The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego has set out to provide more shade for its neighbors. In the last study, the urban canopy of San Diego was rated at 13%, with (98,204 acres) of the city’s land that could theoretically accommodate more tree canopy. Many underserved, under-greened, underfunded neighborhoods lack a significant tree canopy, and the people of EDSD and our partners are here to serve.    

On a beautiful Sunday, March 12, over 40 volunteers came to St. Philip’s in Lemon Grove throughout the afternoon to help plant trees, feed volunteers, and show their support. And these were not just the people of St. Philip’s that volunteered. Episcopalians from St. Mark’s in City Heights, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Christ Church in Coronado, and St. Mathew’s in National City came out to help. The volunteers ranged from children to ‘older folk.’ Some had extensive experience, and others with hopeful intentions learned about gardening for the first time.

Community partners participated throughout the day too. Interfaith creation care groups such as OneEarth Jubilee,  representatives from the Climate Action Campaign, and the co-founders of the Lemon Grove community garden all stopped by. 

Neighbors of St. Philips, out on their afternoon walks, stopped to ask questions which opened the door to meeting new people and sharing the good news of Christ. 

Rev. Carlos Garcia, Priest in Charge at St. Philip’s, was eager to participate in this program, not only for the environmental impact but for the beautification of the neighborhood and the opportunity to engage their neighbors in a new way. ”May every tree that we plant here grow as our love of God will grow too,” said Rev. Garcia.

EDSD’s “Growing Trees in Community” initiative is supporting congregations in growing trees on their campuses or on neighbors’ properties.

EDSD Missioner for Multicultural Ministries and the lead for the Growing Trees in Community initiative, Rachel Ambassing, said, “We want to grow trees in community, with community, and for community.” This is not just about our churches but the neighborhoods, the people, and the beauty of our church’s neighborhoods. 

If serving your neighbor, planting trees, and providing beauty for decades to come sounds like a ministry you’d enjoy, let us know your interest here, and Rachel will contact you.

EDSD especially thanks Tree San Diego, who provided trees, materials, arborist expertise, and a team of urban tree-planting interns and fellows. Tree San Diego is one of EDSD’s local tree partners who plant, plot San Diego’s tree canopy, and train community members to be tree stewards.

My favorite T-shirt reads, “Love is an action word.” I connect to it because it reminds me that love is not just a feeling. Love is a call, a responsibility, to ensure that our words and our actions help everyone to be seen, loved, and valued as their true self. If I am honest, I am often drawn to things that strive to explain love. We have heard Bishop Curry preach that love is the way over and over and over again. But what does that mean, and how do we do it?  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In just a few weeks, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego will roll out our first Vacation Bible School curriculum, “Love is…”  This arts-based curriculum will open spaces for children to connect to God and each other as they create beautiful art pieces, write skits that reveal God’s work in themselves and the world and sing–sing songs that are filled with LOVE and JOY.

Rooted in scripture, you can look forward to games, yoga, and registration forms—everything you need to begin… or to begin again.

The best part is that you are invited. You are invited to utilize this curriculum to welcome children and their families to your campus. You are invited to hang banners on your buildings and fences to tell your community that they are invited too. Together we will explore scripture and build communities of connection and LOVE. 

One of my most joyful encounters with LOVE is in the laughter of children. Children can allow joy to fill up their entire being. It is the kind of joy that bubbles up and cascades from their mouths–the joy that rings out of buildings and across campuses. It is infectious. It is vulnerable. It is true. That joy, that laughter, is the sound of LOVE. Creating spaces where children can be children allows them to share their joy and LOVE with the world.

LOVE is an action word. And this Summer, that looks like Vacation Bible School!

LOVE is… an arts-based Vacation Bible School program for children entering grades 1-5 based on 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Resources will include:

• advertising materials
• online forms
• art projects
• music
• games
• schedules

Information sessions are scheduled for March 27, 28, and 30th. Follow this link to register for an information session.

