On June 22, 2008, the Diocese of California ran a full-page advertisement in the Datebook section of the San Francisco Chronicle proclaiming "Blessings from The Episcopal Church." The ad was created by the diocesan Communications Working Group and was funded by generous donations made by clergy and lay members of the diocese.

This was the first ad in what will be a continued campaign celebrating the recent decision by the California Supreme Court recognizing marriage rights for same-sex couples. "The purpose of the ad is two-fold," said Sean McConnell, communications officer for the diocese. "We are making a public statement that Episcopal Churches in the San Francisco Bay Area respect the dignity of every human being, and we are reaching out to same-sex couples and those who support them, offering them spiritual homes in the churches of our diocese."

An initial gift of $2,500 for the ad campaign came from the Revs. Jonathan and David Abernethy-Deppe. Following that gift, an email went out to clergy in the diocese asking them for their financial support of the campaign. To date, more than $5,000 has been received supporting the campaign. The next placement will be a full-page color ad in the Bay Area Reporter's LGBT Pride special edition. McConnell is in communication with advertising placement companies to see about expanding the campaign to National Public Radio, BART, and other regional transit systems. If you would like to donate to the ad campaign, please contact Sean McConnell This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 415.869.7820. To download a PDF copy of the ad, click on the picture above.

Last summer when the Rev. Steven Strane, of St. Timothy’s, Danville, went on sabbatical leave from his parish, he decided to forego haircuts as a way of marking his time away. After his sabbatical, his hair was noticeably longer. Shortly after his return to active ministry, St. Timothy's was about to host their annual outreach rundraiser and organizers asked Strane if they could put the fate of his hair up for auction.

"On the night of the event," Strane said, "the attendees divided themselves into a "coalition to cut it," and a "coalition to keep it."  The keep it coalition came up with the high bid, and we raised over $5,000 for our three beneficiaries, Options Recovery Services, Operation Second Chance, and GAIA."

On Friday, June 13, six women and men were ordained to the transitional diaconate at Christ Church, Alameda. They ordinands are (from left) Elizabeth Welch, Johnnette Shane, Merry Chan, the Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Michael Barham, Albert Pearson, and Sister Lynne Sharp, CSF.

On Saturday, June 14, the Rev. Beth Foote was ordained to the priesthood, and the Rev. Jonathan Abernethy-Deppe was received as a priest in The Episcopal Church.

Along with some 2,500 other riders and a support crew of 500, Archdeacon Anthony Turney successfully and safely completed the seven-day AIDS LifeCycle 7 Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Inclusive of a few side trips en route to nearby Starbucks’ for necessary sustenance, he traveled a total of almost 550 miles. Anthony says that more importantly, because of the generosity of the family, friends and colleagues who supported him, he raised $8,348.  The total raised by the event was over $11.6 million for HIV/AIDS-related services in San Francisco and Los Angeles..

“The Ride is an extraordinary experience that’s hard to describe,” says Anthony.  “Together, the riders and the “roadies” – all 3,000 of us – demonstrated the power, the resilience, the tenacity and the compassion of the human spirit and what is best about humankind.  We all learned that we were capable of making the seemingly impossible a reality – including climbing hills with names like “Quad Buster,” “The Evil Twins” and “The Wall!” We learned that a group of people, regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, can live harmoniously, respectfully and joyfully. We learned that a group of individuals, when united toward a common goal, can accomplish far more than any of us alone might have otherwise managed. We learned to live in the company of heroes. I am so very grateful for all the encouragement and support I received. It was a deep honor and a great pleasure to make the journey that was AIDS LifeCycle 7.”

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I welcome the ruling of the California Supreme Court affirming the fundamental right of all people to marry. I am writing to you now to recommend a path to use this decision to strengthen our support of our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered sisters and brothers, and our continued witness to God’s inclusive love.

Clergy and lay leaders in the diocese have been working for the rights of LGBT people and for their full inclusion in our Church for more than forty years. Today, we continue to walk a journey that includes:

• Bringing the witness of our LGBT sisters and brothers to this summer’s Lambeth Conference,

• Combating a ballot initiative this November that will attempt to take away the rights recently recognized by the California Supreme Court,

• Providing leadership at next summer's General Convention to bring our marriage practices and theology in line with our fundamental baptismal theology.

