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Episcopal News

National Cathedral to host Trump, Vance at post-inauguration service as church prepares for new administration

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal leaders and Episcopalians are affirming the church’s long-standing public policy positions and emphasizing Jesus’ Gospel message of love for neighbor, while praying for peace and unity as the Unites States prepares for President-elect Donald Trump to take office for the second time on Jan. ....... The church’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Government Relations has said it remains committed to advocating at the federal level for policies adopted in 65... General Convention and Executive Council resolutions. In addition, church leaders at all levels are affirming the Christian call to “welcome the stranger” as Trump vows to expedite a program of mass deportations. Other Episcopalians are discussing ways to support transgender and nonbinary people who fear increased attacks on their rights and safety. And a day after Trump’s inauguration, the new president and his vice president, J.D. Vance, are expected to attend an interfaith and ecumenical worship service organized by Washington National Cathedral at 11 a.m. Eastern Jan. ...1. Washington Bishop Mariann Budde will preach at the Episcopal cathedral’s event, “A Service of Prayer for the Nation.” National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith also will participate, along with the Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia, The Episcopal Church’s bishop suffragan for armed forces and federal ministries. The service also will be joined by leaders from a diverse group of faith denominations, including Protestant, Mennonite, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist leaders. Participating musicians will include the United States Marine Chamber Orchestra. The post-inauguration service will be a slight departure from the cathedral’s historical practice: it has hosted 1... official inaugural prayer services for various presidents of both parties. Unlike in the past, however, its Jan. ...1 liturgy was not planned in conjunction with the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and rather than focusing on an individual, it is offered for the country at large. The service is not open to the general public because of security concerns but will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s YouTube channel. “We are in a unique moment in our country’s history,” Hollerith said in an online announcement of the service. “This will be a service for all Americans, for the well-being of our nation, for thanksgiving of our democracy and the importance of the core values that must undergird our life together.” Plans for the service were announced in October, before Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November to win the presidency. He is only the second president voted out of office to then return to power four years later. President Joe Biden had intended to run for election but instead ended his campaign last year amid age-related doubts about his health and vitality. Also in the nation’s capital, The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations leads a range of nonpartisan advocacy campaigns following positions adopted by the church’s governing bodies. The office’s staff monitors legislation, coordinates with partner agencies and other denominations, develops relationships with lawmakers and encourages Episcopalians’ activism through its Episcopal Public Policy Network, or EPPN. That work is focused on five primary areas: anti-poverty, migration and refugees, climate and environment, racial reconciliation and justice, and human rights and peacebuilding. “Regardless of the makeup of Congress or the administration, we work with members of Congress from all political parties in our advocacy,” Rebecca Blachly, who leads the office as the church’s senior director of public policy and witness, said in a written statement for this story. “We look forward to working with the 119th Congress and the new administration to advance legislation and policy wherever our positions align. Where they do not, we will work to protect the vulnerable in our communities. “We will continue to lift up and join with the voices of all who will be impacted by harmful policy changes and legislation. We will join with others to try to stop or mitigate harm.” Blachly’s office also mobilizes Episcopalians through its action alerts and provides other tools and resources form them to engage with the same issues. Her office also holds weekly network calls at 1 p.m. Eastern Thursdays. “We invite Episcopalians to join the Episcopal Public Policy Network to become a part of a community of advocates taking action to push for policy change in line with our values,” Blachly said. “We will all be more effective if we join our voices together.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

Georgia Episcopal church founded by Deaconess Alexander receives grant to support historic designation