What does it mean to serve? On TikTok, ‘serve’ means ‘looking good;’ in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, it means something similar, being the good for each other—to care for our neighbors in the same way we care for ourselves (Matthew 22:37).

Throughout 2023, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is setting out to serve our neighbors. In preparation, Bishop Susan and guest speakers hosted a four-week webinar series on the Theology of Service that you can view here.  And, throughout Lent, hundreds are reading The New Parish* as a book study–learning how your parish, your church, is responsible for more than just the people that attend; it is responsible for the care of the neighborhood–of the neighbors.  

But how do we set out to serve? How do we start?

Diocesan Missioner for Community Engagement, Deann Rios, created guiding principles, guiding questions, and helpful support links that will aid in finding what is right for your community.

Guiding Principles

1. Pick something local—something that will impact the community around which your congregation worships. 
2. Partner with locals—find individuals, community organizations, and civic institutions that are already seeking the goodwill of your neighborhood and partner with them. 
3. Be practical—select activities that align with your congregants’ availability and abilities.
4. Have fun—service is something to be joyful about!

Guiding Questions

1. Who do we already know? Use the Relationship Inventory Guide from EDSD’s community engagement work to consider who you might already have connections with. 
2. Who can we partner with? Ask your community partners who need help! If you still are looking for partners, consider a few practices to familiarize yourself with the surrounding community. Simple: Put your church’s address in Google Maps and slowly scroll out. Do you see schools, parks, or non-profits in the community? For an in-depth analysis of your neighborhood, register on the MissionInsite website using the diocesan code (3353D). This tool will help to conduct a deeper study of your neighborhood demographics. 
3. How can we help right now? After determining who you can partner with, match potential service opportunities with the times your people are available and their ability levels.

Resources

• Help! – Sill having trouble getting started? Contact Deann Rios (drios@edsd.org), our Community Engagement Missioner. She would be happy to help you get started! 
• Register – Let us know if you’d like to participate here, even if you don’t have a partner or project yet.
• Learn more – Learn more about the whole Year of Service here. 
• Celebrate! – Please send photos and your stories and accomplishments – quantitative and qualitative – from your day of service/service activity to info@edsd.org. 

Service reconnects us to one another–an exchange that involves using one’s resources for the benefit of another. This effort for another’s benefit is “service.” No other word fits so well. No other word captures the essential meaning. This is one way we fulfill Jesus’ command to love our neighbors.  

In benefiting another, we benefit as well. Service provides opportunities for us to grow. It transforms us into happier members of society. It creates a more connected, stronger community. And it is the work of Jesus Christ, your church, and your Diocese. 

*The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community by Paul Sparks (Author), Tim Soerens (Author), Dwight J. Friesen (Author). More here

On Ash Wednesday, I was commissioned as a Navy chaplain in the reserves, marking the end of a year of surprising and, at times, confounding discernment!  Though I grew up in San Diego, I hadn’t had many direct connections to the military. And when I first received a call from a Navy recruiter a year ago, I wasn’t inclined to stay on the phone for long. But then I heard more about how the reserves work (two days a month and two weeks a year normally) and how a chaplain offers one of the few spaces of confidential conversation for servicemembers, and this God of surprises started to work on me.  I’ve come to look forward to the opportunity to care for servicemembers and their families and provide for their worship the best that I can. And the wonderful part is that I will still continue serving at St. Luke’s as a co-pastor alongside my wife, Laurel!  I admit that I don’t fully understand what I’m getting into — anyone who has tried to follow God’s call faithfully knows this feeling — but I trust that Jesus will walk beside me, my family, and my church through it.  If you have any questions about this experience, do reach out to me at colin@stlukesnorthpark.org.

On a cold and windy day in EDSD, hundreds of people were offered a moment to interact with God–on a street corner, at a bus stop, on a tuft of grass between classes. Churches throughout the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego hit the streets on Ash Wednesday to remind people of our humanity and the love of Jesus Christ.

