“The purposes in the human heart are deep waters; but the one who has insight draws them out.” Proverbs 20:5 

Discipleship is more than books we read or Bible studies we attend. In fact, Jesus’ first disciples were greatly shaped not only by their relationship with Jesus, but also with one another. Each of them brought their own backgrounds and contexts to their shared ministry. Through the gathering of fishermen, tax collectors, and the redeemed, Jesus embraced that we are more than any one piece of our story. In fact, the challenging pieces of our stories bring richness and depth to the ways that we follow Jesus. We embrace discipleship not through perfection but from a humble place of authenticity. 

With that in mind, there are two formative offerings this spring–offerings that will enrich our discipleship and help us to grow in relationship with one another. 

Jesus deeply understood the communities and systems in which he lived and served. He understood the institutional structures and power dynamics of the times, and he sought, served, and centered those whom these systems marginalized. As followers of Jesus, we are similarly called to minister in our own local contexts. 

EDSD’s Localized Anti-Racism Knowledge workshop equips our congregations for local contextual ministry. Over the course of a 2-day workshop, participants will hear stories of lament and hope through the actions of leaders and communities of color who have faced structural and systemic challenges across the extent of our region. Participants will then analyze and think critically about ongoing instances of racism in our neighborhoods.  

LARK supports attendees in applying what they have learned to their own lives and ministries. Through post-workshop follow-up, the program makes space for folks to nurture the relationships and resilience necessary for advancing racial reconciliation and justice within our diocese. 

LARK was commissioned by Bishop Susan in 2022 and co-designed by Mae Chao and Therese Carmona of EDSD’s Racial Justice and Reconciliation Task Force. After two “test” workshops, LARK launched its first diocesan-wide workshop in November of 2023. Last year, EDSD held two workshops, one at St. Matthew’s in National City, and another at Good Samaritan in UTC. These were attended by a total of 52 people from 23 of our 46 congregations.  

The next LARK workshop will take place at St. Luke’s in North Park on Friday, May 2, 3:30-8:30 PM and Saturday, May 3, 9:30-4:30 PM. Facilitators will include Mae Chao, Therese Carmona, and Vincent Walton. A follow-up Zoom meeting will be scheduled at the workshop. 

Register Today!

While ministry is contextual, it is also relational. As disciples, we are also called to love our neighbors as ourselves. But truly understanding our neighbors–and truly understanding ourselves–requires recognizing the ways our own backgrounds shape our perspectives. This is what we call social location: the unique combination of factors or identities like race, gender, class, education, and culture that influence how we experience the world. We may be acutely aware of some of these identities. Others may be less obvious to us. ALL aspects of our social location are useful to God. 

 Every person has a social location, whether we are aware of it or not. It affects the opportunities we have, the challenges we face, and even how we interpret Scripture, engage in faith, or understand God at work in the world. By acknowledging how our own backgrounds shape our views, we can foster greater empathy, challenge biases, and work toward a more inclusive community. And, we can better understand how we have been uniquely formed to be bearers of God’s image in our times and in our world.  

 For this reason, we co-created Knowing Yourself: Ministry from a Place of Self-Awareness. During a three-hour session, attendees will have space to reflect on their own “social location” in order to name how they have been formed as bearers of God’s image, consider how their social location has equipped them for ministry and cultivate self-awareness in community to practice nurturing authentic relationships across lines of difference. 

Knowing Yourself debuted in 2024 at Leadership Academy. Based on feedback, we expanded the program to a three-hour workshop, which was hosted at All Saints, San Diego this past April, and at St. Peter’s, Del Mar in September. Across the three workshops, 54 people from 17 congregations discovered, named and shared various pieces of their own narratives and received the rich and diverse stories of those around them.   

Knowing Yourself will be offered next at St. Luke’s, North Park on Sunday, May 4 from 1-4 PM. Facilitators will include Danielle Beabout, Leighton Jones, and Rachel Ambasing.

Register Today

Both offerings provide an opportunity to dive into the deep waters, to share our insights in a community of support, to practice discipleship from a place of humble authenticity, and ultimately to return to our ministries and our lives transformed.   

