Advent is coming… soon and very soon! I have been struck this year by the wide range of possibilities to help all of us prepare. Augsburg Fortress offered a deck of cards with daily activities for all. Families Celebrate is portable, meant for use with children under 12, and continues through the feast of Epiphany. The […]
Our calendar of saints remembers Leo the Great today, even though I don’t think there’s a single Episcopal church named for him. He lived from about 400 to 461, at a time when the Roman Empire was falling apart. He was well-educated and was ordained a deacon to serve as a financial administrator and ensure […]
Good afternoon, fearless love diocese! This diocese may be headquartered in San Diego, yet we include communities from as far north as Lake Elsinore, Menifee, and Hemet, east to Indio, Brawley, and Yuma, and south to the border. In earlier days, this might have been called the southmost diocese in upper California. How we name […]
We live in a time of heightened disagreement and increasingly disagreeable modes of communication. Rarely have human societies managed effective and transparent conversations that are also kind. At times we are too concerned about how our words will be received to be sufficiently truthful; at other times we spew venom or circulate gossip without regard […]
In June I wrote about revitalizing congregations and the normal process of birth, growth, and death in faith communities. In this piece, I’d like to offer some perspective about the role of leadership as a congregation begins to grapple with change and transformation. This diocese has a healthy mix of congregational size and context, from […]
Some people think General Convention is a bit like Brigadoon, a small city that appears for a day and then fades away into the mist for the next hundred years. General Convention has a shorter shelf life, but there’s something apt about the comparison. The residents gather, reconnect, love and celebrate, avoid changing anything, and […]
I am aware that a large number of clergy in this diocese have been, or will be soon, invited to participate in CREDO. Some of you have undoubtedly been once, but I would like to encourage you to participate if at all possible. CREDO stands for Clergy Reflection, Education, and Discernment Opportunity. It’s a program […]
A member of the clergy in another diocese has written me about discerning whether to submit an application for bishop – also in another diocese. This priest alleges that “church culture” generally assumes that the bishop’s task is to keep the institution going, and that the vows of clergy are about maintaining the structure. This […]