In City Heights, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church fanned out across the neighborhood for their 9th year of Ashes to Go. Thérèse Carmona said, “We made our way to the busy intersection of University & Fairmount Avenues with their adjacent businesses, stores, offices, and non-profit agencies. There, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the early morning, sacred and grace-filled moments happened again and again.”

Among them was a teacher at a Head Start school. Her eyes lit up when she saw the St. Mark’s group, paused her entryway duties, and received ashes. In a moment of realization, she asked them to wait and went to find her colleague, who wanted ashes as well.

In Ramona, the Rev. Hannah Wilder and Cindy Dodson dodged passing hail to meet people where they are. Rev. Hannah said, “Most people asked, ‘What’s that?’’’ But at least now they had exposure to Ash Wednesday. It’s fun planting seeds. It’s exciting to see where God is working in Ramona.”

Agape House, the Episcopal-Lutheran joint Campus Ministry at San Diego State University, offers students free pizza and a place to relax every Wednesday, but this Wednesday, it wasn’t just the hungry coming to say hello. Students would jog over to hug the Rev. Heather Lawerence–congratulating her on the recent ordination and asking for ashes.

Rev. Heather said, “We connected and prayed with a student for the first time who was raised going to an Episcopal school.” A meeting in experience in an ordinary place that suddenly became a space to interact with the Holy.

St. Paul’s Cathedral sent teams throughout the city to distribute ashes to hundreds. Undeterred by hail, wind, and cold temperatures, the Cathedral’s Ashes to Go teams provided a moment of the sacred to 100s of people in public.

Martin Nace Hall said, “Ashes to go is one of the most rewarding experiences of the year. So many reminders that our neighbors outside the walls of the church need God and desire prayer.  God is Good.”

To many, Ashes to Go might seem like a shortcut to a holy lenten service–a fast food, immediate gratification option for something that can be difficult. But I do not believe that we are in the business of putting up holy barriers to the sacred. We’re called to welcome, host, and introduce people to the God of reconciliation, justice, and love.

In The New Parish, Paul Sparks writes, “Mission is defined as what you do to join in God’s world-renewing project.” Going out into the world to share the Good News of Jesus Christ is our mission.

Let’s be the church that goes to parents with their children, to folks at bus stops, to motorists at restaurants and drive-throughs so that they can pause and reverently bow their heads–maybe folding their hands or holding a steady gaze as they receive the ashes and listen to the words: ‘Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.’ Let’s be the church that goes out into the world to show people the love and care of Jesus Christ.

“However brief and fleeting these encounters are, they are moments of human connection, of standing in God’s presence, of reminding us that as Lent begins, we get yet another chance to turn our lives to God now, for our time on earth is but brief,” said Carmona.

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

The creation story in Genesis 2 begins with dust. God forms a little earth-creature out of the dust of the ground and blows breath into the creature to bring it to life. We call the earth-creature “Adam,” from the Hebrew word for earth, Adamah. Since then, every earth-creature has been formed in a sense from the dust of the earth, the elements that God brought forth in creation, dusty elements to which our bodies will one day return.

Yet it is not only death that Ash Wednesday reminds us of – it is life. For it is God’s breath that brought us to life, and God’s breath that brings nourishment to every cell of our bodies, every hour. When we are reborn in Holy Baptism, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, marked by the breath of God as Christ’s own forever. United with Christ, we are invited into everlasting life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The life of the Spirit is not something we earn or control. It is a free gift of the God who breathed us into existence. Our human desire, like the earth-creatures in the Garden of Eden, is to put ourselves in the place of God. This was how the serpent tempted the humans in the Garden: “You will be like God.” On Ash Wednesday, we remember that attempting to be like God is futile. We cannot earn our way to everlasting life. We can only accept it as the free gift offered to us through Jesus Christ.