Ten years ago, I was living in San Francisco, where I went to school full-time and worked in retail part-time. Though I grew up in the church, and the Episcopal tradition had been important to my family for multiple generations, this was a chapter of my life when I did not consider myself to be an Episcopalian. But, I was living in a city that was hitting peak gentrification. The gap between the haves and the have-nots increased before my eyes, and the signs of displacement were inescapable. I longed for spiritual comfort and sought to find it in community. So, on a rare Sunday morning without a scheduled shift, I decided to check out an Episcopal Church in the area.

I found myself sitting in the pews of a grand, historic Episcopal church located in an aspirational neighborhood. The church was one of those places where the stained-glass windows told centuries-old stories, the organ thundered with precision, and every element sought to express the majestic nature of God. The preacher that morning was a well-respected white cleric, who, according to his bio in the day’s print-perfect bulletin, was from a wealthy area in Northern California and known for his eloquence, academic writing, and theological depth.

His sermon that day focused on “living in faith.” He began by referencing a nearby lower-income, racially diverse neighborhood well known in NorCal. It was one of my favorite neighborhoods to frequent. It reminded me of where I grew up in Southeast San Diego. To me, though the neighborhood was historically underserved and economically lacking, it was rich with its creative minds, deep thinkers, and adaptive, resourceful leadership. The streets teemed with colorful art, soulful music, iconic small businesses, and hot spots. There was a sense of a particular community care and pride that only seems to grow in the cracks of our systems. Leaders from this community were actively organizing to resist gentrification and the displacement of their neighbors.

At the mention of the neighborhood, I perked up in my pew, yearning to hear a message about hope or resilience or some other interpretation of the Good News as it was reflected in those streets.

Unfortunately, the sermon that I was longing for was not the sermon that this preacher was able to give.

I sat in the pew, dumbfounded. The preacher and I saw two different neighborhoods. We had two different ideas of how God showed up in the world. He seemed to understand God’s presence in the quiet and orderly rhythms of life, perhaps finding God most where there was ease.

I, on the other hand, had encountered God in the resistance: in the resilient joy and inconvenient courage of communities that had to fight to be heard, or seen, or stay together, or even to simply pass on their cultural traditions from one generation to the next.

Once the sermon was over, a woman behind me was delighted in how well the sermon was structured. Another declared the sermon a display of his theological prowess. As the sermon ended, I was surrounded by a sea of bobbing heads and satisfied murmurs. I felt like I was the only one in the congregation who felt disconnected with the interpretation of the Good News. In a house of God, I felt like a stranger.

I never returned to that congregation, nor did I attempt to attend an Episcopal Church again in my remaining two years in San Francisco.

That moment of disconnect was the first time I realized just how much perspective shapes the way Scripture is preached and received. How much richer would our understanding of Scripture be if we heard it through the lens of those whose experiences of God’s grace were different from those lenses that we’ve historically held as more “reputable” or “respectable”?

Hearing Scripture interpreted by diverse preachers also strengthens the Episcopal Church’s mission. When we embrace diverse voices, we affirm the dignity of all people and acknowledge the ways God moves in different communities. This not only deepens our faith but also makes the Church more welcoming to those who have felt unheard or excluded.

The Episcopal Church is at its best when it reflects the full breadth of God’s kingdom. Our diocese is home to people from a breadth of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, life experiences, and theological traditions. This same diversity is not yet reflected in our ordained leadership, nor is it reflected in the pulpit on an average Sunday at many of our congregations.

And so, our diocese is offering Towards a Fuller Gospel,  a dynamic virtual speaker series featuring priests and preachers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds from across the Episcopal Church. This dynamic program aims to help bridge a diversity gap that many of us have been lamenting. I know this series will help us all discover what more of God’s goodness might be revealed to us if we heard from more diverse voices. Join me in interpreting scripture through their diverse lenses. 

Towards a Fuller Gospel will take place on Tuesdays in May, from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Guest speakers will include The Rev. Katie Nakamura Rengers from the Diocese of Alabama; The Rev. Canon Eric McIntosh, Canon for Beloved Community Initiative, Diocese of Pittsburgh; and The Rev. Ryan Macias from the Diocese of Los Angeles. You can register by clicking here.

 The Episcopal Church has long prided itself on being a place of openness and inclusion. But true inclusion is not just about welcoming people into our pews—it’s about making sure their voices are heard from the pulpit.

