The above photo is of Old Town San Diego from Stockton Hill 1864

In the early 1850s, California was a state with a widely scattered population and few small towns. The Episcopal Church was just being organized in the newly formed state. There were four congregations in the entire region: Holy Trinity Church and Grace Church in San Francisco, Grace Church in Sacramento, and St. John’s Church in Stockton.

The town of San Diego had never seen an Episcopal service, and no services of the Book of Common Prayer had yet been held in Los Angeles. But all that was about to change with the appointment of the Rev. John Reynolds as chaplain of the United States Army post at San Diego in December 1850.

In the spring of that year, Reynolds officiated for some time at St. John’s Church in Stockton, where his ministry was remembered with appreciation. The local newspaper, “San Joaquin Republican,” said in September 1853 that he was “the welcome guest at every house” and that “as a scholar he was admired, and as a minister of the Gospel was revered by every man.”

Episcopalians of San Diego were in need of spiritual guidance as well. Until that time, the only religious services available were those of the Roman Catholic Church, which celebrated mass in Spanish. Very few of the Anglo-American population spoke Spanish and had no options for church on Sunday. They spent their Sundays drinking, playing cards, billiards, and partaking in other amusements. “These amusements will now in a measure be dispensed with, as the Rev. Dr. Reynolds, Chaplain U. S. Army, will hereafter conduct Divine Service, at the Court House, in Old San Diego,” was reported in the “Herald,” San Diego’s first newspaper on July 9, 1853.

San Diego — ‘New Town’ 1876 from 5th Avenue looking South West toward Coronado. Some may notice that the Hotel Del Coronado’s silhouette is absent because it had not yet been built.

On July 10, 1853, Chaplain Reynolds conducted the first non-Roman service ever held in the community of San Diego and the first recorded Episcopal service in Southern California. The service was held at the small brick Court House on the corner of the plaza in Old Town. 

The community was not only small; it was rough. The “Herald” gave a description of the situation, reporting that, “At the Court House where is conducted the Episcopal form of worship, an audience of over a dozen is rarely seen; while the quiet due to Sunday is broken upon by the rioting of the inebriated, and the very words of the holy writ are drowned by the click of billiard balls and the calls for cocktails from the adjacent saloon.”

Meanwhile, in New York, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church decided that California (a brand new state) needed a bishop. The Rev. William Ingraham Kip was elected as the Missionary Bishop of California. His consecration took place in Trinity Church, New York, on October 28.

Bishop Kip began the long journey to his new diocese. While sailing north from the city of Panama, on January 11, 1854, just three days north of Acapulco, Bishop Kip’s ship broke a drive-shaft. This accident greatly reduced their speed, and the delay cut down on food supplies.

Seven days later, on January 18, the ship made its way into the port at San Diego and took on a supply of beef. That afternoon, they left for San Francisco, with only one engine and wheel in order. Due to a seasonal storm, Bishop Kip’s ship ran aground near the mouth of San Diego Bay–near Point Loma. Nearly 1,000 passengers were taken off by steamers Goliah and Southerner. Bishop Kip, his wife, and younger son Willie were taken to Old Town, where Don Juan Bandini, a leading citizen of this part of California, offered them the hospitality of his home.

The bishop, in his later book, The Early Days of My Episcopate, gave a colorful description of the San Diego of that day. “San Diego is a little Spanish town of about a thousand inhabitants, built in a straggling style, and with a perfectly foreign air. The houses are mostly constructed of adobes…”

The next Sunday, January 22, 1854, “I was requested, by some of the residents, to hold service, and was, of course, happy to comply. We had the room used as the courtroom, which is occupied by Mr. Reynolds in the afternoon. There was no opportunity of giving much notice, and service was not expected, as Mr. Reynolds is never here in the morning; yet there were about fifty persons present, including several of the army officers and their families,” writes Bishop Kip. 

So, due to unforeseen circumstances and a faithful Episcopal population in San Diego, Bishop Kip, the first Bishop of California, held his first service in his new diocese in the little town of San Diego.

Today the State of California is divided into six diocesan bodies. The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego stretches across San Diego, Riverside, Imperial, and Yuma counties and hosts thousands of worshipers every week.

This year, EDSD is celebrating 50 years as a diocese! And with over 170 years of Episcopal worship in the region, the faithful people of San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, and Yuma counties have a long history of bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ and sharing courageous love with the community around them.    

The Rev. Mark Hargreaves recalls how “Café Church” was all the rage amongst church growth experts when he left England. Congregations were encouraged to worship in a secular space and arrange chairs around tables, like in a café. But it wasn’t until a recent circumstance pushed his congregation out of their comfort zone that they unwittingly experienced this style of seating themselves.