For far too long the onus has fallen on marginalized people to bear the burden of inequalities that exist within the Church, and the decision by our state’s Supreme Court has given us the opportunity to level the playing field.

To that end, the Diocese of California seeks to provide, by advocacy and example, a way forward for The Episcopal Church so that the marriage of same-sex couples will be a part of our official marriage rites, without distinction. Although The Episcopal Church does not have canonical rites for same-sex marriage, it is our goal that all couples be treated equally by the Church, as they are equally loved by God.

I therefore provide you with the following pastoral guidelines:

Qom, Iran, is a world apart from the rest of the country. The world center for Shi’a education, Qom is populated by seminarians and clerics; devotion to study of Qur’an is the way of life. The fundamentalist clerics who have ruled Iran since the revolution were all educated in Qom and Ayatollah Khomeini based his opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty from there.

The women of Qom do not openly challenge the covering that is a mark of the Islamic Revolution as they do in Tehran and Isfahan where most women wear their hijab on the back half of their head. In fact, the women of Qom almost all wear the more conservative chador that covers from head to toe.

I was worried that we would not make it to Qom, and I don’t think that many of my traveling companions shared my desire to go to the world’s most important center for Shi’a study. It was the last full day that we would spend in Iran and there was hope that we might have an opportunity to meet with former president Mohammad Khatami. But as we had already learned all too well, simply because our hosts told us it might happen, there wasn’t that great of a chance that it would actually happen. So, I and a few others lobbied for the opportunity to go to Qom. It was not too far from the Imam Khomeini International Airport, and there were religious studies professors there waiting to meet with us.

On Saturday, May 19, I confirmed, received and heard the reaffirmation of  baptismal vows of 109 people at Grace Cathedral -- people coming from congregations all over the Diocese of California, and including a group from the cathedral itself.

The Gospel text for the service was from Luke, and describes Jesus going to his hometown of Nazareth near the beginning of his ministry. He has been moving about the region, healing and teaching, and being recognized as a person who has the authority of God with him.

But in Nazareth Jesus is hampered by the negative regard of people who “know him” too well (meaning not really at all)—he can do very little there in his mission.

I thought about this negative power, and how debilitating it is in our lives, how we are held back and bound by others’ narrowing, limiting images of us, and how we return the favor to them or pass the negativity on.

Destructive as this negative binding power is, we must believe that the liberating power of love is greater. I remembered an exhibit Sheila and I saw at the Yerba Buena Center a couple of months ago, called “The Missing Peace;” 80 artists from around the world focusing on the meaning of the Dalai Lama, what he symbolizes to the artists and to millions of people.

As we were looking at the exhibit, Sheila remarked to me, “Think about how if a whole community believed that any child carried divine capacity for leadership, what could be unlocked within that child, abilities that God created there, but given room by the positive expectations of the community.”

The Rev Jack Schanhaar died peacefully in his sleep May 18 after three years in a board and care home following the death of his partner of more than 30 years. Schanhaar was priest in charge at Redeemer for many years, as well as having served as vicar at St. Aidan's, Bolinas, interim at Holy Innocents, Corte Madera, and occasional supply at St. Francis, Novato. Schanhaar came from St. John the Evangelist, San Francisco, where he also served after his ordination. He was a former Benedictine monk who led many pilgrimages to monasteries in England, France, Italy, Spain. He was the founder of the Benedictine Experience at the Bishop’s Ranch, started in 1985 and now in its 23rd year. Schanhaar was a gentle, grace filled person, and remained so even when he had difficulty understanding what was happening.  In his last days, it seems as if he was preparing himself, since reports are that he seemed more at peace in his surroundings. Information about a memorial service was not available at press time; please see diocal.org for updates. 

I welcome the ruling of the California Supreme Court affirming the fundamental right of all people to marry and establish a family.

All children of God should be afforded the same rights under the law, and this decision recognizes that all Californians, regardless of sexual orientation, have equal access to one of our fundamental human institutions.