Hearing Scripture through diverse voices is not just about fairness or representation; nor is it about checking off boxes on a “woke agenda.” It is about faithfulness. It is about ensuring that we do not limit the ways God speaks to us. It is about recognizing that no single cultural lens or social position can fully capture the breadth, length, depth, and height of God’s word.

We have so much to gain from accessing the gift of diverse voices and perspectives. May we have the courage and the humility to do so.

This year at Trinity Church, Escondido, we organized an adult formation program around watching and analyzing sermons. I figured that this would be a good topic to talk about because everyone at church has experience with sermons. After all, sermons are at the root of formation and discipleship. It might be beneficial to look at what goes into a sermon and reflect on what parts of preaching really work for us and what parts do not.

I spent hours looking at sermons on YouTube. I wanted something that was out there and accessible to everyone. We settled on six sermons from Christian preachers who came from different denominations and traditions. The preachers we picked were Michael Curry, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Martin Luther King, Jr, Barbara Brown Taylor, Billy Graham, and Gregory Boyle.

The most famous sermon was Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which we watched shortly after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which was also the day of the inauguration, if you remember. That was a powerful experience for most people. 

Each week, prior to watching the selected sermon, we’d read an article or look at an excerpt of a book that related to the preaching. We’d dive into material from the Episcopal Preaching Foundation, as well as other resources I discovered on the web. We’d discuss oral traditions and the ways that people give and receive information through speeches and sermons. But, the discussion around the experience of the participants about the many sermons they had heard over their lifetimes as church members was the most energized. And we talked about my sermons and the sermons of my predecessors at Trinity.

As we sat to watch each sermon, I gave people a sheet of paper with notes of things for them to pay attention to. I had something like this for a homiletics class in seminary. We were encouraged to take notes on other students’ preaching and give them constructive feedback. 

A consistent suggestion was to pay attention to the theme of the sermon–to look at how that theme was developed, to notice the structure of the sermon, how and the points that were made, and how scripture was referenced. Another focus was rhetorical techniques like repetition, contrast, or alliteration that preachers employed. And we looked at personal practices–does the preacher use notes or not, do they engage with the audience or not, do they pause dramatically or not. Finally, what was the “takeaway?”  What was the preacher asking the congregation to do next, if anything?

Thank God, that my parishioners do not regularly analyze and dissect my sermons the way we did in this program! But, I think it was an enlightening experience to look at sermons this way. Not only did the group receive six great messages over the six weeks, but they really appreciated talking about preaching.

I was not really surprised to hear this, but it turns out that people really like how Michael Curry preaches. (Maybe Trinity’s next preaching series will be just Michael Curry sermons.) Our group did not connect as much with Billy Graham’s sermon we saw from the Revival, although several of the people in our group had seen Billy Graham preach in person. With respect to the other sermons, participants all got something out of the sermons by Nadia Bolz-Weber, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Gregory Boyle.

We came to appreciate that despite the preachers’ different styles, tones, and messages, their sermons still conveyed something valuable. As I mentioned, our discussion on Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was probably the most powerful for participants. It was amazing to go through his speech looking at the structure and the techniques of a person who clearly was at the top of his game, and to reflect on how powerful preaching can be.

I don’t know that the experience of this series on preaching will necessarily make me a better preacher, although I always preach better when I am exposed to great preaching. And I don’t think that any of the participants in the program are necessarily going to get up someday to deliver their own sermons. But I know that all of us, myself included, enjoyed talking about preaching and thought it was worthwhile looking at what makes preaching powerful. 

As a priest, it gave me a sense of something new, which is the way that preaching, over time, gives people a foundation that they cannot get anywhere else. There really is nothing else like preaching in our lives. We are hardwired in our DNA to be inspired by things people say, and there are very few experiences in life of being in a group sitting, listening to inspirational messages. And we need that. That’s something else we all agreed on.

 To find out more about Trinity, Escondido’s preaching series, email the Rev. Tom Callard at: office@trinityescondido.org

In the spirit of community, hope, and faith, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) leaders from across our diocese gathered for a life-giving afternoon of connection and fellowship.