When the organ builders moved into St. James-by-the Sea in La Jolla, and rain prevented the congregation from worshiping on the patio as planned, Rev. Hargreaves made the quick decision to relocate to the Cuvier Club across the road. It was set up for a wedding reception. There was no other option. The wedding reception’s round tables were just as good as any pew for Sunday’s service.   

The 10 o’clock congregation filled the room, sitting around tables, and enjoyed a spirit-filled service in community. 

Rev. Hargreaves noted how much closer he felt to his congregation while preaching and appreciated being in proximity to the choir. But what stood out the most was the feedback from congregants. Many engaged with one another around the tables and talked with more people than any other Sunday. Some even talked to others for the first time, despite having shared a pew for years. The seating arrangement made a significant difference. The congregation’s energized and animated demeanor was evidence of its unexpected success.

The Rev. Hargreaves couldn’t help but see a lesson in all of this. He pointed out how easily people can fall into habits and resist change. By trying something new, such as changing the way we gather in worship, one might be surprised at how refreshing it can be.

The accidental experiment in café church seating demonstrated the power of trying something new. It allowed the congregation to engage with one another in a different way and brought them closer together. It began with a circumstance that forced them out of their usual worship environment and ended with a realization of the potential blessings that come with embracing change.

Over the course of the pandemic, churches throughout the diocese experimented with new ways of approaching worship together. Many moved to online worship, zoom bible study, and eventually outdoor-patio worship services. Now that things are beginning to return to normal, and we celebrate returning to our beautiful buildings of worship, take a moment to consider if there are still new things worth experimenting with.    

What are some experiments that your community has tried in the past? Maybe it is time to revisit something old and make it new again, or try something for the first time. Sometimes just reorienting the way you sit can help reorient yourself toward God and the community. Rev. Hargreaves is looking forward to doing Café Church again soon. 

We are in month four of the EDSD 2023 Year of Service, and there is much to celebrate! Many of you have participated in webinars focused on a theology of service and specific areas of focus for service. Your church may be reading the book The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission Discipleship and Community (written by Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens, Dwight J. Friesen), have begun the EDSD Community Engagement training, Being Neighbors, or hosted a tree planting event.

With Spring, blooming flowers, singing birds, and dormant life awakening mirror resurrection and call us to delight in nature. In April, celebrations like Earth Day, Creation Care Sunday, Arbor Day, and Easter urge us to turn our attention to adopting practices that care for our fragile home and reduce our climate impact for the sake of creation and for our sake. 

Bishop Susan Brown Snook said, “As followers of Jesus, we are called to continue his ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). On Earth Day, we remember that our call to reconciliation includes the beautiful creation that surrounds us and supports our life.” The natural world is God’s creation. It is a beautiful gift to be cared for and enjoyed, and our health and well-being are dependent on having a healthy planet. 

During the month of April, your church has been encouraged to continue living into God’s call to us to love God and allow God’s love to flow through us to our neighbors and all of creation. To become a neighborhood church that is present in the geographic location where you gather and worship. To partner with a group in your community and engage in an activity or project focused on care for and service to the earth.  

Eighteen churches have creation care-focused service activities planned for this month, and many of them involve community partnerships. Join us in celebrating both these projects in service to God, our neighbors, and creation, as well as the partnerships being formed to work with our neighbors for the flourishing of our communities and our world. 

Please email us here if your church has a project planned and you are not on the list below, so we can add you to the list! 

Creation Care Projects within the EDSD Diocese

All Souls’, Point Loma is joining the I Love a Clean San Diego Creek to Bay Cleanup on April 22, 2023. This is a multi-generational, multi-community ecology support event.

Christ Church, Coronado is improving the recycling programs at their church and school during April and May, distributing EDCO pamphlets to their church and school communities, and installing drought tolerant landscaping on their church property.

Grace, San Marcos is partnering with The Lions Club who is having a 2nd annual butterfly festival at Grace on May 13. This event was a great success last year!

St. Andrew’s, La Mesa has purchased some native plants and installed them in their garden. They have also committed to Growing Trees in Community, the Diocese’s tree planting project, and are hoping the trees for the project will come this month.

St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea, Pacific Beach is joining forces with the Pacific Beach Public Library to plan a beach clean up on April 16th at noon. Parishioners and neighbors will be provided with bags, gloves, and trash “grabbers” to pick up trash on the beach.

St. Andrew’s by-the-Lake, Lake Elsinore registered to say they would like help identifying a project. Deann Rios and the EDSD Creation Care Community (CCC) are working to help them find one that would be a good fit. 

St. Bartholomew’s, Poway is planning “Chaparral Chapel”, a reflective nature walk on Saturday, April 15, 1pm at Blue Sky Ecological Reserve. They are also planning a Clean-up Hike on April 16 from 1-3pm. St. Bart’s and guests will hike for an hour on the Pomerado Trail connected to their church campus to clean up trash. Volunteers can also skip the hike and join them at 2pm to do some planting as part of Earth Month. Dress for the weather and bring a reusable water bottle. St. Bart’s will provide vests, gloves, trash bags, and plants for all participants. 