This decision gives our church another opportunity to partner with our state to ensure that all families have the support they need to build relationships that strengthen our communities, state and country.

Jesus tried to free his disciples from a narrow definition of what it means to be his follower. In Matthew 10:42, Jesus says “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” God affirms the good in the world outside the boundaries of religious creeds and dogmas. In this spirit, we also affirm and rejoice in this decision by the California Supreme Court precisely because we are Christians.

Clearly, this momentous decision will have ecclesial implications for the Episcopal Diocese of California. I intend to be in prayerful consultation with the people of our diocese to see how we can use this decision to strengthen our support of our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers, and our witness to God’s inclusive love. The Diocese of California will issue an appropriate statement in due course.

The Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of California

Charleston Named Ethnic and Multicultural Missioner and Assistant Bishop

On May 10, 2008, the Diocese of California met at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in special convention to consider the results of the Beloved Community Visioning Process and to discuss and vote on proposed changes to the canons. The special convention voted on three resolutions and three amendments to the proposed canon changes. At the end of the meeting, the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus introduced the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, current president and dean of Episcopal Divinity School, as the new ethnic and multicultural missioner and assistant bishop for the diocese.

After opening the meeting with prayer and a hymn, Andrus delivered an address reporting on the outcomes of the Beloved Community visioning process. The process began with a diocesan-wide meeting at Grace Cathedral on May 5, 2007, and continued with four regional meetings. These five events enabled the diocese to come together as a community and envision what the future of the diocese might look like. More than 800 people participated in the process, both in person and online.

Andrus began his address by describing a number of actions taken by the diocese in the past year toward becoming the Beloved Community, including a comprehensive governance review and entering into a companion diocese relationship with the Diocese of Curitiba in the Province of Brazil. The bishop then identified five areas for the diocese to focus on over the next five years: embodied justice, church vitality, rooted spirituality, organizational development, and inclusive community.

On May 6, 2008, the Rev. Anna Lange-Soto took part in a rally in front of San Francisco City Hall protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that took place around the Bay Area over the weekend and declaring support for San Francisco's efforts to provide services to all its residents regardless of immigration status. The rally was attended by many Bay Area faith groups and others concerned about the treatment of immigrants. During the rally, Lange-Soto read a statement from the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus. The text of the statement appears below in English and Spanish.

Bishop Marc's Statement on Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

One of the most fundamental principles of Christianity is hospitality. Hospitality takes many forms, but at base it is an expression of the way to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. Offering hospitality to the stranger, to the one who is unfamiliar to us, brings us into communion with each other and into communion with God.

This weekend, ICE raided El Balazo restaurants around the Bay Area. Those who follow Christ are called, as a people of faith to radical hospitality. Raids are antithetical to the radical hospitality. ICE raids are as cold as the acronym we use to name them. Raids are often carried out in ways that are neither compassionate nor humane. 

Uno de los principios más fundamentales del cristianismo es la hospitalidad. Hospitalidad adopta muchas formas, pero en base es una expresión de la forma de vivir el evangelio de Jesucristo. Ofrecer hospitalidad a los extraños, al que es desconocido para nosotros, nos lleva a la comunión unos con otros y a comunión con Dios.

Este fin de semana, ICE hizo redadas en los restaurantes El Balazo en el Área de la Bahía. Nosotros, como cristianos y pueblo de fe, somos llamados a una hospitalidad radical. Redadas son completamente opuestas a la hospitalidad radical.


En inglés, la palabra “ice” significa “hielo.” Las redadas de ICE son frías, tal como su nombre, ICE/hielo. Típicamente, las redadas se llevan a cabo de maneras que no son ni compasivas ni humanas.

The Diocese of Washington recently contacted us to share the news that they have proposed the inclusion of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall on the Church's liturgical calendar to the Standing Commission on the Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music. We will learn soon if the Standing Commission will recommend the proposal for consideration at General Convention 2009. Until that time, the Diocese of Washington has recommended that congregations throughout The Episcopal Church consider celebrating services in Marshall's honor during the month of May. Washington's diocese is recommending May 17th as the calendar day honoring Marshall as that is the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The proposal to include Marshall in the Church's liturgical calendar (which would include publication in Lesser Feasts and Fasts) comes from members of St. Augustine's in southwest D.C., the parish Marshall attended after moving to Washington. His wife Cecilia (Cissy) is still a member of St. Augustine's. This article from the May 2007 edition of Washington Window gives a history of the resolution and further details about Marshall's life.