The event was planned and hosted by a team of four: Karla Chavez from St. Matthew’s, National City; Alyson Terry from Resurrection, Ocean Beach, Stephen Arturo Greenlaw from St. Luke’s, North Park, and myself. Held at Café X on Feb. 8, the Link-Up was more than just a time of networking – it was a space of renewal, affirmation, and visioning. Together, participants shared their various leadership and ministry journeys, and modeled a vision of what gatherings of disciples of Christ could look like in our Church.

In the Episcopal tradition, discipleship is not just about personal faith—it is about community, justice, and the responsibility to lead with courageous love. For BIPOC leaders, this call comes with both profound opportunities and deep challenges.

As the Gospel of Matthew reminds us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

This call to discipleship is inclusive, expansive, and rooted in justice. It calls each believer to engage in the transformation of their community, offering leadership not from a place of privilege, but from a deep well of faith and empathy. The gathering was a reminder that this work of discipleship— following Jesus and leading in our communities with love, compassion, and integrity—is central to the sacred vocation of leaders of color in the Episcopal Church.

Many BIPOC clergy and lay leaders serve as bridges between diverse cultural traditions and the Episcopal Church, yet we often navigate spaces where our voices have historically been underrepresented or marginalized, or “othered.” In more traditional, homogeneous Episcopal gatherings where people of color are the minority, the feeling of “otherness,” or disbelonging, can feel stifling, and may make it challenging to access our identities as God’s beloved.  The Link-Up created a trusting, affirming space for authentic conversation and mutual learning, as well as a space to cultivate a deeper sense of community and belonging in the fullness of our identities and experiences.

Through prayer, dialogue, laughter, and breaking bread with leaders representing different congregations, we made new friends and strengthened existing connections. It was a nice reminder that none of us is alone in this work. And, that we are just one generation of a long and sacred tradition of diverse faith leaders who have shaped the Church and continue to transform it.

As the afternoon concluded, there was a shared commitment to continue these Link-Ups quarterly, and to continue to keep in touch between meet-ups. With hearts full and spirits strengthened, the leaders who attended this meet-up left with full stomachs, full take-home containers, and full hearts.

For more information about future gatherings – or for partnership in creating a BIPOC Leadership Link-Up closer to your area – contact me at rambasing@edsd.org.

Photos courtesy of Karla Chavez (St. Matthew’s, National City).

St. Dunstan’s was teeming with voices—singing, greetings, laughing. The opening Eucharist for Leadership Academy set a foundation of purpose for the day. With over 100 attendees gathered, it was clear they weren’t there just to listen. They came to engage, to challenge themselves, to step forward in faith and action.

The Rev. Cyndi Jones, interim priest in charge at St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea in Pacific Beach, set the tone with her sermon–calling on all attendees to embrace inclusion not as a task but as a way of life. Speaking from her own experience as a wheelchair user, she challenged the community to reflect on what true inclusion looks like in the Church. She reminded the congregation, “All people are fearfully and wonderfully made.” But do we celebrate the inclusion of all—or do we default to questioning the cost? 

Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, participants discovered perspectives they had never considered before. During the Safe Church, Safe Communities training, while focusing on ways the Church remains vigilant in protecting its most vulnerable members, one participant admitted they had not fully grasped the prevalence of abuse and the responsibility churches carry in addressing it. For many, this training reframed the way they understood their role in fostering a culture of safety and trust. Safe church, Safe Communities training is required for all clergy, staff, vestry members, and other key lay leadership roles. You can find out more about Safe Church Safe Communities training here.

Across the campus, in the Welcome Track, a conversation on neurodiversity became a true moment of awakening, when a participant admitted that they had never encountered the term “neurodiversity” before. Another person shared that people with disabilities make up the largest marginalized group in society, with approximately 20% of the population identifying as having a disability. It was a humbling realization. The session provided thoughtful conversation and reshaped the way people thought about true inclusion, but the class didn’t conclude with theories or statistics; it moved into real, actionable changes that churches can implement to become places where neurodiversity is embraced. You can read more about neurodiverse church experiences here.

