Episcopal NewsWWW.EPISCOPALNEWS.COM SERVING THE SIX-COUNTY DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES

T H E

Episcopal NewsFALL 2012

Re-envisioning church 77th General Convention looks to the future

2 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

J. Jon BrunoBishop of Los Angeles

JOHN

NY

BUZZ

ERIO

F R O M T H E B I S H O P

A new season

t his fall will bring us new opportunities to gather as congregations and the diocesan community to celebrate and give thanks for

God’s presence and working in our lives. Mary and I are greatly looking forward to seeing you person-ally as we plan to return to visitations and gath-erings starting in October. We are so thankful for your constant prayers and for good news from my medical team that has me feeling in A-1 condition both physically and spiritually. As this issue of the News goes online, I will be completing my fourth

and final round of chemotheraphy at the City of Hope, followed by three weeks of rest and recu-peration. My doctors have confirmed that the acute monostatic leukemia with which I was diagnosed on April 26 remains in full remission, and I am so deeply grateful for all the ways in which all of you in the diocesan and interfaith communities continue to travel with me on this journey of healing.

A new season awaits us as in ministry as the new pro-gram year opens this fall. We will meet in Diocesan

Convention on December 8 in San Bernardino (see related article on page 3) for a one-day gathering designed to renew us in mission under the theme “Serving Together in Abundant Vineyards.” We will have opportunities to focus on strengthening our shared ministries, especially offering new re-sources for congregations in areas of stewardship, communication, and mission outreach.

Also in focus are our companion relationships with both the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Dio-cese of El Salvador. During my recent hospital stays I have had time to reflect especially on the needs of others undergoing medical treatment — and particularly the current situation at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza where cuts in international aid are adversely affecting the care of all people there without regard to religious or ethnic background. I was encouraged that the General Convention ad-opted our Los Angeles-sponsored resolution calling all Episcopalians to work for the support of Al Ahli Hospital, and I hope you will join me in this work as part of our Jerusalem-Los Angeles companion diocese relationship.

Please consider making the weekend of Septem-ber 29-30 (the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels) a time of prayer and fundraising for this deserving institution to continue its 130-year history of service. (For information on an upcoming benefit luncheon,

please see the related article on page 3.)Again, thank you, and may God’s healing

power be known to us even more deeply as we enter this new season. ?

THE

Episcopal NewsPublication of the Diocese of Los Angeles. Serving readers since 1898.

EditorJanet Kawamotoeditor@ladiocese.org

CorrespondentThe Rev. Patricia McCaughanrevpatmccaughan@aol.com

Art DirectorMolly Ruttan-Moffatwww.mollyruttan.com

Editorial and Advertising OfficeCathedral Center of St. Paul 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles 90026213.482.2040email: news@ladiocese.org

The Episcopal News (ISSN 0195-0681) is published bi-monthly by the Program Group on Communications and Public Affairs of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90026.

Subscription price: $15 per year.

VOLUME 62, NUMBER 4

The Episcopal News Update is published by email each Wednesday. To subscribe, send a request to news@ladiocese.org

For weekly news and calendar updates online, visit the Episcopal News website at www.episcopalnews.com

By J. Jon Bruno

Save the dateSeptember 29-30

The Feast of St. Michael and All AngelsSee page 3 for details

On the Cover: Scenes from General Convention, held in Indianapolis July 5 - 13. 1. A street decal, one of many bearing the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission. 2. A convention-goer checks her worship bulletin. 3. The second Mark. 4. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori joins deaf congregants in signing

“Alleluia.” 5. Participants in the opening Eucharist render the hymn “Joyful, joyful we adore thee” in American Sign Language. 6. The House of Bishops in session. 7. Bread is offered during a celebration of the Eucharist. 8. Mark 5. 9. A lay eucharistic minister administers the cup. 10. The Indiana Convention Center, site of the triennial meeting. 11. Mark 3. 12. The cathedral of the Indianapolis-based Diocese of Indiana. 13. Mark 4. 14. Members of the House of Deputies meet informally. Photo 4/Janet Kawamoto. Photo 12/Bob Williams. Other photos/Mary Frances Schjonberg, Episcopal News Service.

1 2 3 4

5

141312

111098

76

My doctors have confirmed that the acute

monostatic leukemia with which I was

diagnosed on April 26 remains in full remission,

and I am so deeply grateful for all the ways in

which all of you in the diocesan and interfaith

communities continue to travel with me on

this journey of healing.

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 3

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori learns about the ministry of Ahli Arab Hospital from its director Suhaila Tarazi. Jefferts Schori visited Gaza and the hospital in March 2008.

ENS

PHO

TO/M

ATTH

EW D

AVIE

S

Dec. 8 Diocesan ConventionThis year only, it’s a week later and a day shorter

I n a temporary break with longstanding tradition, the annual convention of the

Diocese of Los Angeles will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Orange Show, lo-cated at 689 South “E” Street in San Ber-nardino.

The change of venue, the date a week later than usual and the one-day conven-tion schedule are due to renovations being carried out at the Riverside Convention Center, which has hosted the diocesan gathering for many years.

The theme for this year’s gathering is “Serving Together in Abundant Vine-yards.” Bishop J. Jon Bruno will call the convention to order at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 8 in the Orange Pavilion; registration will open at 7:30 a.m. The meeting will con-clude by 6 p.m.

Lunch will be served in the Citrus Build-ing nearby; business will be conducted dur-ing the meal. Lunch tickets ($25.50 each) may be purchased through the Secretary of Convention’s office; reservation forms will be available on the convention web page, www.ladiocese.org/convention/home.html, beginning Sept. 4. The lunch entree is a vegetarian quiche; gluten-free options are also available upon request. Gallery seat-ing will be available for those who wish to listen to the lunchtime business session.

Those who wish to stay overnight near the convention site may be accommodat-ed at convention rates in the usual hotels in Riverside, including the Marriott and the Mission Inn, about a 15-minute drive from the Orange Show.

Forms and notices concerning housing (for clergy and delegates only), nomina-tions for diocesan office, youth participa-tion and childcare, along with maps, di-rections and parking information for the Orange Show venue are also available on the convention website.

Arrangements for the annual series of pre-convention deanery meetings are be-ing made. A partial schedule is available on the website, and will be updated as dates and locations are finalized. ?