St. David’s, Clairemont has reached out to the Diocese for help and ideas. The Diocese is always happy to help and is working to help them find a project that is a good fit. 

St. Dunstan’s, San Carlos is joining Patrick Henry High School’s Environmental Club to pick up trash at Lake Murray on April 22, 9-11am. This is an ongoing partnership, which is exciting! .

St. Hugh of Lincoln, Idyllwild has partnered with Cam Compassion after-school program to teach shelter, food, and conservation. St. Hugh’s will begin the week after Easter and welcomes all the children in their community at no cost.

St. John’s, Chula Vista is partnering with the ECS Head Start program on their church campus for their annual Sow and Grow program. They will help the preschool children plant seeds in clear plastic cups, and after the seeds sprout, the seedlings will be planted in their garden beds at the school. St. Johns will maintain the gardens over the summer, and in the fall, the children will pick flowers and vegetables to take home and enjoy with their families. 

St. Margaret’s, Palm Desert is planning a community event on their church campus on Creation Care Sunday, April 23 which will highlight their ongoing work with community partners to care for the earth and provide education and care for their neighbors. Their partners include Desert Compost, The City of Palm Desert, Palm Desert High School Ecology Club, Desert ARC, Palm Desert Rotary Club, and Burrtec of Palm Desert. They will serve fair trade and local, healthy food and have demonstrations focused on pesticide alternatives, garden journaling, and backyard composting; tours of their native plants garden and pollinator sanctuary; share information about a local composting facility; and sell shredding bags and local produce.  

St. Mark’s, City Heights is interested in the Diocesan Growing Trees in Community project and is talking with the Project Coordinator Rachel Ambasing about the process. 

St. Mary’s in-the-Valley, Ramona will host an Earth Day event on April 22. It is being planned and executed by the non-profit Sustainable Ramona and will take place in the Ramona Community Garden on St. Mary’s church property. Other events such as readings in the garden, the planting of their children’s garden, and a meal together will be part of the day.

St. Michael’s by-the-Sea, Carlsbad is partnering with the Carlsbad Village Association for their monthly Carlsbad Village Cleanups and is also participating in the water distribution at the Carlsbad Village Street Faire on May 7. 

St. Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs has a clean up day planned for Friday, April 21, 8-10am with the Oswit Land Trust in Palm Springs. The Trust purchases open land for preservation of natural habitat, and the properties require maintenance. Church members will volunteer and help with basic maintenance of this natural habitat.

St. Paul’s Cathedral has planned a Balboa Park Clean Up and Picnic at the Redwood Trail on Saturday, 4/22 from 9am-12pm. Simpler Living, the Cathedral’s Creation Care Ministry Team, is partnering with the Family Youth ministry for this event. To accommodate additional volunteers, there will also be a Hillcrest Clean Up through I Love A Clean San Diego. St. Paul’s is also collecting used, but clean socks for a recycling program where old socks, socks without pairs, and socks with holes will be recycled into new items! You can learn more here.

St. Philip-the-Apostle, Lemon Grove is working with their liaison from the Diocesan Creation Care Community to identify a project that is a good fit for them and will help them connect with an organization in their community that already has a project planned but needs more volunteers. This is a great way to meet and support a neighbor!

St. Timothy’s, Rancho Penasquitos has reached out to the Diocese for help and ideas. The Creation Care Community is assisting them with finding a project.

We know that sharing our good news is one of the best ways to share our Episcopal story with our community. Be sure to share your good news with us. Collect photos, quotes from participants, names of community partners, and a story from someone who participated. These small details can help make all the difference in showcasing the good work you’re already doing. You can submit your event’s story to the diocese here.   

Diane Lopez Hughes, co-chair of the EDSD Creation Care Community said, “The Creation Care Community (CCC) is happy to help our congregations.” CCC can help your church develop creative ideas and build partnerships, and they have resources to help you transform your love and care for the earth into action. 

In response to the global climate crisis, in 2021 the Creation Care Task Force – now the Creation Care Community – was formed to provide support to individuals and churches in caring and advocating for God’s creation. These goals from The Episcopal Church –  Loving Formation, Liberating Advocacy, and Life-Giving Conservation – provide the scaffolding for their work.

Did you know that the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reported that we have even less time than was thought to address the serious environmental injustices associated with the climate crisis? Diane Lopez Hughes said, “As people of faith, we must heed the call to care for God’s creation now. Each individual who is willing to pray, study, and act on their care for our planet is fulfilling their baptismal vow to care for others, in addition to all of creation.”