The Storytelling Track, tucked away in St. Dunstan’s Youth Room, became an unexpected place of discovery for many. One participant, reflecting on the session, said they had never realized how powerful character transportation was in crafting a compelling story. Another marveled at the experience of writing a group poem, something they never expected to be part of a leadership workshop. “I didn’t know we could write a group poem,” they said. “Thank you, Chris T!” There was an energy in the room, a collective realization that our stories are opportunities for connection, authenticity, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. To learn more about sharing your story, reach out to Director of Communications, Chris Tumilty at ctumilty@edsd.org

And that only speaks to three of the workshops. There were important conversations around accessibility, presented by the St. Dunstan’s disability ministry, and practical and engaging faith formation opportunities for teens, led by the EDSD Youth Leadership Council. The workshops provided practical tools for ministry, but it was the people—their passion, their honesty, their courage to be vulnerable—that made the day transformative. Again and again, attendees were moved by the sheer depth of commitment in the room. One participant described the overwhelming desire of so many to be truly welcoming. Another shared that St. Brigid’s talk about inclusion, particularly for people on the spectrum, left a lasting impact. A third reflected on a simple yet profound truth they had taken from the day: “Everyone matters or no one matters.”

The Youth Leadership Council, a group of 12 teenagers from across the diocese, left a powerful impression.  What do young people need from the Church today? It is simple: a place to belong, a space to ask hard questions, a faith that feels real. The council’s guidance stirred important conversations about how congregations could better serve the next generation. One participant was deeply moved by what they heard and made a commitment to expand children’s and youth programming in their parish–determined to create an environment where young people truly feel at home.

Throughout the day, the holy moments were impossible to miss. The kindness of St. Dunstan’s volunteers, the warmth of the facilitators, the creativity that flowed through the storytelling sessions, the powerful testimonies shared in discussions on neurodiversity—all of it created an atmosphere where Episcopalians felt encouraged to step into their callings.

Transformation begins within individuals before it can take hold in communities. It was a call to step forward, equipped and inspired, into the work that will shape the Church for years ahead.

The commitments made at Leadership Academy were not empty words. They are aspirations for the future of the church. It is a reminder that transformation begins within individuals, take hold of their faith and share it. It is a call to step forward, equipped and inspired, into the work of discipleship that will shape the Episcopal Church in San Diego.

Leadership Academy is not just an event every year; it is a movement toward growing into the Church that God calls us to be.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. It’s an odd thing to say in a Christian church, where we proclaim that Jesus has defeated death and brought us to eternal life. Why do we remind each other today of our dustiness, our grittiness, the impermanence of our bodies and our very lives?

The key to what we celebrate today is the word “remember.” When we say you are dust, and to dust you shall return – that is simple fact. Every molecule of our bodies came from the dust of the universe that blew outward from the Big Bang, the dust that formed stars and planets, the dust that formed this earth. Out of that dust our bodies were made, and when we die, those molecules of US will be recycled for other uses. We are dust, and to dust we shall return.

But the key to Ash Wednesday is not the fact of our dustiness. The key is the word “remember.” When we remember that we are dust, we remember not just our death, but the other part of our faith, that God willed every molecule of our selves into being. We remember that God looked at the dusty, beautiful world, and called it “very good.” We remember how God reached into the dust and lovingly handled it, rolled it, breathed into it, to create human beings. We remember that we are holy and beloved. We remember that our own God took on the dust of human existence with his own life in Jesus. We remember that God welcomed our holy human dustiness as he welcomed Jesus back into God’s presence.

“Remember that you are dust, to dust you shall return” means, remember that the very dust of your body is forever linked with the creator of the universe. Remember that your dusty humanity has been washed in the water of baptism and made a part of Christ’s own Body. Remember that the ashy cross marked on your forehead is drawn over the same place where you were marked with the sign of the cross at your baptism, when someone said, You are sealed with the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.

This day, this Ash Wednesday, this day of dust, is a day not of death but of resurrection. We remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return, but that’s not the end of the story. The last chapter of Good Friday was followed by the new story of Easter. The end of our dusty human lives will be followed by the new creation of resurrection. You are dust, and to dust you shall return. Thanks be to God.

Throughout Lent, take a few moments each day to deepen your faith with Faith to Go in Lent, a daily podcast featuring reflections from individuals across the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. Each episode offers a fresh perspective on the daily Gospel reading, inviting you into a journey of prayer, contemplation, and spiritual growth.

Whether you listen during your morning coffee, on a walk, or as part of your daily devotion, these reflections provide a meaningful way to connect with God and our diocesan community. As we walk this Lenten path together, let these voices inspire you, challenge you, and draw you closer to Christ.