Bishop J. Jon Bruno has extended an invitation to the Diocese of Los An-

geles to lend financial support for Al Ahli Hospital, Gaza, in the Diocese of Jerusa-lem, which suffered a severe financial set-back when a United Nations agency with-drew its funding in June.

The dioceses of Los Angeles and Jerusa-lem share a companion relationship.

To assist the hospital, Bruno and the Order of the Jerusalem Cross — Episco-palians of the diocese who have traveled on pilgrimage to the Holy Land — will sponsor an interfaith benefit luncheon, a “Feast of All Angels,” on Saturday, Sept. 29 at the Church of Our Saviour, 535 W. Roses Road, San Gabriel.

The luncheon will be served at 12 noon, preceeded by an 11:30 a.m. reception. For reservations, email by Sept. 10 to bishops office@ladiocese.org. Contributions of $100 per ticket may be mailed in advance to the bishop’s office at the Cathedral Center, 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los An-geles 90026.

Bruno also has asked congregations to consider planning related financial ingath-erings for Sunday, Sept. 30. For informa-tion, call 213.482.2040, ext. 240 or email bishopsoffice@ladiocese.org.

On June 1 the United Nations Relief and Works Agency announced it would no longer fund the hospital, which has provided primary and emergency health care to the people of Gaza for 130 years. UNRWA’s decision cut the hospital’s bud-

get by approximately $1 million per year, or nearly half. Although UNRWA recently announced that it would extend funding support for the hospital for six months, the financial need remains urgent

During its July 5 - 13 meeting in In-dianapolis, General Convention adopted Resolution B017, proposed by Bruno and Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce and Mary D. Glasspool, to encourage support for the Gaza hospital through fundraising and advocacy. In Resolution B019, con-vention also affirmed positive investment “as a necessary means to create a sound economy and a sustainable infrastruc-ture” in the Palestinian Territories (see story on page 5).

Bishop Suheil Dawani said in a press release that the Episcopal Diocese of Jeru-salem is “absolutely committed” to keep-ing the hospital open … [but] we know that we need to move quickly to help the hospital transition to a different model, so that it is not financially dependent on UNRWA from 2013 and so that donors can have confidence to continue to invest in equipment and programs.”

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Sch-ori welcomed the news about the bridging contract. “This offers the Diocese of Jeru-salem a slim window in which to develop funding for 2013 and beyond,” she said. “It will be challenging work, but I have abundant hope that partners from around the world will rally to support this essential and transformative ministry of healing.”

—Episcopal News Service reporting by Matthew Davies.

‘All Angels’ luncheon to support work of Anglican hospital in Gaza

N E W S

4 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

eneral Convention has called on the Episcopal Church to re-imagine its structure, taken historic steps towards full inclusion, endorsed positive investment in the Palestinian Territories, and reaffirmed its commitment to building Anglican

Communion relationships while declining to take a position on the Anglican Covenant.

Based on the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission, the budget for the Episcopal Church in the 2013-2015 triennium was adopted unanimous-ly by the 77th General Convention July 11.

The budget is balanced at $111,516,032, com-pared to $111,808,350 for the current triennium, and comes with a small surplus of $30,000. (The full budget document may be found online in PDF format at http://bit.ly/PHKbco.)

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and outgoing President of the House of Deputies Bon-nie Anderson addressed the media at a closing news conference July 12.

At this convention, “you have seen the Episcopal Church not only of the future, but of today, in the presence of young adults, a more significant num-ber than we’ve seen in a long time, people of many nations and tribes and language traditions,” said Jefferts Schori, noting that more than 40 interna-tional guests attended convention. “The Episcopal Church is healthy, it’s becoming healthier, and it’s poised for an even more significant impact on the world around us. There’s no stopping us. Watch out, world. We’re coming.”

Anderson, who now steps down as House of Deputies president, said it has been a great con-vention and that the deputies, 44 percent of whom were new, were extremely well prepared.

General Convention, which met July 5-12 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, is com-posed of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, which includes clergy and laity.

Representing the Diocese of Los Angeles were Bishops Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce and Mary D. Glasspool, as well as clergy deputies Lester Mack-enzie, Altagracia Perez, Susan Russell and Cindy Voorhees and lay deputies Mimi Grant, Kathryn Nishibayashi, Dan Valdez (deputation chair) and Ja-net Wylie. Also present in Indianapolis were clergy alternate deputy Jim Newman, lay alternates Joanne O’Donnell, Jim White and Diane Berry, as well as delegates to the Episcopal Church Women’s Trien-nial and other related meetings, diocesan staff mem-bers, volunteers and visitors.

The House of Bishops broke into applause, whis-tles and laughter July 6 at the sound of Bishop Jon Bruno’s voice. Bruno was undergoing treatment for leukemia — now in remission — and was unable to attend the General Convention, but dialed in that day to greet his fellow bishops. “It’s the first time since Louisville (in 1973) that I haven’t been at a General Convention,” he told the house. “I miss it and never thought I would say that.”

But, he added, he has every intention of returning. “You haven’t gotten rid of me yet!” he joked.

He thanked the bishops for their prayers and con-cern for him and his wife Mary, noting especially the support of the presiding bishop, who responded, “We love you both as well. I’m reminded that at your first several conventions you were responsible for security. I think you’re still doing some of that work ... God bless you, Jon.”

Structural reformOf the almost 400 resolutions submitted to Gen-

eral Convention more than 90 related to structural reform. Most of those resolutions were similar in nature and it was the work

I N D I A N A P O L I S 2 0 1 2

At top: A major part of General Convention’s

business was determining a budget

for the next three years. The first hearing by the Committee on

Program, Budget & Finance, held on July 4, one day before the

official opening of General Convention,

drew a standing-room-only crowd.

Above right: Indianapolis gave

Episcopalians a warm welcome as

Convention began. Temperatures and humidity remained

high for the duration of the meeting.

Re-envisioning church for the 21st century

By Matthew Davies g77th General Convention

(continued next page)

MAR

Y FR

ANCE

S SC

HJO

NBE

RGJA

NET

KAW

AMO

TO

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 5

GENERAL CONVENTION (continued from page 4)

Affirming economic investment and a two-state solution for Israeli-Pales-

tinian peace, Episcopal Church leaders on July 5 welcomed Anglican Bishop in Jeru-salem Suheil Dawani to Indianapolis for the 77th General Convention.