We are called to love as God loves. Partnering with our neighbors to care for God’s creation is one wonderful way to live out Jesus’ way of love. Thank you for your engagement and good work. We have much to celebrate. And we have a lot more good work to do together and in partnership with our neighbors and local communities. 

Links and Resources

• EDSD Year of Service – learn more and watch the recorded webinars if you missed them, including two with Bishop Susan, here: http://edsd.org/year-of-service/ 
• Creation Care Month of Service Guidelines and Support – learn more here
• Share your Stories! – here’s a form for sharing what you did to care for the earth this month so we can share it more broadly and celebrate with you!
• Being Neighbors – learn more about this Diocesan Community Engagement training available to your church here (https://edsd.org/community-engagement-home/) 
• Register here to let us know you plan to participate in the Creation Care Month of Service, even if you don’t know who your partner or project will be yet.
• EDSD Creation Care Community’s Guide for Churches interested in starting or building their Creation Care work/ministry

no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
i dont know what i’ve become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here
-Excerpt of “Home” by Warsan Shire

There is a misconception about migrants along the border. Many believe the thousands of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees waiting to enter the United States are simply seeking a ‘better life.’ 

Somewhere couched in the warm term ‘better life” are our US fantasies of greater wealth and opportunity–the American dream, but for many waiting for their opportunity to immigrate into the United States, it is a necessity, not a want. “No one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear”

Robert Vivar, Diocesan Migration Missioner, has served on the Tijuana side of the fence since 2014. Robert knows the plight of the migrant personally.

Whether migrants are fleeing political persecution, drug cartels, flooding, drought, or war, most are running for their lives. Vivar said, “When you’re vulnerable, people take advantage of you.” Many arrive with nothing, everything they fled with was stolen en route to the border. Many are beaten or raped. “run away from me now / i dont know what i’ve become”      

In 2013 when Robert was deported, the fear, the danger, and the grief all came at once. Robert said, “You have to find a way to become a member of the community–of the neighborhood…of Tijuana.” Those looking to immigrate to the United States must first find a way to live in their current environment. 

Robert describes it as the only way to stay out of trouble, “If you do not find a way to be a member of the community, the streets find you.”

He found a community in Tijuana while he waited to return to the United States legally, but his time in Tijuana helped form the relationships now needed to help those in desperate situations. Robert later received a court decision that allowed him to reenter the United States legally. He is now a permanent legal resident of the United States. 

El Chaparral Plaza, Tijuana

Steps away from Robert’s Tijuana-based office is El Chaparral Plaza, where asylum seekers line up to receive their interviews to enter the United States. The plaza is clear now, but just a year ago, as many as 2,000 people were living in tents, waiting for an opportunity to meet with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  

On the edge of the plaza, a young family sat waiting. Robert pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and gave it to a young boy while he chatted with the young mother. To Robert’s surprise, they were lucky enough to receive an interview time within ten days of arriving in Tijuana. Many families wait months, even years until they receive an interview date.

As recently as January 2023, the immigration process changed to utilize a cellphone application for requesting an immigration interview. CBP One, the new app, was constantly criticized by all the local shelter leaders we met. While Robert and I visited Pro Amore Dei, a shelter for women and children, Celeste, a college intern serving at the shelter, called it “Horrible.”

Each day, at 8:00 a.m., people all over the world hover over a cell phone, refreshing the screen, hoping to be one of a limited number of applications accepted each day.

Each person enters their information, biometric scans, and waits. If you’re a family, it takes longer.  

By 8:05 a.m. the application queue is closed for the day. Like entering the lottery, all one can do is hope.  

The barriers of technology, connectivity, and family size are daily struggles for people who arrive traumatized and lost–with literally the clothes on their backs.

As the process gets more difficult, a dangerous and illegal crossing becomes more of an option. As lives hang in the balance, the dangerous decision to approach a smuggler becomes a pathway to safety. “…but i know that anywhere / is safer than here.”   

And the future does not look bright for those struggling to enter the United States. On May 11, the Trump-era Title 42 pandemic regulations concerning asylum seekers will no longer be active. Local shelters are anticipating a huge uptick in the number of people wanting to enter the U.S. 

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is committed to helping our neighbors, including those in Tijuana. As we prepare for a potential humanitarian crisis along our southern border, please consider using your skills to aid those in deep need.

The Diocese is seeking Spanish-speaking volunteers trained in psychological trauma and recovery. The need for psychological aid is paramount–the trauma of migration can be seen in every shelter. Spanish-speaking legal professionals can aid in immigration processes. And financial donations can help bring food and toiletries to immigration shelters where people wait for months for a chance at an interview. 

In June, EDSD will be continuing its year of service by caring for refugees and immigrants. A number of opportunities on both sides of the border will be announced in May.

If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about Border & Migration Ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, click here.