Ash Wednesday reminds us not only of death; it reminds us of life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

Students from All Souls, Christ Church, St. Bartholomew’s, St. Dunstan’s, St. James’, and St. Luke’s will represent the Diocese of San Diego at EYE in July. More information about fundraising opportunities will be released after their meeting on March 12th. Thank you for supporting the youth of our diocese!

Growing up as a little girl in the 1980s-90s in Paradise Hills, an area of Southeast San Diego rich in diversity, I had the pleasure of attending William Penn Elementary from kindergarten through 3rd grade. At William Penn, even with African-American history being part of the year-round curriculum, Black History Month was a special part of our year and always capped off by the school’s annual Multicultural Fair. School assemblies were guaranteed to relay captivating and courageous stories of Black men and women. The re-enactment of the Greensboro sit-in by Ms. Williams’ 4th-grade class sticks in my mind. The scene closed with my Black, brown, and white schoolmates gathering on stage to sing a rendition of “We Shall Not Be Moved.”

It wasn’t until my family had moved to an up-and-coming neighborhood in East Chula Vista and I transferred to a new school in a new school district that I realized hearing African-American spirituals at school events was not a common part of all elementary school formation. In my new elementary school, the scope of our history lessons was much narrower, and I found myself wanting. It felt like I was being given only the most central portion of a great panoramic picture, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the scenery I was missing out on.

I know there are critics within the church who argue that Black History Month (as well as AAPI Heritage Month, Latino-Hispanic Heritage Month, etc.) serves as a tool of division, and there are others who would dismiss the mention of Black History Month within certain contexts as a marketing ploy, or as a way of pandering to “woke” culture. I choose to continue to celebrate Black History Month as a way of widening my lens so that I can view this world that we Christians are called to serve. It is a chance to explore a more abundant understanding of God: God as Creator, and the divine and diverse ways Creator has formed each of us in our different bodies; God as Redeemer, in the abundant chances we’ve been given for conciliation across a history of oppression and ignorance; and God as Sustainer, hold fast those individuals and communities who faced violence, rejection, and erasure in the faith that their sacrifices and labor would bring our world closer to Beloved Community.

In that spirit, and honoring this year’s Black History Month theme of Black Resistance, here are three Black theologians and thought leaders whose work resists particular aspects of the dominant culture and seeks to move us all closer to collective liberation:

Ella Baker (1903-1986)
Those who know of Ella Baker’s legacy often refer to her as one of the unsung heroes of The Civil Rights Era. She served with the NAACP, and later helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1960, Baker organized and later mentored the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Some argue that one of the reasons why she may be lesser known than Dr. King and some of her other contemporaries is due to her commitment to a way of leadership that sought not the spotlight but more to support others to step into a spotlight of their own. Baker is often quoted as saying, “strong people don’t need strong leadership.” Her wisdom regarding the effectiveness of group-centered leadership, and her belief in each individual’s personal and God-given power, often serve as anchoring wisdom for newer theological praxes such as Total Ministry, Shared Ministry, Mutual Ministry, or the Ministry of the Baptized: ways of doing ministry that seek to move away from a community centered around a minister, and more towards a ministering community.

In our diocese, particularly as we continue our collective journey in our Year of Service and explore how we might co-power our neighbors in our surrounding communities, what might we learn from Ella Baker, particularly in her wisdom regarding group-centered leadership? (If you’re not familiar with the term “co-powerment,” click here to hear Bishop Susan explain the concept during the January 30 episode of Faith To Go podcast).

For further reading: Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision, by Barbara Ransby

Tricia Hersey
Tricia Hersey, who earned her Masters of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology, is the founder of The Nap Ministry: an organization founded in 2016 that resists modern-day “grind culture” (“grind culture” = a by-product of extreme capitalism that idealizes working around the clock to prove one’s belovedness, sometimes using one’s proximity to burnout as a status symbol). The Nap Ministry instead seeks to restore the idea of rest as sacred, and to subvert the dehumanizing, sometimes numbing, tendencies that overwork can bring: “The systems make us hard. Rest keeps us tender,” reads a recent post on The Nap Ministry’s social media. “There is power in our collective rest and care.” A major part of The Nap Ministry’s resistance While the practice of the Sabbath has been around since the 7th day of Creation, Hersey and the work of The Nap Ministry provide a more modern and accessible lens that help todays working-aged folks that our belovedness is inherent.