[Episcopal News Service] The National Park Service has awarded a $......,...5... grant to support adding a historic designation to a Diocese of Georgia church that was founded by Deaconess Anna Alexander, The Episcopal Church’s only Black deaconess. Good Shepherd Episcopal School and Church in Glynn County was one of ...... sites nationwide that received the grants as part of a federal effort to add more properties associated with unrepresented groups to the National Register of Historic Places. The grants will support the survey and nomination of those sites. Alexander is celebrated every year on her feast day, Sept. ...4, which was added to The Episcopal Church’s calendar in ......1.... She was born in 1...65 and spent much of her adult life ministering to poor Black residents of Glynn and McIntosh counties in rural Georgia, particularly through education. She became a deaconess in 19...7 in an era before the church allowed women as priests or deacons. Alexander helped establish Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and its parochial school in Pennick, about 15 miles inland from the Atlantic coast and north of Brunswick. She also established and helped run the St. Cyprian’s School at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Darien, Georgia. Alexander died in 1947 and is buried at Good Shepherd. The Episcopal Church recognized deaconesses from 1......9 until 197..., when General Convention eliminated the order and included women in its canons governing deacons.

Archbishop of York’s statement on the ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas

[Episcopal News Service] Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell released the following statement Jan. 16 on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.  .....................The ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas has been far too long in the making, but it is welcome news for those caught up in this devastating violence. .....................My prayers are with all the families being reunited over the coming days, and for those who are still held in captivity. My prayers too are with the people of Gaza who have suffered such immense destruction, deprivation and displacement. Now must be the time – again, so long overdue – for unfettered aid to reach the people of Gaza, and for the indispensable role of UNRWA to be respected and protected by all parties. May this deal be a precursor to a wider, more durable and just settlement in the region: it must not be a false dawn. .....................Please pray for Archbishop Hosam and our Anglican sisters and brothers in Palestine and Israel, and for all the Christians of the Holy Land as they bear the light of Christ in such dark times. Pray too for the courageous staff of the Anglican Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, and those in their care. Across the West Bank, this war is being felt not just in the daily grievous news from Gaza, but through widespread intensification of the occupation. I pray this deal acts as a catalyst to bring freedom, justice and dignity to the Palestinian people as well as being a small step towards the long term security of both Palestinians and Israelis. .....................We lift before God the peoples of the Holy Land, and for His justice, mercy and peace to be known by all................1... Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

Los Angeles-area Episcopalians who lost building to worship at nearby church as wildfire response continues across diocese

[Diocese of Los Angeles] As San Gabriel Valley Episcopal congregations continue to unite in Eaton fire relief efforts, parishioners of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Altadena, California – where some ...... parish families have lost their homes in addition to their church and school buildings – will begin holding Sunday-morning services on Jan. 19 at nearby St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church in Eagle Rock. The Rev. Carri Patterson Grindon, rector of St. Mark’s, has extended the parish’s gratitude to the Rev. Jaime Edwards-Acton, priest-in-charge at St. Barnabas, for the invitation to hold services regularly in the Eagle Rock sanctuary in northeast Los Angeles. St. Barnabas Church – known as “St. Be’s” – conducts its recurrent weekly worship service on Thursday evenings, which readily allows the sanctuary to be regularly available to the St. Mark’s parish community. “There was already an existing kind of kinship between the two churches that began when St. Barnabas was resurrected for its new chapter some five years ago,” Edwards-Acton told The News, the Diocese of Los Angeles’ weekly newsletter. Edwards-Acton noted that Suzanne Edwards-Acton suggested the invitation to St. Mark’s. “There seems to be a common creative energy and sense of ministry that the two communities share,” he said. “When Carri and I talked, it felt like a no-brainer. I got the feeling that Carri was confident that her community would feel right at home immediately at St. Barnabas. And that filled my heart,” Edwards-Acton said. “I feel so lucky and blessed that our St. Barnabas community is able to play a role in St. Mark‘s literal rising from the ashes.” Los Angeles Bishop John Harvey Taylor added his gratitude for the collaboration and “the Holy Spirit’s leading” that has allowed the Eagle Rock church to say to St. Mark’s, “Come on down... you’ve got a church on Sunday!” Taylor joined St. Mark’s online for a Jan. 1... service via Zoom. His reflections on the service are here. Earlier that day, he attended the ... a.m. Eucharist at St. Augustine by-the-Sea in Santa Monica, which welcomed parishioners of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades, some 75% of whom have lost homes in the firestorm that claimed parish school buildings and two rectories but left the landmark church standing. Meanwhile, the Rev. Melissa McCarthy, the Diocese of Los Angeles’ canon to the ordinary, joined Sunday worship at the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, as the parish rallied to support four of its own families whose homes were lost or significantly damaged in the Eaton fire. Marking the annual feast of the Baptism of the Lord, on Jan. 1... this year, the morning liturgy included rites of baptism for a young parishioner, a meaningful sign of faith as the congregation moves forward together, McCarthy said. In northwest Pasadena, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church held services in their historic Fair Oaks Avenue sanctuary, rallying around four parish families that have lost their homes, and launching the ‘DENA online fund for fire relief donations. At All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, with some ...... homes of congregants lost, Sunday services were held Jan. 1..., and large-scale distribution of emergency items continued from the parish’s Sweetland Hall. The church campus had sheltered some 1...... people overnight on Jan. 7 after the fire broke out. In Sierra Madre, power has been restored at the historic Church of the Ascension, and the congregation is assisting neighbors without electricity. To date, the Eaton fire has burned more than 14,......... acres and is at 45% containment after destroying more than 7,......... structures.