“Bishop Bruno and I are very grateful for your concern and interest in the Dio-cese of Jerusalem,” said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori at an evening re-ception she co-hosted in partnership with Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno and the American Friends of the Episcopal Dio-cese of Jerusalem.

“We hope that we can encourage this church to be supportive of the Bishop of Jerusalem in his very difficult ministry there. We are searching for a just solution

for all people there and we continue to believe that that’s about a two-state solution, that it’s about all of the people of the land of the holy one … and our interference is not helpful.

“Our job is to be supportive and en-couraging for people who are living on the ground there,” she said. “I really crave your support in that direction. I crave your prayers and support for the ministry of the Diocese of Jerusalem.”

Positive economic investment in Israel-Palestine is of utmost importance espe-cially for Al Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza, which is seeking, as an institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, to meet more than a $1

Bishop Mary Glasspool of Los Angeles, Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the Rev. Deborah Dresser and Anne Lynn, president and executive director, respectively, of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, attended a reception in Dawani’s honor on July 5. The event, held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis, was hosted by Bishop J. Jon Bruno (represented by Glasspool), the presiding bishop and AFEDJ.

(continued on page 19)

of the structure committee at convention to consider the legislation and make its rec-ommendations to the house.

Applause and cheers erupted July 11 as Resolution C095, which calls for creation of a task force to re-imagine the workings of the Episcopal Church in the 21st centu-ry, sailed unanimously through the House of Bishops. A day earlier, deputies also had passed the resolution unanimously.

The legislation creates a special task force of up to 24 people who will gather ideas in the next two years from all levels of the church about possible reforms to its structures, governance and administra-tion. Its work will culminate in a special gathering of people from every diocese to hear what recommendations the task force plans to make to the 78th General Conven-tion. Its final report is due by November 2014.

Bishop Stacy Sauls, chief operating offi-cer for the Episcopal Church, praised the work of both the structure committee and convention.

“My hope has always been that we would begin to have a conversation and the church embraced that. The conversa-tion became a movement of hope for the future of the church.”

He added that the people of Episcopal Church have re-alized — and the institution-al is getting it — “that we are standing on the brink of an unprecedented moment; have seen it as opportunity rather than threat.”

BudgetThe spending portion of the budget for

the next triennium is allocated according to the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission, and the categories of administra-tion and governance. The five marks are:

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers

3. To respond to human need by loving service

4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society

5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

The budget assumes $73.5 million in commitments from the church’s dioces-es, nearly $4 million less than that in the current triennium. That total is based on keeping at 19 percent the amount that the

church asks dioceses to contribute annu-ally to the church-wide budget.

Same-gender blessingsIn a historic move, convention autho-

rized provisional use of a rite for blessing same-gender unions. “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant” rite will be available for use starting Dec. 2 (the first Sunday of Advent), but clergy will need the permission of their bishop under the terms of

The Rev. Gay Jennings, left, of the Diocese of Ohio was elected to a three-year term as president of the House of Deputies. Byron Rushing of Massachusetts, right, was elected to a concurrent term as vice- president. Photos/Mary Frances Schjonberg, Janet Kawamoto

Gaza hospital, 2-state solution central to support for Jerusalem dioceseBy Pat MacCaughan and Bob Williams

(continued next page)

JAN

ET K

AWAM

OTO

6 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

the resolution.The resolution calls on the Standing

Commission on Liturgy and Music “to conduct a review process over the next triennium, making clear that this is a work in progress,” the Rev. Ruth Meyers, deputy of the Diocese of Chicago, told the deputies. She chaired the convention Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music Committee’s subcommittee on blessings and the SCLM.

The resolution directs the SCLM to in-clude “diverse theological perspectives in the further development of the theologi-cal resource” and to invite responses from throughout the church as well as from the Anglican Communion and the church’s ecumenical partners.

The resolution states that, under exist-ing canons, clergy can decline to preside at a blessing liturgy and says that no one “should be coerced or penalized in any manner, nor suffer any canonical dis-

abilities” for objecting to or supporting the 77th General Convention’s action on blessings.

Gender identity, expressionTwo resolutions passed by convention

offer support for the transgender com-munity by adding gender expression and identity to two canons that prevent dis-crimination. One makes clear that the ordination discernment process is open to them, and another guarantees their equal place in the life, worship and governance of the church.

Following action on same-gender bless-ings and transgender rights, the majority of the Diocese of South Carolina’s deputies left the General Convention July 11 be-cause, in the words of its remaining clergy deputy, the gathering had passed resolu-tions that violate the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church.

However, that deputy, the Very Rev.

John B. Burwell, told Episcopal News Ser-vice, “We are not leaving the Episcopal Church.”

Positive investmentConvention overwhelmingly supported

a resolution on positive investment in the Palestinian Territories. But the bishops agreed to postpone indefinitely a conversa-tion on corporate engagement.

Resolution B019 affirms positive invest-ment “as a necessary means to create a sound economy and a sustainable infra-structure” in the Palestinian Territories. It also calls on the church to support “the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian study on peace with justice in the Middle East,” and produce an annotated bibliography of re-sources.

Resolution C060, which called on the church to engage “in corporate social re-sponsibility by more vigorous and public corporate en-

WORSHIP was a major part of General Convention, with Eucharist celebrated each day. Clockwise from left: Bishop Diane Bruce, surrounded by colleagues, attends the Sunday Eucharist and United Thank Offiering Ingathering on July 8, where Lynn Headley (above left) called forward Province VIII UTO representatives to add their dioceses’ offerings; Mary Crist of the Diocese of Los Angeles and Bishop David Bailey of Navajo-land prepare to preach and celebrate, respectively, at a July 9 service in honor of indigenous ministries; House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson takes part in the July 8 Sunday Eucharist; Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preaches at the Sunday Eucharist. Photos/Pat McCaughan and Janet Kawamoto

GENERAL CONVENTION (continued from page 5)

(continued next page)

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 7

gagement with companies in the church’s investment portfolio that contribute to the infrastructure of the Occupation,” was tabled after Bishop Sean Rowe of Northwestern Pennsylvania called for the conversation to be postponed indefinitely. The deputies had passed that resolution on July 9, but it would have required the bishops’ consent.

Anglican Covenant, Continuing IndabaConvention also affirmed its commit-

ment to building relationships across the Anglican Communion, especially through the Continuing Indaba program, and to decline to take a position on the Anglican Covenant.