For further reading: Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto, by Tricia Hersey. You can also follow The Nap Ministry on Facebook and Instagram (@thenapministry)

Cole Arthur Riley
Cole Arthur Riley is the creator of Black Liturgies: an online project started in 2020 that seeks “to integrate the truths of dignity, lament, rage, justice, and rest into written prayers.” Riley, who worked at an Episcopal Church as a liturgist, writes most of her offerings to follow our Liturgical Calendar. Many of Riley’s reflections and prayers resist Western spirituality’s tendency to favor a disembodied, intellectual wisdom over the sacredness and knowledge found in one’s own body. As Riley once said in an interview with the Boston Globe, “I refuse to live a disembodied life. [My body] contains more beauty, more mystery than I am able to articulate. And in befriending and honoring it, I communicate belief in my inherent dignity.”

For further reading: This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us, by Cole Arthur Riley. You can also follow Cole Arthur Riley and Black Liturgies on Facebook and Instagram (@blackliturgies)

Dear California State Senate, 

We are six Episcopal Bishops, whose dioceses cover the state of California. Our dioceses include 370 congregations serving 98,345 members. We write in support of Senate Bill (SB) 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act. This measure would make building affordable housing easier, faster, and cheaper on land owned by faith-based institutions and nonprofit colleges. 

Across California, faith-based organizations and non-profit colleges are seeking to partner with affordable housing developers to build critically needed affordable homes on their own land. These faith-based organizations are long-standing community anchors and are driven by their values to support those most in need and help address our homelessness crisis. 

Per a study by the UC Berkeley Terner Center, there are approximately 38,800 acres of land—roughly the size of the city of Stockton—used for religious purposes and are potentially developable. A significant share of that acreage (45 percent) is located in the state’s “high” or “highest” resource opportunity areas, signaling an opportunity for building housing in neighborhoods with lower poverty rates and greater economic, educational, and environmental amenities. 

Unfortunately, the land that these organizations hold can often be locked into complicated and cost-prohibitive local zoning rules and regulations. These can range from standards which allow only a few units to be built on large parcels to others which limit any housing construction at all. The variety of red tape and obstacles in the way make development financially infeasible and discourage institutions from moving forward with projects that would benefit their low-income and unhoused neighbors. 

A 2022 report from the California Department of Housing and Community Development found that we need to build 1.2 million affordable homes over the next decade to meet our housing goals. Over the last few years, California has added an average of 19,000 affordable units a year. At this pace we will not reach our state goals without increased streamlining for affordable housing production. 

SB 4 will streamline the building process and offer new tools for neighborhood leaders to build safe, stable, affordable homes for local residents and families. This bill will allow places of worship to build 100% affordable housing projects, creating a valuable option in the midst of the state’s housing and homelessness crises. It also provides significant untapped benefits for faith-based organizations, from supporting an organization’s charitable mission to providing revenue that can stabilize the organization’s finances. 

Equally important, this Act will help our state’s construction workforce rise and thrive. Construction workers will be protected by the requirement to pay prevailing wages. On projects with at least 50 units, contractors must offer apprentices employment and pay for health care for construction workers and their dependents. This creates an economic base and new opportunities for construction workers and provides our state with the highly skilled workforce it needs to build our future. 

This is a common-sense opportunity for us to partner with trusted community leaders. The catastrophic tragedies we see on the street every day call for urgent and bold action and this bill will help us move forward. Thank you for your leadership on these critical housing and homelessness issues and for all these reasons, we support this bill. 

Sincerely,