If you would like to make a financial donation supporting immigration shelters in Tijuana, click here.

This Summer, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego will send 12 exceptional young people to represent us at the Episcopal Youth Event at The University of Maryland – College Park. The Episcopal Youth Event happens every three years and includes student representatives from all around the world. Over the course of the event, they will worship together, learn together, and hear from the most exceptional speakers. It is an experience that will prepare them for leadership roles in the church and their own lives.

As a diocese, we have the opportunity to help them get there. In order to ensure equity and access for the delegation, they will fundraise for their trip together! They are hard at work preparing creative and fun opportunities for us to come together for food, fellowship, and hearing their stories. They have already started telling their stories on Social Media. You can find them on Instagram and Facebook each week. The students are sharing their excitement and inviting us to “COME WITH ME TO EYE!” I cannot wait to see this experience through their eyes!

And so I am inviting you to join me in supporting them. Won’t you COME WITH ME to one of the fundraisers below?

COME WITH ME…
For Barbecue and Tunes!
April 30th, 4-7 PM
St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church
Chef Tim Nelson is preparing low and slow barbecue tri-tip, so tender it will melt in your mouth and served with traditional barbecue fixings. Entertainment will include a photo booth, storytelling from our student, and live music from delegation member Nate Lubsen and his band!
Register through this link

For Dinner in the Garden!
May 21st, 5:30-7:30 PM
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
The youth of the delegation in collaboration with the youth of St. Luke’s North Park, will be combining their efforts to fundraise for EYE and other Summer youth opportunities. The meal will be planned, cooked, and served by the youth in the beautiful garden at St Luke’s!
Register through this link

In most churches, the Prayer Books in the pews tend to fall open to page 355, where Holy Eucharist Rite Two begins; and in some, the pages of the Daily Office and the Psalter may be a little dog-eared, too.  But often overlooked by many are the Proper Liturgies for Special Days: Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and, most especially, the Triduum (“three days”), which comprises Maundy Thursday through the Great Vigil of Easter.  For reasons of timing and commitment the Triduum will never rival the glorious and grand liturgies of Easter Day, but if you have never walked the Triduum … never worshipped on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and the Eve of Easter (and Holy Saturday morning, if you can manage it!) … I encourage you to try it this year.  For Easter will then dawn on you in an entirely different light. 

For one thing, this series of services paces us through—that is, slows us down, so we can recollect and reflect on—the tenderness and tumult of the three days’ journey to the Empty Tomb.  Before Calvary come Jesus’ dual gifts to us: the invitation to share in His servanthood in the washing of feet, and the invitation to share in His Being in the Holy Communion He institutes.  Before the Tomb comes His dual sacrifice: of agony on the Tree, and of mercy in His love.  Before the dazzling brightness of Easter Day comes the dual Word: the first, flickering re-emergence of the Light into this world, and the recapitulation and renewal of God’s eternal, unfailing covenant with God’s People, perfected in Christ.  To be sure, the Resurrection is the culminating event of Jesus’ mission in this world, but there is so much more for us to behold … and live into; and the Triduum immerses us in it so deeply. 

Committing to the Triduum also carries us along the entire affective, theological and spiritual arc of these three most holy days of the Christian year.  On Maundy Thursday, we begin in the comfort and familiarity—albeit tinged with anxiety and apprehension—of the Upper Room, as Jesus kneels at the feet of His friends to bathe and bless them and shares a final meal … a meal of remembering … with them.  And then, accompanied by the plangent, arresting words of Psalm 22, the Altar is stripped bare, as if in imitation of Christ’s baring His very soul in Gethsemane.  We resume on Good Friday (for the Triduum is, in fact, one continuous liturgy, divided into three segments) at the Cross: recollecting not only Jesus’ selfless dying for us, but also His unceasing prayer for us—both with His lips and His life.  In many places, we spend time quietly contemplating the beautiful agony of the Cross, and we receive the Body and the Blood via bread and wine consecrated the night before—for, we know, Christ still lives!   

And then, in the dim dusk of Easter Eve, we gather to witness the return of the Light:  The Paschal Candle will not be extinguished, and by its brightness we are led back into the church, where we re-hear all the ways that God has been with us, from the very beginning.  After witnessing a Holy Baptism (or Confirmation) or renewing our own—Christ’s own are we!—the church is flooded with light and the sound of bells, organ and peals of Alleluias, now returned:  Christ is risen indeed!  Let us keep the feast! 

Perhaps, however, the most compelling reason to commit to the Triduum this year doesn’t lie in plumbing the depths of the divine mystery of Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection … or experiencing, through worship, the roller-coaster of His obedient love.  Perhaps, instead, it lies in the journey itself.  The Triduum is not unlike a religious pilgrimage: people gathering at an unaccustomed time, for an uncomfortable trek through an unfamiliar ritual … as an act of pure faith and devotion.  There can be no telling how the Holy Spirit will touch and stir us along the way, but It will.  We cannot know how we will be knit together as a community during our journey, but we will.  And for having, this year, taken the ‘long road’ to the Empty Tomb, our walk with Jesus will never be the same again. 