After considering eight resolutions, the General Convention’s committee on world mission recommended adoption of two resolutions on Anglican Com-munion relationships and the Anglican Covenant, a document that initially had been intended as a way to bind Anglicans globally across cultural and theological differences.

Connecticut Bishop Ian Douglas, chair of the World Mission Committee, told ENS following the vote that the resolu-tions are “a genuine pastoral response because we are not of one mind, and to push a decision at this time would cause hurt and alienation in our church on both sides and instead we chose to stay in the conversation.”

The Rev. Gay Jennings of Ohio was elected to serve as the next president of

the House of Deputies and Byron Rushing of Massachusetts — nominated by clergy deputy Altagracia Perez of the Diocese of Los Angeles — as the next vice president. Each will serve a three-year term beginning at the end of General Convention.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Sch-ori appointed Bishop Diane Bruce an as-sistant secretary of the House of Bishops, and the convention elected her to a six-year term as a trustee of the Church Pen-sion Fund.

Jefferts Schori appointed Bishop Mary Glasspool to serve on the court of review, the Episcopal Church’s highest ecclesiasti-cal court, along with Bishops Michael Mil-liken of Western Kansas and Scott Mayer of Northwest Texas. Province VIII elected Glasspool to the committee for the nomi-nation of a presiding bishop, to be elected at the 2015 General Convention.

More legislative actionOther legislation that convention passed

includes:

Sudan: Resolution A019, re-affirming advocacy support for peace in Sudan.

Release of Cuban prisoners: Resolution A021, calling for the release of all in Cuban prisons for religious activities or peaceful advocacy of political change in the Republic of Cuba; and to support ad-vocacy efforts for the humane treatment and pastoral care of four Cuban nation-als convicted of spying for the government

of the Republic of Cuba, who are serving prison sentences in United States.

Ecumenism: Resolution A036, which commends the 11-year relationship of full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and asks the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee to ad-dress areas where Episcopal and Lutheran practices differ, especially around the mat-ter of who can preside at Holy Commu-nion and the role of deacons.

Studying marriage: Resolution A050, au-thorizing a task force to study marriage. It calls for creation of a 12-member task force to study marriage, including needs for pastoral responses by clergy for same-sex couples in states where civil marriage is legal, as well as issues “raised by chang-ing societal and cultural norms and legal structures.”

Prayer Book: Resolution A059, revis-ing the Holy Week readings in the Prayer Book to correspond with those in the Re-vised Common Lectionary;

Poverty and justice: Resolution A135, a compilation of several other resolutions that responds to issues of poverty and injustice. It commits the church over the next three years to “teaching, preaching, organizing, advocating, and building mu-tually transformative relationships with those who are poor to focus our hearts and the mission

PHOTO OP: As is traditional at General Convention, the House of Deputies’ rules of order were suspended for a few minutes before the beginning of one afternoon session to allow deputation photos to be taken. Present from the Diocese of Los Angeles, from left, were Bishop Catherine Roskam, retired bishop suffragan of the Diocese of New York, now resident in the diocese; Mimi Grant, the Rev. Cindy Voorhees, Bishop Suffragan Mary Glasspool; Canon Janet Wylie, Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce; the Rev. Canon Susan Russell, Kathryn Nishibayashi and Dan Valdez, deputation chair. Not pictured are clergy deputies Lester Mackenzie and Altagracia Perez. Also attending the convention were lay alternate deputies Joanne O’Donnell, Jim White and Diane Berry and clergy alternate Jim Newman.

GENERAL CONVENTION (continued from page 6)

JAN

ET K

AWAM

OTO

(continued next page)

8 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

of our congregations and dioceses on re-ducing poverty and increasing economic and racial justice.” It also calls for every meeting that takes place in the church to include time for prayer and reflection “on how our work engages issues of poverty and economic and racial justice networks” in order to “cultivate mindfulness about poverty in our communities and world.”

Monitoring women, other underrepresent-ed groups: Resolution A144, requiring the tracking of the ratio of women to men in bishop election processes, along with ra-cial and ethnic minorities, and encourag-ing dioceses to strive for greater diversity in candidates.

Support for Gaza hospital: Resolution B017, calling on the church to support the Diocese of Jerusalem’s Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza with fundraising and advocacy af-ter the United Nations Relief and Works Agency cut its financial aid, slashing the

hospital’s budget nearly in half. The reso-lution was proposed by Bishops Bruno, Bruce and Glasspool of the Diocese of Los Angeles, which has a companion relation-ship with the Diocese of Jerusalem (see re-lated story on page 3).

Reconciliation or dissolution of an Epis-copal relationship: Resolution B021, which amends the canons to provide a mecha-nism for addressing disagreement in the pastoral relationship between a diocese and its bishop.

Denominational Health Plan: Resolution B026, to give dioceses and parishes an additional three years to meet the require-ment that they provide parity in health insurance cost-sharing between lay and clergy employees. That deadline now is ex-tended until Dec. 31, 2015. Dioceses and parishes still must offer health insurance to employees through the Church Medical Trust by the end

L.A. PEOPLE AT GENERAL CONVENTION. 1. Loyce Hill of Church of the Advent, Los Angeles, and Marie Greatorex of St. John’s Church, Costa Mesa, were among the diocese’s delegates to the Episcopal Church Women’s Triennial meeting, held concurrently with General Convention. Greatorex was honored at the meeting as a “Distinguished Woman.” 2. Girls Friendly Society representative Margaret Nolde of St. John’s, Costa Mesa, assisted by Janice Mangangey of Holy Trinity & St. Benedict Church, Alhambra, gave a presentation on GFS to the Triennial meeting. 3. Shawn Evelyn, chair of the Program Group on Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Diocese of Los Angeles, pictured with L.A. Deputy Kathryn Nishibayashi, participated in General Conven-tion’s Young Adult Festival (YAF). 4. Canon Peter Bergstrom, retiring executive director of Camp Stevens, staffs the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers booth in the Exhibit Hall. He addressed a July 7 afternoon session of the House of Bishops, urging them to be proactive because “camping is a gateway into the church.” 5. The Rev. Canon Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Church, Pasadena, gives the keynote address at a reception for The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) on July 6. 6. Bishop Suffragan Mary Glasspool was celebrant at the Integrity Eucharist on July 9. Photos/Pat McCaughan (1,3), Janet Kawamoto (2, 4, 5), Sharon Sheridan (6).