On March 31, 2008, Bishop Marc and Sheila Andrus arrived in Curitiba, Brazil, as guests of the Anglican Diocese of Curitiba – companion to the Diocese of California – and their bishop the Rt. Rev. Naudal Alves Gomes. It was a brief visit, a portion of which Bishop Marc spent at the meeting of the House of Bishops of the Province of Brazil, but the impressions made by the people and sites of Curitiba on the Andruses were deep and lasting.

At California’s annual convention in October of 2007, the diocese overwhelmingly approved a resolution to enter into a companion relationship with the Diocese of Curitiba. The two dioceses will enter a mission partnership, and Andrus has recommended that this partnership be viewed through the lens of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Both Curitiba and California are forming diocesan committees to coordinate and deepen the relationship and to begin to tell their stories, one to the other, within the framework of the MDGs.

MENLO PARK, Calif – April 15, 2008 – The Rev. Michael Spillane, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, died on April 15 from complications of a brain tumor. He was 58.

A memorial service to celebrate Father Mike's life on earth will be held this Saturday, April 19, at 3:00 pm at the church, 330 Ravenswood Ave at Laurel, followed by a festive reception in the courtyard.

Father Mike’s call to become the 17th rector of Trinity last year led him to return to Menlo Park where he’d earned his Masters in Divinity at St. Patrick’s Seminary. He became an Episcopal priest in 1992 and previously served in the Diocese of Idaho.

In an essay Father Mike wrote about his spiritual journey, he talks about an influential priest he met while he was a home beat officer (Bobbie) in London, describing him as “approachable, someone with a sense of humor who liked to kick the soccer ball around.” The description fit him just as well.

In less than 8 weeks, Diocesan Archdeacon, the Venerable Anthony Turney, will ride his bike over 545 miles in just seven days (June 1-7) from San Francisco to Los Angeles as a participant in AIDS/LifeCycle 7.  This will be the fifth time he has participated in the event.

In explaining his motivations for doing the grueling ride, Anthony says, “As was the case in 1999, the first year I did the Ride, and in all the subsequent years I’ve participated, my reasons for taking part in AIDS/LifeCycle 7 remain very simple: I ride to honor the memory of all those who have died of AIDS, especially the 108 loved ones, friends and co-workers of mine. I ride because we still have no cure and millions around the globe are infected. I ride to raise money for essential HIV/AIDS–related programs and services in the Bay Area. I ride because this year in the United States, 40,000+ people will test HIV positive and 50 percent of them will be under 25 years old. Last, but not least, I ride in celebration of my 70th year!

A central part of Anthony’s commitment to this year’s event is his pledge to raise at least $2,500 to support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation:  “I’d love to raise $7,000, again as a gesture of celebration and thanksgiving for my 70th birthday. I can ride the 545 or so miles -- but I need the help of a lot of generous folks to meet my fundraising goal. No amount is too small –- every dollar counts.”

If you would like to help Anthony in his fundraising efforts, you can make your tax-deductible gift on-line using your credit card at: www.aidslifecycle.org/donate/1070

If you send a check to Anthony, please make it out to AIDS LifeCycle, making sure to add the note: “Rider #1070.” 

The St. Luke's chapter of the national Episcopal Peace Fellowship, headed by Barbara Ruffner, marched in downtown Walnut Creek, CA with the "Surge for Peace" rally on Saturday, March 15.  Barbara had a new banner made, for this occasion and to carry in future marches. Holding the banner in the photo (by Henry Bailey), from left to right: Deacon Roxanne Walters, Nancy Dill, Barbara Ruffner, Barbara's daughter Sally Neider (holding the peace symbol), Phil Greer, Flo Rosenberg, Dot Reesor (also a daughter of Barbara's), and the Rev. Anne Cox Bailey. Barbara, Roxanne and other members of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship also carried the banner during the protest at Laurence Livermore Labs on Good Friday morning.