Sacred spaces have always been considered a place of safety…

“But there is an alternate history that also holds true…Whether we speak of Archbishop Thomas Beckett or the Tree of Life Synagogue, whether we remember the massacre of the Emanuel Nine or Bishop Gene Robinson having to wear a bulletproof vest at his consecration, we are more than well aware that assaults can happen in sacred spaces,” said the Rev. Dan Kline, Co-Rector of St. Paul-in-the-Desert. 

On Sunday, March 18, 2023, St. Paul-in-the-Desert, Palm Springs began a new era of safety for their community when their Emergency Task Force announced to an overjoyed congregation the reception of a $200,000 security grant from the State of California–the maximum allotment available in the grant.

St. Paul-in-the-Desert formed their Emergency Task Force in 2022, shortly after the horrific shooting at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Steve Moore, the co-author of the grant, said, “Our heads were spinning when we thought of the costs.” 

The Task Force reached out to the Diocesan Safety Officer, Jeff Green, for help, “I’m always happy to help our churches make the connections they need to keep our people safe.” Green provided the Task Force with useful grant contacts, education resources, and a template for a digital emergency plan.   

St. Paul-in-the-Desert plans to upgrade its lighting, video surveillance coverage, and ‘harden’ the doors and windows to improve safety and security. Technology will be installed to aid in the management of the new security updates around the campus, and a public notification system will be put in place for quick, clear communications during an emergency. 

The State of California offered $47,500,000 to nonprofits throughout its 2022-2023 grant cycle. The 2023-2024 grant window becomes available in late Fall. 

Green said, “The grant application can be a long process with a lot of moving parts. It might take your congregation two grant cycles to complete the assessments and paperwork to apply successfully. So, it’s a good idea to start today!” You can contact Jeff at jgreen@edsd.org for more information about this grant opportunity and keeping your church safe.

Disasters and emergencies happen, and, in many cases, they are unpreventable. But safety is more than prepping for a fire, earthquake, or an act of violence; safety in the church is the care and love for people. Keeping people safe means taking real and sometimes difficult actions to protect them.

Sacred spaces are places of shelter, security, and safety–places of renewal, restoration, and salvation. But there are more times than we can count when people in sacred spaces have inflicted harm physically, emotionally, or spiritually. 

Rev. Kline shared a personal story about a time when he walked away from the evangelical church and his ministry because of story after story of sexual abuse by people in church leadership. 

“We, as the clergy, cannot guarantee something unsafe will never happen here. I wish we could. But what we can guarantee is that we will do everything in our power to prevent the likelihood of something unsafe from ever happening. And if you ever try to do something here – to one of our children, to an aging person, or anyone – we will love you by working with the authorities to put you in jail,” said Rev. Kline to resounding applause. 

The people of St. Paul-in-the-Desert have implemented the Easter Safe Church Challenge. At. St. Paul, every member of staff, and every volunteer–from ushers to office workers– will complete the Safe Church-Safe Communities training by Palm Sunday or no longer serve. Everyone is welcome to worship at St. Paul-in-the-Desert, but if you want to volunteer or lead a ministry, Safe Church-Safe Communities certification is required.     

If you are interested in joining St. Paul-in-the-Desert for the Easter Safe Church Challenge, you can begin the process here. All church employees, all youth workers, and many volunteers are required to take Safe Church – Safe Communities, per Diocesan policy. All are welcome and encouraged to complete the training. It is online and offered at no cost. 

In the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, we are committed to keeping people safe. 

“If you are a volunteer, you are required to complete this course to continue serving in a volunteer capacity. If you are not a volunteer, we still welcome you to take it. You can worship here if you do not complete the course. But you cannot volunteer. We love you, and we love the safety of this church too much to let you not take it.” said Rev. Kline.  

Special thanks to the St. Paul-in-the-Desert Emergency Task Force members Steve Moore, Derek ‘Eduardo’ Stanfill, Alex Christensen, Ray Tacket, and John Raposa for their leadership and dedication to keeping our Church and our people safe.

There’s a picture floating around our diocese from last February’s ordination: Bishop Susan is standing in front of ordinands Heather Lawrence, Christina Miller, and Dawn Stary. The Rev. Canon Gwynn Lynch, Canon to the Ordinary, and the Ven. Cindy Campos, Archdeacon of the Diocese, stand beside the bishop. The Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Rev. Penny Bridges, and The Rev. Canon Allisyn Thomas can be seen in the background.