GENERAL CONVENTION (continued from page 7)

(continued next page)1

2

3

4

5 6

GENERAL CONVENTION CONNECTIONSu Petra Barragan, a member of diocesan staff and St. Bartholomew’s Church, Pico Rivera, presented a workshop to the Triennial meeting in Indianapolis, to which she was a delegate.

u Norris Battin of St. Michael & All Angels, Church, Corona del Mar, staffed the Compass Rose Society booth at General Convention.

u Isaiah Brown, Shaniqua Jones and Brandon Morales of Church of the Advent, Los Angeles, participated in the SOUL Conference in Indianapolis July

5-8. The annual event pro-vides a place for youth and young adult Episcopalians of African descent to meet and grow together in rela-tionship with one another and Christ.

u Christine Budzowski of Holy Nativity Church, Westchester, was elected vice president for commu-nications of Daughters of the King during the DOK’s meeting prior to General Convention.

u Clifford Chally of Los Angeles, designer of vestments and liturgical furnishings, had a booth in the exhibit hall at General Convention.

u Canon Randy Kimmler, a member of Holy Spirit Fellowship of Los Angeles and canon for vocations on the diocesan staff, served as liturgist for the Integrity Eucharist.

u The Rev. Glenn Libby, chaplain at USC and UCLA, was elected to the board of trustees of Church Divinity School of the Pacific during the Province 8 Synod meeting July 3 in Indianapolis.

u Rogena Schuyler Silverman of Holy Nativity, Westchester, was editor of Triennial Today, journal of the ECW meeting.

u The Rev. JoAnn Weeks, vicar of Grace Church, Moreno Valley, gave a spirituality workshop at the Triennial.

u Juan Valles and Katie Mishler of of St. Mark’s Church, Downey, participat-ed in General Convention’s Young Adult Festival (YAF). ?

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 9

of 2012. It also calls the Medical Trust to continue to explore “more equitable shar-ing of health care premium costs.”

Access to Holy Baptism, Holy Commu-nion: Resolution C029, affirming the Episcopal Church’s teaching that Baptism is the norm for those who wish to receive Holy Communion.

Relocating Episcopal Church Center: Res-olution D016, to approve a move away from, but did not authorize the sale of, the Episcopal Church Center headquar-ters at 815 Second Avenue in New York.

Establish development office: Resolution D025, establishing a Development Office for the Episcopal Church to solicit major gifts and other resources.

Pilot Student Loan Program: Resolution D049, which calls for creating a pilot stu-dent loan fund for seminarians who agree

to exercise three years of ministry in un-der-served areas of the Episcopal Church.

Dialogue with the Mormon Church: Reso-lution D081, directing the Standing Com-mission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations to initiate dialogue between the Episcopal Church and the Church of Latter-Day Saints “for the interreligious purposes of friendship, goodwill, mutual understanding” and in anticipation of the 78th General Convention to be held in Salt Lake City in 2015.

For a full list of resolutions acted on at the 77th General Convention, visit www.generalconvention.org.

— Matthew Davies is an editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service. Re-porting for the Diocese of Los Angeles by Pat McCaughan, Bob Williams and Janet Kawamoto. Extensive coverage of Gen-eral Convention actions may be found at http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens.?

L.A. PEOPLE AT GENERAL CONVENTION (con’t.)7. Convention-goers from the Diocese of Los Angeles gather at a reception July 10 and send a photo greeting to Bishop Bruno. 8. Jenny Ladefoged, former L.A. deputy and deputation chair, poses with present chair Dan Valdez. 9. Keith Yamamoto, rector of St. Mark’s Church, Upland, and 10. Paul Lawson, retired priest of the diocese, serve as volunteer coordinators. Photos/Janet Kawamoto (7, 8) and Pat McCaughan (9, 10).

GENERAL CONVENTION (continued from page 8)

7

9

10

8

10 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

Above: EUIP interns help out with a food

program, top, and participate in a event

at Holy Faith, Inglewood, where the program is centered.

M I N I S T R I E S

he blog entries (http://bit.ly/PK2caK) of the 2011-2012 crop of Los Angeles Episcopal urban interns de-scribe how the Episcopal Urban Intern Program has changed their lives:

In a July letter to the city of Los An-geles, Jazmin Trammell wrote, “You’ve challenged me in ways I never imagined and you’ve helped me to realize things that I might have otherwise missed had it not been for you.

“You’ve helped me to realize that God is usually where I least expect him to be and that the ‘sacred’ and the ‘mun-dane,’ more often than not, are one and the same. As a result of our time here you’ve helped me to realize things that I have a passion [for] … social issues such as food justice and the various topics surrounding it as well as immigration and education.”

Or this, from Holly Borroff, posted Aug. 4, 2012: “Thousands of children died today of malnutrition, and I ate.

“This year has changed my perspective on the world in more ways than I have been able to fully process. The realities I have seen and witnessed cause me pain every day, and so I pray for the strength to turn from ignorance and the easy way out. We are all called to enter into God’s dream of a healed and whole world.”

With the twin goals of developing young leaders and assisting underserved populations, the Episcopal Urban Intern Program (EUIP) has grown from an inaugural class of six interns at one location, Holy Faith Church in Inglewood, to this year’s class of 26 interns in four locations.

EUIP, the longest-running program of its kind in the Episcopal Church, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year while adding more interns and reaching out to more congregations and social ser-vice agencies.

The Rev. Jaime Edwards-Acton, rector of St. Ste-phen’s Church in Hollywood, is a classic example of how the Episcopal Urban Internship Program changes lives.

He was unchurched and, although a college grad-uate, was unsettled about the future when he heard about the program from the Rev. Gary Commins, then rector of Holy Faith. He applied, moved from

the San Francisco Bay Area and lived in the church rec-tory with five other interns. He began attending Holy Faith and went to work at St. Barnabas Senior Ser-vices as a case manager, a position he continued to hold for several years after his stint with EUIP.

“It was a launching pad for my becoming a priest in the church, and a leader in the church, and that’s the experience a lot of interns have,” he said. “Not all interns become ordained leaders but they do go on to be lay leaders in the church.”

An ‘eye-opening’ experienceBill Pitkin, who was also in that first class of in-

terns, is now senior warden at St. Stephen’s, Holly-wood.

