that all of our regions in California may be subject to future deployments that heighten tensions rather than resolving them.
Bishop John Harvey Taylor, the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles, has posted on social media this past weekend about what is happening in Los Angeles and his interpretation of the ways in which local officials, law enforcement, federal agencies, and protesters are all interacting. He expressed deep pain and anger as fourteen people in one single Episcopal congregation in that diocese were detained by ICE on Friday. Certainly, we as Episcopalians are shocked and saddened when any of our own are removed from our beloved community.
In all six of our dioceses, people are concerned and fearful about the denial of due process for those detained and the potential for ICE raids targeting beloved community institutions and people working to support their families. People feel angry and threatened that the haven they sought in our communities is no longer safe. US citizens and legal residents feel deep grief at losing beloved friends and family members. Children whose parents are deported face uncertain futures. In our churches, we strive to protect our members who are at risk.
Our Baptismal Covenant asks us, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being (BCP p. 417)?” This question is a direct and ongoing call to us as persons who follow Christ to live out our calling opposed to injustice, to violence of any kind, and to stand up where human beings are not treated as we would treat a child of God. This question needs to be foremost in our thoughts as we consider our response to the situation in Los Angeles.
In the Episcopal Church, we uphold a proud tradition of advocating for civil rights and supporting the vulnerable in our society. We stand for fierce love and for justice that leads to peace, as well as societal practices that preserve human dignity. With God’s help, we will speak and pray on behalf of all in this situation.
Bishop Taylor has asked for our prayers for Los Angeles, and we invite all our dioceses to pray for the unfolding situation there as well as for peace and justice in all our communities. We ask that you join us in praying:
“Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (BCP p. 823).”
In Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Lucinda Ashby
Episcopal Bishop of El Camino Real
The Rt. Rev. David Rice
Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin
The Rt. Rev. Austin K. Rios
Episcopal Bishop of California
The Rt. Rev. Susan Brown Snook
Episcopal Bishop of San Diego
The Rt. Rev. John Harvey Taylor
Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles
The Rt. Rev. Megan Traquair
Episcopal Bishop of Northern California
by
Category: #Advocacy, #Bishop's Blog
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18 replies to “A Letter from the Episcopal Bishops in the State of California”
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Amen. Lord have mercy.
I will, with God’s help. Amen
Thank you for your leadership.
Thank you for coming out against this atrocious inhumanity against our fellow family, friends, neighbors. We all need to step up, speak out and stand in solidarity against this evil force coming from the highest office of our nation.
Thanks you! We stand with you.
Thanks to all bishops of California for leading our prayers for help for all marginalized people @ risk in these volatile times . Praying for all people to follow the way of Christ.
I am proud of my church and its bishops for standing up against this sort of nazi tyranny. Let us all pray (at least) and protest (at most) for the restoration of proper law enforcement.
I’m glad you are concerned, but expressions of concern don’t go very far in resisting what is clearly an illegal and dangerous move on the part of the government. As bishops on the front line in what will soon be a national emergency, what would you have Episcopalians (and others) do in this circumstance, other than pray and stand around?
My thoughts and prayers are with you and our neighbors in California. We stand with you as you lead the different church parishes, their priests and parishioners. I am so proud to know that the Episcopal communities have such strong and courageous leaders. I pray for God’s grace and blessings for whatever is to come.
Thanks for your comments. Although many Episcopal clergy have yet to take a stand, I appreciate those of you who have
We thank God for our ICE officers and law enforcement in our communities in their lawfully carrying out the will of a majority of the population in removing illegal immigrants from our country while giving priority to those with criminal records.
Amen
Grateful that Episcopalians are standing for justice, due process and the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. So much is at stake in this country right now: health care, education, clean air and water, and of course our very liberty. I believe we must stand up but we must do it with discipline and non-violence as we learned from Martin Luther King. Otherwise we fall into the hands of those who want to snuff out the rule of law. Your letter gives me hope.
Thank you all for standing up for the vulnerable.
I am appalled that our government’s overreaction to this entire situation. Our President needs to think before He speaks. He called the citizens of California “Foreigners”. I was born in Phoenix, AX. My My wife who’s family came came over on the May Flower .President using troops on USA soil is probably unconstitutional ! National is a another matter. He needs to listen to to people around him and not carry out his personal agenda against people of color . Eric G. Thom
Thank you to all the Bishops and all person supporting respect for all. All people are needed to stand together, band together and promote together justice for all. Like the old saying says: United We Stand but Divided We Fall! We must unite all around the our country, the United States of America!
Thank you for articulating our pain and suffering. On the Westside of LA I am belittled by “friends” who support the militarization of our everyday lives. This is nerve wracking. Four Marines with guns guarding a parking lot makes everybody nervous, and sweaty. Prayers are needed by everyone.
It takes good leaders speaking out loudly against tyranny and fascism to diminish these evils. Thank the Lord for such leadership in the Episcopal Church.