Seeing an image so filled with women at different points of their vocational journey – women who represent the highest levels of authority in our diocese with women beginning their own clerical journey – and also knowing the abundant representation that women have held in our diocese in recent history– it can be easy to forget that this episcopate is the first chapter in our diocesan history that this picture is possible.

To recap our history as a diocese and as the broader Episcopal Church: 

• In 1976, General Convention officially approved the ordination of women into the priesthood and the episcopate. The first women to be ordained in the Episcopal Church happened two years earlier, with the Philadelphia Eleven. 

• In 1982, The Rev. Patricia Backman of St. David’s Episcopal Church was the first woman to be ordained in the Diocese of San Diego and as a vocational deacon.  
• In 1984, The Rev. Patricia Bush of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church was the first woman to be ordained as a priest in our diocese. (The Rev. Lucy Hogan was the first woman priest to be licensed to serve in our diocese, and was ordained elsewhere.) 
• In 2019, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Susan Brown Snook was consecrated as the first woman Diocesan Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. 

All of these “firsts” serve as benchmarks of change towards a more abundant, diverse definition of who belongs in the Episcopal Church, who we as a collective institution believe is fit to lead us, and who we are ready to follow and learn from. 

This is a change that did not come gently to the Episcopal Church. Proponents of the canonical change to include the possibility of women in ordained ministry were dismissed by some as being divisive and stirring up discord. 

A great percentage of congregations left the Episcopal Church over the decision for the ordination of women (combined with disagreements over revisions to the Book of Common Prayer). Coalitions existed to advocate against the ordination of women. One of these coalitions wrote and published in a local religious newspaper a letter of protest regarding the ordination of Rev. Bush in 1984. 

An article in the Union Tribune written by Rita Gillmon in 1984 indicates that some even anticipated protestors being onsite at Rev. Bush’s ordination ceremony held at St. Andrew the Apostle. In the same article, the Rt. Rev. C. Brinkley Morton, bishop of the diocese at the time of Rev. Bush’s ordination, was quoted to say, “he hoped ‘there will be charity and understanding for those who differ on the question of women priests” – a reminder that as followers of Christ, we all seek to commune with each other at the same proverbial table. 

The Rev. Richard Lief, then rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church, is reported saying, “I believe a person called to the priesthood should be given that chance no matter what their gender is. I believe there are many highly qualified women for the priesthood.” 

Now, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is used to women in leadership.  The Rt. Rev. Katherine Jefforts Schori, who served as the first female Presiding Bishop in the Episcopal Church, stepped in to aid our diocese as an assisting bishop until the election and consecration of a new bishop, our first female Bishop Diocesan, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Susan Brown Snook.

We love a good hero story, and certainly, these women have earned the recognition – being The First of anything comes with its own pressure and level of scrutiny. But for every Patricia, Patricia, and Susan, there are thousands of women in the history of our diocese who have helped shape our identities as individuals, as congregations, and as a whole. 

Who are the women who have ministered to our children; who are the women who have ministered to our adults who may sometimes act like children? Who are the women who have nourished us with literal food, and the women who have fed us with spiritual food? Who are the women who have formed us for ministry through their various temperaments, talents, and contexts? 

From women who wear clerical shirts and collars to women whose ministry is best served in a t-shirt and jeans, who are the women in our own history who have led us to a deeper understanding of the wonderfully vast and varied nature of God? 

Take some time this week to celebrate the women who have been a part of our formation and give thanks not just for the things they have accomplished but also for embodying the fullness of everything God has created them to be. 

With deep gratitude to John Will, EDSD Archivist and Historiographer, and to all who painstakingly preserve documents in our history.

On Saturday, March 11, over 40 representatives from 11 congregations from across the diocese gathered at the Episcopal Church Center in Ocean Beach to learn about mission real estate. As folks found their way into the meeting, picked up handouts, poured coffee and murmured amongst themselves, some stood back and were quietly surprised to see 25% of the diocese represented for a conversation about church property and God’s mission.  

This day was the culmination of months of study, learning, and effort. Just over two years ago, Bishop Susan Brown Snook called together an Affordable Housing Task Force to look at how congregations could use their under-utilized property to address the housing crisis felt across our region. The group has expanded to become the Mission Real Estate Task Force, focusing on the church’s mission and creative use of property.

At its core, the Diocese is not addressing housing alone but the future mission of the Church. Our neighborhoods have changed, as have our congregations. With this comes a critical consideration as to how churches might utilize their real estate in ways that simultaneously seek the goodwill of the neighborhood while providing financial stability to the congregation. 

In collaboration with Trinity Wall Street, the Task Force established a process for developing real estate for missional purposes that begins with dreaming about what is possible. The Task Force presented this process last year at Diocesan Convention and has now met with eight congregations to consider the process. 