“It was an exciting time” which inspired him to learn Spanish, to become a community organizer and to stay involved with nonprofit agencies, Pitkin recalled during a recent telephone interview.

His experiences as an intern at Hillsides Home for Children in Pasadena “opened my eyes. I learned about life … working with kids who’ve been through a lot, who are dealing with serious abuse issues, and having to figure out how I can help try to educate them but also to be a role model as well,” he said.

It was also a year of civil unrest in Los Angeles. The metropolitan area was rocked by six days of rioting starting April 29, 1992, after a jury acquit-ted four Los Angeles police officers in the videotaped beating of Rodney King. The subsequent widely publicized beating of truck driver Reginald Denney further fueled tensions; at least 52 people died, more than 2,000 were injured and property damage was estimated at a billion dollars.

“We lived four or five miles from the flashpoint of the unrest,” recalled Pitkin, who grew up in Iowa City, Iowa. “We experienced

For two

decades, EUIP

has developed

young leaders

and helped

those in need

By Pat McCaughan

Episcopal Urban Intern Program celebrates

20 years of changing lives

t

(continued next page)

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 11

EUIP (continued from page 10)

it. There were lots of fires and ambulances. We saw looting across the street from the church. It was an important moment. We were a very diverse community and there were a lot of tensions but it helped form a desire to be here and to help Los Angeles residents.”

He said the various aspects of the EUIP program — church, living “24/7 with people your age who are concerned about some of the questions, some of the issues” and working with underserved populations — created powerful relationships that still serve as role models and examples today.

EUIP is now part of the Jubilee Con-sortium (www.jubileeconsortium.org), a co-alition of Los Angeles-area churches and other agencies that aim to create healthy and just neighborhoods through enrich-ment and other opportunities. The consor-tium offers a range of classes in at least 10 locations, including health and nutrition education, Zumba and salsa dance, aero-bics and walking and cooking clubs, said Edwards-Acton, who is also the executive director of the Jubilee Consortium.

“We are training people to become health promoters,” he added.

EUIP is also affiliated with the Episcopal Service Corps (ESC) (www.episcopalservice corps.org), a network of some 23 agencies across the United States that offer a dis-cernment year and leadership training op-portunities to young people.

The Rev. Gary Commins, who started EUIP 20 years ago with support from then-Bishop Diocesan Frederick H. Borsch, has recently served on the ESC board and said he witnessed firsthand “the impact this opportunity could have on young adults and the impact it has on underserved com-munities. It was a win-win.”

ESC continues to grow, he added. With more than 200 interns serving nationwide this year, he said two other cities are ap-plying to create fall programs.

“The hope is that the ESC will make this part of the consciousness of the Episcopal Church, so that young people will consid-er giving a year of their life to this kind of work and have a transforming experi-ence,” he said.

Los Angeles area interns hail from all over the country and live in one of four residences associated with churches, in-cluding St. Mary’s, Los Angeles; St. Ste-

phen’s, Hollywood; St. Mark’s, Glendale and this year, for the first time, a Lutheran Church in Inglewood, according to Su-zanne Edwards-Acton, executive director of EUIP.

She received four times as many applica-tions as positions available for the incom-ing class of interns, she said. “We are look-ing for people who are interested in living in intentional community, growing in their faith, on a spiritual journey. But you don’t have to be Episcopal or Christian.”

Interns typically are hoping to receive a hands-on experience working with non-profits or have a passion for service, al-though in some cases the economic down-turn and lack of available entry-level positions sparked the application spike, she said.

‘Intentional’ communityIntern Hannah Lock, 23, enjoyed the

program so much she’s staying on for a second year in 2012-2013, she said during a recent telephone interview.

Born in England, she grew up in Hol-land, Michigan, and decided to apply for EUIP after hearing about it from a friend.

“Everything fell into place,” she said. She tutors students after school at the

Early College Academy for Leaders and Scholars and lives in Glendale where “we’ve really put in the effort to be inten-tional in community and to take into ac-count each other’s personalities.”

Support comes from other interns and the St. Mark’s community as well as Su-zanne and Jaime Edwards-Acton, she said.

There have been surprises. “I didn’t want to work in a high school at first,” she said. “But I’ve fallen in love with the kids I’m working with. It’s a really good experience.”

So good, in fact, that it seemed natural “to extend it and deepen the experience,”

she said.The Rev. Scott Fritz is pastor of Chapel

of Peace Lutheran Church in Inglewood and is looking forward to engaging EUIP for the first time this fall.

Fritz is also the executive director of New City Parish (www.newcityparish.org), a coalition of nine Lutheran churches in the Los Angeles, Inglewood and Compton ar-eas, which offers meals, food distribution, and after school art and music and other programs to the community.

“We were looking at how ... you get young people who are wanting to serve their communities involved with our pro-grams,” he said during a recent telephone interview. He had explored the Lutheran Service Corps but learned they did not have a Los Angeles-area presence, he said. Then he discovered EUIP.

“We’re excited because it allows us to have a full-time employee with our orga-nization as well one who’s gifted and tal-ented and who is looking to take their gifts and talents and be a resource and to get some job training,” he said.

Similarly, his parishioners are happy to welcome interns into the community. “Our members will love them up and pro-vide meals for them and they may get fat-tened up a bit,” Fritz chuckled.

“It’s a way to say welcome, thanks for being here, thanks for serving the many organizations in need in the community and whatever we can do, so let’s work to-gether.”

Malena Otero, director of human re-sources for Partnerships to Uplift Commu-nities (PUCS) (www.pucschools.org), said EUIP interns have been a valuable contri-bution to the program.

PUCS operates a growing network of small public charter schools and is de-signed to help significantly increase col-lege entrance

“Thousands of children died today of malnutrition, and I ate ...

This year has changed my perspective on the world in more

ways than I have been able to fully process. The realities I have

seen and witnessed cause me pain every day, and so I pray

for the strength to turn from ignorance and the easy way out.

We are all called to enter into God’s dream of a healed and

whole world.” — Kelly Borroff, EUIP intern

(continued on page 16)

12 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

everal Southland youth leaders, at the invitation of The Episcopal News, wrestled with a persistent, troubling question — how to get more youth active-ly engaged in our churches.

They raised questions of their own and shared perspectives about the paradox of leading a minis-try that typically gets a lot of notice, but often not nearly enough attention.