Join us every day throughout Lent at edsd.org/faithtogo and discover the power of shared faith and reflection. May this season of renewal bring you insight, peace, and a deeper relationship with God.

On March 1 at Leadership Academy, we are offering a Foundations Track with two key opportunities to reinforce your church’s foundation: Safe Church, Safe Communities and Youth Faith Formation – Beyond Grub and Games. These sessions help ensure that your church is a place of trust, accountability, and vibrant discipleship. 

Building a strong foundation is essential for the life and longevity of the Church. In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus teaches that those who hear His words and put them into practice are like a wise builder who constructs a house on the rock—able to withstand storms and trials. Just as a solid foundation provides stability to a structure, a strong church is built on faith, integrity, and discipleship. A thriving congregation is not just about joyful worship on Sundays; it is about creating a community that nurtures spiritual growth, fosters meaningful relationships, and ensures the well-being of all who enter. By prioritizing safety and formation, we build a church community that can stand firm in its mission for generations to come.

Safe Church Safe Communities (Registration is Full)

Sacred spaces have always been considered a place of safety…

Through Safe Church, Safe Communities training, we uphold our responsibility to protect all members, especially the most vulnerable, by equipping leaders with the tools to maintain ethical and secure environments. 

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego requires that all church volunteers and staff complete Safe Church, Safe Communities training in order to serve.  In 2023, St. Paul in the Desert in Palm Springs began a campaign to increase their church’s safety–making a pledge to have all volunteers and staff up to date on training by Easter 2023.  

In the sermon, the Rev. Dan Kline said, “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,” to resounding applause.

For many years, Safe Church, Safe Communities training has been offered online exclusively, but this weekend, at Leadership Academy, many will have an opportunity for an in-person training led by the Rev. Canon Gwynn Lynch, Canon to the Ordinary, and the Rev. Dan Kline, Co-Rector of St. Paul in the Desert Palm Springs. 

While this in-person opportunity has reached capacity, online training is always available. Please contact Diocesan Registrar Alyson Terry at aterry@edsd.org or visit www.edsd.org/safe-church-safe-communities to learn more. 

Youth Ministry: Beyond Grub and Games

The third workshop in the Foundations Track is a conversation about Youth Ministry. Led by our EDSD Youth Leadership Council, this workshop will address questions that come up often in youth ministry. What matters to you in a youth group? How does a church support your faith? What barriers do you encounter in coming to church or youth group? Where do you see God in your life? 

The EDSD Youth Leadership Council is entering its fifth year of guiding diocesan youth programming. In addition to helping to plan retreats and events, they also partner with congregations who are strategizing youth programming. This diverse group of 13 young leaders represents 9 congregations across our diocese.

While they cannot speak for every young person in our diocese, they will share candidly of their own experiences. Come with an open heart to hear what God is doing in their lives.

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to keep an eye out for the hanging metal signs emblazoned with the Episcopal Shield and the boldly declared words, “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You”. It delights me to find them, to wander down the block to find the church, and to discover – Is it stone or redwood? Does it have stained glass windows? Then, I look for the second sign, usually located near the front door. This sign usually includes the service times.

Both of these signs excite me because I know what the sign means to me. “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” speaks to our church’s commitment to respect the dignity of every human being, to see each person as beloved, and to strive each day to walk more closely with Jesus . It reminds me that I can envelop myself in ancient liturgy, hear the scripture read and reflected upon, say the prayers with a community, and after the Eucharistic prayer, I can come to the table. For those seeking a deeper spiritual connection, a place of healing, or a supportive community, I know that the Episcopal Church offers a space for all to grow in faith.

And – I know that those words and ideals are aspirational. I know that no church is perfect. We are filled with human beings, and human beings are exceptionally fallible. I know that even though our hearts cry out that we welcome you, sometimes our words, actions, and buildings can limit the opportunity for people to find true belonging. 

And that is precisely what the Holy Spirit has been pestering me with this past year. What would it look like if we wrestled with the opportunity to not just welcome people but create true belonging? We could imagine a community where every person felt their gifts were needed. We can adapt our worship spaces and services to meet the needs of all of us. We can step away from certainty and then we can humbly try to live into the words on the sign. 