 Reprinted from The Rosmoor News

"It is our desire and our wish that everyone created in God's image with dignity and intrinsic worth should have everything that is essential to human living, such as access to clean water, shelter, clothing, health care and to education. That is our mandate, our God-given mandate, as stewards of God's creation." -- The Most Reverend Winston Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town (Retired)

The climate is changing.  Not only will climate change impact our environment, the land, air and sea, it will affect our health.  In particular, we know that climate change will disproportionately affect vulnerable communities, people living in poverty and in particular climate change will affect the health of our children both in the United States and around the world.  As Christians and Episcopalians, what is our role and responsibility in protecting the health of our neighbors?  This week we continue our Lenten series, For the Beauty of the Earth by exploring the relationship of climate change and health.

What are the impacts?

Just after the Windsor Report came out I noticed that a certain interpretation of the report was already taking on a reality of its own. Just as the report itself, a document produced by dedicated leaders within the Communion but which has taken on a prominence more out of proportion than its sudden appearance on the scene would warrant, the interpretation of the report took on a solidity and reality that seems hard to shake.

In particular, the report was seen as making several demands or prescribing several lines of behavior for the Communion in its internal relations. This interpretation never numbered the recommended exclusion of Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, from "councils of the Communion" in the “official list” of Windsor recommendations. 

Immediately after the Windsor Report was released, I and other bishops pledged to Gene that we would not attend the Lambeth Conference if he were not invited, as a stand of solidarity with him.

For some time now Gene has stated that he thinks all The Episcopal Church bishops should attend, so that as many voices can be at the table as possible. I have accepted this as wise and good counsel.

At the same time, it seems imperative to me that I find some creative way to attend that does not seem to support Gene’s exclusion by silent acquiescence on my part. One solution that is being acted upon is being called “Witness at Lambeth.”

Witness at Lambeth is a piece of the listening process called for from the 1998 Lambeth Conference forward.  It involves bringing the voices of LGBT people from around the Communion to Lambeth so they can tell their life stories to all who will listen. Some of these stories will be narrated in person, while others will be on videotape. I think it will be a moving, important witness, and I hope many will support the effort.

Also, I have come back from this most recent House of Bishops meeting resolved to have a consultation here in the Diocese of California about other ways witness can be carried out at the Lambeth Conference. I want to receive the creative thoughts and dreams of our people in patterning my and our participation in the Lambeth Conference.

Peace,

In February, the Communications Working Group (CWG) at Diocesan House launched a survey on information technology (IT) use in the Diocese of California. The purpose of the survey was to begin assessing the IT capacities and needs of parishes in the diocese. The survey asked for information about how congregations maintain and use membership and pledge information as well as financial data.

The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin has a wonderful new website that includes the agenda for their March 28-29 Special Convention. Be sure to visit if you can and let them know what a wonderful job they are doing. 

On Friday, December 7, 2007, a mouse click launched a new website for the Diocese of California. Reclaiming the old diocesan web address – diocal.org – the new website provides ministry and administrative resources for congregations and lay and clergy leaders inside the diocese and beyond. Because of its dual service to administrative and ministry resources, some at Diocesan House have begun to call the new diocal.org the "Administry Site."

Constructed with the help of church website provider Elexio, diocal.org is a resource to all the working groups and ministries of the diocese. Ministry groups, congregations and organizations will be invited to have a presence on the site, and there are modules that will be added in the near future that will allow for a fully functional online directory, group calendars, HTML newsletters, podcasts, streaming video and other multimedia.

"This is the first of a number of new infrastructure developments that the Communications Working Group is rolling out for the Diocese of California in an attempt to better target the emerging ministry needs that our congregations face," said Communications Officer Sean McConnell of the new diocal.org. Improved data management and targeted communications are slotted for rollout in the near future, and the Communications Working Group is developing a network of congregational communicators to improve information flow between the diocese and its constituent organizations, congregations, schools and ministries.