For the Rev. Earl Gibson, Province VIII coordina-tor for youth ministry and also an associate rector at St. Margaret of Scotland Church and School in San Juan Capistrano, at least a part of the answer involves affirming concrete identity.

“Churches need to have some sort of direction — a way to articulate to youth, what does the Episco-pal Church believe? What is it about the Episcopal Church that these kids need?”

Gibson, who leads a St. Margaret’s Sunday youth ministry group of about 20, said young people ques-tion what the church is for. “They can be spiritual on their own. They can do outreach and service projects through school. If the answer is fellowship, they can get that anywhere.

“We need to as a church — especially as the Epis-copal Church — hold on to who we are, and I be-lieve at least part of who we are is community wor-ship based in the sacraments.”

Jana Milhon-Martin, a part-time lay associate for youth at St. John’s Church, LaVerne, agrees but thinks the church is “going to have to find innova-tive ways to do the sacraments.

“Not get rid of them, but to innovate them, to

have them make sense, to build that bridge between where kids find God in their lives and how the sacra-ments are an expression of that.”

Often, Milhon-Martin finds that what happens in the liturgy “makes no sense” to youth. “Most of the kids I work with are acolytes,” she said during a recent telephone interview. “They are practitioners and helpers in the liturgy and still it’s like gobbledy-gook to them.”

First up for Milhon-Martin is facilitating conver-sations with youth “to help them start to talk about where they do find God in their lives, period. Be-cause I don’t think kids get a lot of practice with that in their homes, which is a whole secondary prob-lem.”

So, several times yearly, she and her youth group of about 15 embark upon “liturgical safaris,” vis-iting contemporary and emergent worship services at All Saints, Beverly Hills, at “thad’s” (an emergent congregation in Los Angeles) and elsewhere.

“A lot of it is helping them find where God shows up for them and the words to describe that,” she said. “They think about it in different terms than they actually experience it in and then stuff happens in a room liturgically that most of the time doesn’t seem to be directly connected for them to those mo-ments.”

Initiating “Deaneries for Youth”Gibson believes that changing circumstances dic-

tate the ‘it takes a village’ approach. He predicted that church-wide youth ministry will increasingly become less local and more a community effort with pooled resources.

“If we have a priest in a congregation where there might be 45 people total on a Sunday morning, they can’t afford to say, ‘who are we going to find to do youth ministry?’” he said. “They’re going to have to do it themselves, to find a way to incorporate youth ministry into structures that already exist — acolyt-ing, ushering, reading — not only on a designated Youth Sunday but incorporating it every Sunday.”

They’re also going to have to be creative and col-laborative with resources. “We will need to be com-mitted and creative; many local congregations will have to create their own resources because there’s not much of a market for it,” he added.

Chris Tumilty, 29, diocesan youth coordina-tor, says it sounds a lot like Deaneries for Youth, a grassroots idea/movement to share resources within deaneries as well as across the wider diocesan com-munity, and some youth leaders are already attempt-ing it.

“Individual youth leaders have taken it upon themselves to try and connect and share resources, ideas, events, etc. This is

By Pat McCaughan

Young people hold ‘the power to change the

face of the church’

At top: Young people participate in “Life-Size

Clue” at the Cathedral Center on Aug. 18. The

family game day and barbecue drew some 50 youth and leaders

for fun and fellowship and to compete for

prize money to help fund their ministries.

Y O U T H M I N I S T R Y

s

CHRI

S TU

MIL

TY

(continued next page)

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 13

in line with the diocesan Program Group on Youth Ministry’s (PGYM) hopes for change,” Tumilty said during a recent tele-phone interview.

“These youth leaders feel they have the power to change the face of the church,” he said. “Despite politics, finances, or ge-ography, the youth leaders throughout the Diocese of Los Angeles take it upon themselves to bring groups teens together in safe, moral environments to grow the community of the church.”

Like Todd Blackham, 30, who recently posted a request for acolyte-training ma-terials on the PGYM Facebook page and “within an hour, I had eight or nine re-sponses. I didn’t have to do it on my own, even though I’m the only person who works with youth at my church,” he said.

He is director of both youth ministry and an afterschool youth center at St. James’ Church in South Pasadena in Dean-ery Five, where he and other youth lead-ers frequently collaborate. He’d like to see similar efforts on a wider scale.

“We’re talking about informally get-ting together to talk about the programs we have going on, sharing our calendars, trying to come up with ways we can join in on different activities, and promoting activities going on through PGYM … be-cause currently we don’t even really have a significant contact list for people working with youth in the diocese,” Blackham said.

Deaneries for Youth also raises the pos-sibility of congregations within any of the diocese’s ten geographic deaneries contrib-uting financially toward a stipend for a li-aison to PGYM “to allow them the extra freedom to add this to their work load and to give them a greater sense of account-ability toward the program group.”

A jumping-off place: ‘Life-Size Clue’Youth leaders agree their ministry de-

pends on building relationships, showing up for young people, being part of their lives. Yet many church youth leadership roles are part-time and volunteer posi-tions.

“Volunteers come and they go; a lot stick around for as long as their kids are in high school and some get stuck doing it af-ter their kids leave because no one is will-ing to step up and take it over,” Tumilty said. “It’s a position that a lot of people

don’t feel like they want to get stuck in so they don’t get involved.”

For those seeking connections, such events as the annual Bishop’s Ball (held each January), a recent game of Life Size Clue, an upcoming “Day of the Dead’”celebration in October in Simi Val-ley and diocesan convention PGYM-sup-ported events offer some possibilities.

“Where I think we’re coming from is trying to reinforce local parishes in the dif-ferent regions of the diocese while also fo-cusing on family-oriented events,” Tumilty said.

On Aug. 18, Life Size Clue got everyone — Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce, diocesan staff, youth leaders and youth themselves — into the act with a fundraiser riff of the popular Mattel game.

Diocesan staff and PGYM leaders por-trayed “suspects” while youth solved the murder mystery using the floor of the Great Hall of the Cathedral Center as a game board.

“The whole idea is, when was the last time families sat down and played a board game together? It doesn’t happen in the modern age, but it’s an important part of life,” Tumilty said.