If you long for this too, I hope you will register for the Welcome track at Leadership Academy. A description of each of the exceptional workshops is below.

Register Today!

Accessibility in Action

Join the Accessibility Group from St. Dunstan’s as they share their journey toward creating an inclusive and welcoming campus. This session will explore their innovative efforts, including a creative video, assistance for people with hearing loss, ramps and wheelchair-accessible seating, large-print materials, gluten-free communion options, and a quiet room for sensory-sensitive individuals. Learn practical strategies and gain inspiration for making your church more accessible to all.

Rhythms of Grace – Worship that engages across the spectrum of neurodiversity

Join members from St. Brigid’s Oceanside and St. Peter’s Del Mar as they tell stories of their work embracing neurodiversity and promoting inclusion in their worship spaces. The conversation highlights the ongoing work – successes and challenges – that are part of their rhythm of life. Come and see if you find yourself in their story.

“The Episcopal Church Welcomes You”: Becoming the Church We Say We Are

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he exhorts believers to “welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (15:7).  As followers of Jesus, our call is to embody this welcome, particularly to those most vulnerable and on the margins of society. But, to extend Christ-like welcome – that is, welcome that leads to belonging, and welcome that celebrates one another in the fullness of our various identities – is challenging. Join Sarah Hankins from Uptown Community Services, Danielle Beabout from EDSD’s LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Taskforce, and Rachel Ambasing, EDSD’s Missioner for Community Vitality and Diversity, for an honest, reflective, and generative conversation about living into our aspiration of Christ-like welcome.

“Stay Salty!” was the call heard all around Camp Stevens during the second annual Epiphany Children’s Camp in January.

God calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world in Matthew 5. These verses guided our 3-day camp for 36 children grades 3rd-5th and 10 devoted chaperones, all choosing to spend the long MLK weekend at their diocese camp.

On Saturday, we dug into the study of salt as a camp and in small groups. Everyone had the opportunity to dye their own bag of salt while reflecting on how they could be the salt of the earth in their community, churches, and schools. We continued this reflection while learning the art of archery, forming homemade pretzels, and crafting resistance art pieces with watercolors and salt. Saturday night brought games, singing our favorite camp songs (Banana Slug!), and bonding with our roommates over whispered candlelight conversations.

Sunday morning began our study of light. We discussed light’s value in the world and the many colors of light exhibited around us. Everyone crafted a beaded safety pin that represented the unique pattern of colors they shine in the world. They also began crafting a variety of beaded friendship pins to exchange with each other. As we hiked on different trails and played in the Treehouse, we reflected on how the light shone through the trees, on the meadow, across the mountains, and sparkled upon fool’s gold found along the way. We spent time with camp’s animals, lost teeth, played endless games of GaGa Ball, and warmed up by the fireplace with homemade hot teas. Sunday evening welcomed a taco dinner and the most beautiful Eucharist with Canon Gwynn, Father Isaiah, and an interactive homily with Charlette. The children served as acolytes, ushers, readers, intercessors, and a joyful camp band. The day was brought to a happy conclusion with an energetic glowstick-folk-dancing party that led to bright glowstick room decor, and more whispered conversations in the night.

As camp came to a close on Monday morning, we filled our bellies with too many pancakes and hiked to our closing program at the outdoor chapel to the song “We are Marching in the Light of God.” There, we were reminded of our call to be salty while combining our dyed salt into large pillar vases and our call to be the light of the world through a friendship circle pin exchange. Camp ended all too soon with the arrival of parents, plans for future playdates, and many hugs goodbye. Together, we all left saltier and brighter.

“Stay Salty!” Our response to this call during camp and to the conclusion of another transformative weekend could only be a response of “Be Bright!”

Caring for those who feel especially vulnerable has always been close to my heart. As Bishop, I have witnessed the fear and uncertainty that many immigrants and marginalized communities experience daily. Their struggles are not distant concerns but realities that demand our presence, our voices, and our support. So when Cardinal Robert McElroy and the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, along with the San Diego Organizing Project, invited me to join in an interfaith vigil at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, I was quick to agree. 