Bishop Susan Brown Snook said, “I am very proud of the congregations that attended the first Mission Real Estate gathering. I encourage all our congregations to explore new ways to use their church properties for sharing the goodness of Christ with our neighborhoods.”

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is helping congregations find a potential win-win; love our neighbors and, when possible, generate revenue for congregations to live out their mission. At the heart of this effort is a desire to see congregations utilizing their real estate to announce God’s good news through works of mercy, justice, and evangelism.  

• Works of mercy entail acts that reflect God’s compassion for all people. In such a possibility, we use our resources to provide relief to others from the pain of a broken world. This might be a food pantry or soup kitchen. 
• Works of justice reflect God’s dream for a redeemed world where all are treated equitably. In such an opportunity, we use our resources to perpetuate a more just world in our neighborhoods. It might look like planting trees in response to global warming, providing affordable housing so that more neighbors have a sense of stability and belonging, or incubating a small business. 
• Works of evangelism announce and declare God’s good news of redemption and reconciliation. In these instances, we use our physical resources to create communities where God’s love is shared with those not yet a part of God’s church. This might look like planting a new church or leveraging our physical assets to ensure an established church’s legacy can continue in perpetuity. 

We are called to share the good news of God’s love through our words, our actions, and by leveraging our resources—no matter how meager or grand—for God’s good news. When it comes to the physical assets of a congregation, this can be done in as many ways as there are congregations.

The Rev. Canon Jeff Martinhauk, Chief Financial Officer for the Diocese, said, “You’d be surprised at the creative ways a congregation can utilize its property to fill a need in the community, generate revenue, and remain focused on the mission of our church. The Mission Real Estate Task Force is here to help your congregation uncover its creative vision and bring it to life.” 

When a congregation is ready to start discerning the missional possibilities with their real estate, hold a congregational meeting to gather the church’s history, interests, and passions related to the property. Ensure that everyone feels like they have been heard and are a part of the process. Share the entire process with the congregation at this meeting–establishing expectations and ensuring a shared understanding of what lies ahead.  

If this is not something your congregation feels it can do on its own, the Mission Real Estate Task Force members are ready to come and assist in facilitating such a meeting. 

In this next phase, using demographic studies, information interviews, and having an active presence in the neighborhood, the congregation begins to familiarize itself with the concerns and hopes for the surrounding community. 

The Diocese provides various resources to assist you at this stage, including the training and coaching of our Community Engagement Missioner. They can help you map out the area around your church’s campus. The higher the population density, the smaller this area will be. In urban areas, it might be only a few blocks. In suburban areas, it may be 3 to 5 miles depending on density. The diocese provides a tool called MissionInsite–free to each congregation–that can assist you with this.  

After determining the area you intend to engage, schedule walks—or drives—throughout your community. Go out in pairs, pray for your community silently or aloud and collect as much information you can on social and physical landscape that surrounds your congregation.  

As you go about your community, speak with as many individuals as you can—being curious about what your community members celebrate and are concerned about. You may also want to invite community members and stakeholders to your campus. Provide a tour of your facilities and ask how they think your facilities might best serve the community.  

The outcome of this stage of the process will be that the congregation will have a list of both congregational and community priorities. 

As simple as these first two stages are, they are often the most difficult to initiate. We’re doing our best to walk alongside you through each of these stages, recognizing that they will provide you with the momentum necessary to head into the next phase of deciding what to focus on.  

Your congregation has gifts to offer, but it also has needs. It may have physical space but needs financial resources to maintain it. Join us in exploring the creative ways that we can be the people of God and secure the financial means to maintain our church buildings. 

If you are interested in learning more about mission real estate, click here.  

CAMP STEVENS SUNDAY!

March 19, 2023

What is Camp Stevens?

Camp Stevens is your diocesan camp! Camp Stevens’ mission is to inspire, challenge, and empower personal, social, and environmental transformation. For 70+ years, Camp Stevens has provided a welcoming home for retreats, summer camps, and outdoor education in the mountain town of Julian, CA. Our 256 acres serve as a place of healing, adventure, and most importantly community. Learn more about Camp Stevens at campstevens.org

Camp Stevens Sunday Prayer

God of the oak and the pine, of sunrise and sunset, and of healing and love, hear our prayers. Celebrate those who love Camp Stevens and those who are discovering camp today for the first time. Keep us mindful of the rights and needs of others through Camp Stevens’ mission work of transformation grounded in the values of openness, connection, gratitude, and wonder. Amen.

Support our Equity Initiatives! Camperships and Employee Equity

Grants Your gift will support scholarships for summer camp and family camps as well as the Employment Equity Initiative. These initiatives reflect our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within our camp environment and beyond. This program will help address barriers to participation for people traditionally marginalized and underrepresented in camp as campers, family programs, as well as staff and counselor roles.

Give today to support this important initiative at campstevens.org/give!