San Joaquin diocese to hold first formal bishop election in decades

[Diocese of San Joaquin] The Rt. Rev. David C. Rice Jan. 16 announced plans to retire in spring .........6, prompting the Fresno, California-based Diocese of San Joaquin to begin a bishop search. Rice was elected as San Joaquin’s bishop diocesan in ......17 after serving as provisional bishop starting in ......14. He had previously served as the diocesan bishop in the Diocese of Waiapu in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand. San Joaquin’s new bishop will be the sixth for the diocese since Louis Sanford was elected its first missionary bishop in 191.... The Diocese of San Joaquin has worked hard to heal and rebuild since .........7, when former Bishop John David Schofield led many congregations out of The Episcopal Church. Those who remained have moved out of isolation into re-engagement with the wider church under the leadership of Rice and former provisional bishops, the Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb and the Rt. Rev. Chet Talton, according to the announcement. Today, the Diocese of San Joaquin – which spans much of California’s Central Valley and portions of the eastern Sierra Nevada range and Mojave Desert –  has 19 active congregations, offering ministries that address the unique needs of their respective communities, including feeding ministries, services for the unhoused and outreach to Latinos and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The diocese also has commissions with lay and ordained members that focus on migrant justice, racial justice and creation care. Rice, who has chaired and served on the Environmental Stewardship and Care of Creation Committee at General Convention, led the effort to migrate nearly all churches in the diocese to renewable solar power. He also fostered unique ministry trips such as a bike tour to raise funds to fight human trafficking, a .........-mile walk to promote advocacy for immigrants and a tour of sites throughout the diocese that relate to climate, migrant and racial justice. Looking ahead, the standing committee has formed a nominating committee with diverse representation to select final candidates for a new bishop. The committee is working closely with the Rev. Brian Nordwick – a consultant from the San Jose, California-based Diocese of El Camino Real – to ensure the election process adheres to best practices and is canonically correct and spiritually faithful. The nominating committee recently posted its diocesan profile online.

Congregation’s furniture ministry distributes hundreds of beds each year to families in need