This Sunday, I joined the standing-room-only crowd of nearly 900 people gathered inside the cathedral, as faith leaders, members of churches, and neighbors united in support for immigrant families. An estimated 600 more were waiting outside–unable to get into the packed church. As the first female Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, this was a historic ecumenical moment for me. I was honored to be invited by the Roman Catholic Cardinal to participate in the vigil and sit next to him in a place normally reserved for Roman Catholic auxiliary bishops as he sat in his cathedra, or bishop’s chair. It was a gracious gesture that underscored our shared Christian commitment to stand with those in need. 

I am not surprised that the sanctuary overflowed with people seeking hope, justice, and unity in the face of uncertainty. Over the last few weeks, I have heard story after story of the fears of people, including many with legal status in this country, who are anxious about going to their children’s schools, visiting a food pantry, or participating in worship at church. While our country needs strong and reasonable border policies that ensure that people who arrive here and are allowed to stay will be productive members of society, the compassion of Christ also calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

Our Diocese has a long history of supporting migrants–like preparing food for asylum seekers in transit, sharing Eucharist at the border, and most recently, the development of Comunidad de Luz, a migrant shelter for women and children in Tijuana. EDSD continues to be a place where vulnerable people are served, cared for, and loved as Christ intended. 

This experience reinforced for me the importance of courageous love—the kind that works to love God’s people and care for those who are vulnerable, as Jesus called us to do in his famous words of Matthew 25: “Truly I tell you, if you did it to one of the least of my siblings, you did it to me.” As I left the vigil, I carried with me the hope that this kind of solidarity  will show us the true face of Christ–unrestrained, radical love. 

I was honored to be invited to close the vigil, sending the gathered community into the world. Here is what I said:

This cathedral is named for St. Joseph, the guardian and protector of Jesus and his blessed mother Mary. As guardian and protector, the Bible says that Joseph discovered in a dream that the holy family was at risk of their lives and fled with them into Egypt to escape a violent threat, and only came home when the threat had passed. 

In other words, like millions of people in the 2,000 years since then, the Holy Family were refugees, migrants. Like them, so many other families flee because they cannot live in their home countries. They flee violence, war, starvation, poverty. They flee threats to their families. They flee failed crops, wrecked economies, dangerous communities. They flee in hope of a life where they can care for the ones they love.

Last year, I met a young family in a shelter in Mexicali – husband, wife, teenage son, young daughter. They had fled their home in southern Mexico because gangs had tried to recruit their son. When they resisted, the gangs came in the middle of the night and shot up their home, and told them if they were still there in the morning, everyone would be dead. They fled with what they could carry, all the way to the border, where they waited and hoped they could find a better life. And I don’t believe there is anyone here who can  tell me you would not have done the same to protect the ones you love. Of course we would, because we are human beings, and we are made to live in community and care for one another, just as Joseph cared for Jesus and Mary.

Every country needs strong and reasonable borders, and a way to ensure that those who arrive will be productive members of society. Our country needs the kind of agreement on immigration that would ensure strong, safe, and productive migration – not a situation where people live in fear that their families might be torn apart.

In Christian tradition, Jesus’ beloved mother Mary sings in the song we call the  Magnificat that God will cast down the mighty from their thrones and lift up the lowly. Every person who has position, power, and security must take these words to heart, hearing them as a call to share God’s blessing and God’s abundance with all the people God loves. As God told Abraham in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures: I will bless you and you will be a blessing. We are blessed to be a blessing to others.

People of all faiths believe that God is a God of love and compassion. God is a God who makes a priority of caring for the vulnerable and welcoming the stranger. That means that God is a God who calls us to join in caring for those who migrate, because they are God’s beloved children. In our walk with migrants, honoring the image of God in each person, respecting the dignity of every human being, loving one another as God has loved us, we are doing the very work of God.

As we prepare to walk a very short distance in procession, walking symbolically alongside all those who migrate in hope of a life of safety, let us pray:

Guide our footsteps, gracious and loving God. As Joseph showed the way of compassion in guiding his holy family to safety, guide all of us in walking the way of compassion in our lives. Help us care for those in need of better lives. Help us learn from you the way of love. Bless all those who migrate out of fear and despair, and guide them to lives of safety. Open our hearts to your compassion; open our ears to your words of hope; open our hands to bring care to all those in need. Help your words to be spoken today, help your words to be heard. In your holy name we pray. Amen.

To find out more about what EDSD is doing for migrants, please visit edsd.org/migration-ministry