[Episcopal News Service] Partners in Housing Transition is a long-running furniture ministry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Of all the furniture and household items that its staff and volunteers put in the hands of deserving families throughout the year, the most important is a place to sleep. The ministry provides new or gently used mattresses and frames, pillows and sheets – all free of charge to more than ......... families a year in Kalamazoo County. “Every family member that is referred to us, we will make sure they have a complete bed,” Executive Director Carla Baublis, one of the ministry’s two paid staff members, told Episcopal News Service. For a ministry that dates back nearly ...5 years, that adds up to a lot of beds, including nearly 6...... in .........4 alone. Partners in Housing Transition was founded in 1991 by Louise Dunbar, a parishioner at St. Luke’s who was volunteering at the time at an agency that helped homeless and low-income residents obtain federal housing vouchers. “Folks were getting their housing and not a stick of furniture,” Baublis said. So, Dunbar pulled the seats out of her family van, loaded it with donated furniture and began making deliveries around town. She served about ...... families that first year. St. Luke’s soon began letting Dunbar store the growing inventory of donated furniture in the church basement. Then, about ...... years ago, St. Luke’s launched a capital campaign for building upgrades, including additional space in the basement and a freight elevator, allowing the furniture ministry to expand. Today, the ministry’s two part-time employees – Baublis and an assistant – and two regular volunteers typically serve about ......... families a year, with support from the congregation, community donors and grant providers. “Folks are always really happy to give,” the Rev. Randall Warren, St. Luke’s rector, told ENS. “It lets us get furniture to people who need it.” Partners in Housing Transition has its own board of directors but isn’t incorporated as an independent nonprofit. It remains a ministry of St. Luke’s, an example of the congregations’ commitment to what Warren calls “spirituality in action.” The congregation, Warren said, has a long history of “enacting the love of Christ for those in need.” Baublis personally knows the value of ensuring families have restful places to sleep, particularly families with young children. She previously taught elementary school students in metro Atlanta and rural Massachusetts, where she observed up close the effects of economic disparities on student success rates. “The kids that do the best are the ones that have the most,” she said, and having a comfortable bed is crucial to success in the classroom. “I can’t teach you to read if you can’t stay awake at the reading table.” Baublis began attending St. Luke’s in ............ and within a few years was volunteering with Partners in Housing Transition. She has served as director since ............. Baublis now works with ...... social service agencies in Kalamazoo County whose case workers refer clients in need of beds and other furniture. Social media posts and local news reports help to get the word out about the ministry’s need for donations, which come in throughout the year – often from people downsizing their own home or disposing of the furniture of a recently deceased loved one. “We collect furniture that folks no longer want,” Baublis said. Commonly donated items include couches, tables, lamps, dressers, silverware, mixers, toasters and other small appliances. All donated mattresses are zipped in encasements for protection and hygienic safety. Mattresses and furniture must be free of rips, tears, pet stains and smoke smells. The moving crew inspects them and has final say on whether the items are in good enough condition to take back to the church’s storage area. “We’re not a free haul-away service,” Baublis said. Many used mattresses still have plenty of life in them. Baublis commonly cites hotel mattresses when reassuring clients who are hesitant. Would you consider spending a night in a hotel? “Someone has slept on that bed,” she said. The ministry’s inventory got a big boost a few years ago when a local college, Western Michigan University, was rebuilding some of its dormitories and agreed to sell all the old dorm beds for about $...... each rather than send them to the landfill. Baublis estimates she secured at least 4...... frames and 6...... mattresses from that agreement, keeping the ministry supplied for about 1... months. Baublis lucked into another windfall about a year ago when an Ann Arbor hotel was swapping out its older beds, which otherwise would have been junked. She picked up about 17... mattresses for the cost of transporting them to Kalamazoo, about $...,.......... And if she runs out of donated mattresses, she buys them new. Mattress Mart in Kalamazoo allows her to buy its mattresses at cost, or a little more than $115 for a twin and $15... for a full. She orders new $75-1...... frames on Amazon, so they are delivered right to St. Luke’s. The metal frames don’t require a box spring. She also rents off-site storage space for items that overflow the church basement. “I don’t want to turn down an offer of furniture,” she said, so if a purchase or donation isn’t immediately needed, it gets put in storage for later. The church pays for the insurance on the ministry’s 14-foot box truck, as well as the ministry’s electric and phone bills. The St. Luke’s outreach committee also sets aside some money from of its fund each year to support the ministry. The rest of the ministry’s cash budget, about $.........,......... a year, is funded by grants. The ministry’s staff and volunteers also ensure families feel both cared for and empowered. When a family is referred to Baublis, she gives them a call to schedule an appointment to come to the church and see the inventory of furniture. “We really work hard to make it look like [.....................]