The view from youth ministersWhen Todd Blackham went to work for

the Episcopal Church after nearly a decade serving with Young Lives (www.younglives.org), an outreach to unchurched teenag-ers, he immediately noticed “I didn’t have a very natural connection with any other youth minister, either at a nearby Episco-pal Church or even at nearby churches in town. I was

YOUTH MINISTRY (continued from page 12)

The winning team for the first round of “Life-Size Clue on Aug. 18 poses with the culprit, “Colonel Mustard” — as portrayed by David Tumilty, left, bishop’s executive for operations — and Serena Beeks, executive director for schools, right, playing “Professor Plum.” The winning team — all former pilgrims to the Holy Land — chose to contribute their prize to assist in funding the next diocesan youth pilgrimage, planned for August 2013.

CHRI

S TU

MIL

TY

(continued on page 17)

14 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

rla Gomes has a message for those fac-ing tough economic times: think credit union.

Specifically, consider connecting with the Episcopal Community Fed-eral Credit Union (ECFCU), an eco-nomic justice ministry of the Diocese of Los Angeles “because our mission is to help people, to be here for our membership when they need a small loan or are in a bind.

“When they’re up against the wall, they know that we are here for them,” said Gomes, ECFCU’s man-ager and chief executive officer.

The credit union offers a full range of financial services including loans for individuals and churches and, even more, is a resource for the diocesan com-munity, she said.

“Too often, people don’t think about the credit union as an option; they don’t know about us, they know about banks,” Gomes said during a recent in-terview at her office in the Cathedral Center com-plex. “They think banks are the only place you can go to for your financial services, but banks don’t re-ally accommodate poor people.

“If you have an account with a bank, you get hit with fees every month. Credit unions are more into serving the member, into making sure services are available,” said Gomes.

For example:“We have a member whose chief income, about

$800 a month, is through social security disabil-ity (SSI) but who needed to renew a professional li-cense,” she said. “He needed the license to earn extra income to get by. But he couldn’t afford to pay for the license, so he was in a real catch-22,” she recalled.

“He came to the credit union for a $300 loan. Not only did he have a place to go where he could receive the loan, but he could continue to pay his expenses and not get into any further debt,” she said.

Too often those in need of small loans end up go-ing to payday lenders, who offer small loans at exor-bitant fees, which equals big trouble for borrowers, Gomes said.

“When we first started, there were the pawnshops that people frequented. Then, pawnshops went away. Then there were the payday lenders. Our members were using them like crazy.”

By taking out smaller, shorter-term loans, mem-bers have begun to rely less on exploitative payday lenders. In another instance, the credit union refi-nanced an auto loan for a member who had gone to what Gomes calls “a lien lender.”

“She had an auto loan at an 18-percent rate. She took her car to one of the people that said ‘bring your lien and we can give you a loan.’ By the time all the fees were added up, it was more like a 73-percent loan rate. It was very high. She was paying more than $600 a month. Some of these companies aren’t payday lenders, they’re lien lenders.

“Yet, her credit was good. It wasn’t that she had poor credit, she just went to the wrong place to get the loan,” Gomes said. “She got a loan from us for 5.99 percent interest. She was able to get cash out, also. She was able to pay off some of her bills and her auto payments came down to about $253 a month.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time we can refinance and beat those high interest rates,” she added.

All of which makes education — teaching finan-cial literacy — an outreach priority for Gomes.

Throughout the year, she makes presentations to students and to adults, visiting Los Angeles area classrooms and working with Operation Hope (www.operationhope.org), a nonprofit agency dedicat-ed to financial literacy and economic empowerment for the working poor, the underclass and the strug-gling middle class.

Last year, she taught 11 financial literacy classes to more than 276 children and adults.

Additionally, the credit union, founded in 1992 through a grant from Episcopal Relief and Devel-opment (www.er-d.org), the disaster relief arm of the Episcopal Church (www.episcopalchurch.org), offers income tax assistance

Urla Gomes, CEO of the Episcopal

Community Federal Credit Union, spends a moment with “one

of our littlest members,” she says.

Helping members and their families survive in tough times is the credit union’s reason

to be, Gomes says.

By Pat McCaughan

M I N I S T R I E S

The Episcopal Credit Union: ‘Our mission

is to help people’u

(continued next page)

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 15

to seniors, students and others who are often unaware of their eligibility for tax credits.

“We calculated 162 federal and 149 state income taxes” for people this year, she said. “The important thing about us doing taxes is having poor families receive the earned income credit from the govern-ment. This year, the earned income credit put $85,976 back into the community,” she said.

Similarly, federal child tax credits also yielded an estimated $38,596 for members this year at an average credit of $1,286 per family, she said. The credit union also as-sisted eligible students in receiving income tax education credits.

Helping people, churches with loansGomes also wants to get the word out,

to both congregations and to clergy, who may be unaware that the credit union of-fers loans both large and small. Loans are available up to $25,000 for churches, typi-cally used for building projects or other upgrades, she said.

Loans may also assist in pastoral situa-tions, Gomes added.

“One of our priests brought a lady here to us who was from another country. The woman had no credit established. She couldn’t get a checking account, or a sav-ings account,” Gomes recalled.

“So, she’s one of our parishioners, right? She had a domestic job. We opened a checking account for her, opened a savings account for her. We gave her a small loan to jumpstart her credit. Today, she came in and said her credit score is good, and that she couldn’t believe what we did for her.”

Gomes returns to a familiar theme. “Banks don’t really accommodate poor people. We focus on serving members. As long as you are saving a little bit, it’s great with us.”

The credit union also offers financial counseling and other services specific to

members “probably because we’re smaller and we can take an interest in our mem-bers’ lives.”

Take the member who was paying nearly $1,200 weekly for gas to commute to and from work in an old truck. “He has a very good job, he takes care of his family, but this gas was killing him,” Gomes recalled. “We gave him a loan to buy a new car. He got a smaller car, with better gas mileage, and now payments for gas and the new car are less than he was paying before.”

Additionally, the credit union continues to reinvest in the local community by as-sisting street food vendors with small busi-ness loans. “Since that program started they have trained hundreds of individuals that have gone on to get jobs in the restau-rant industry and have become small busi-ness owners themselves.”

New members are younger, and more churches are transferring accounts to the credit union, she said. Still, with 75,000 Episcopalians in the diocese, the credit union members number about 2,400.

The credit union’s assets are $5.4 mil-lion, up slightly from last year, she said. Most of the loans granted are for cars and other unsecured loans, up to $5,000.

Gomes wants to be sure that both churches and individuals realize that the credit union’s services are available via shared branching at locations throughout the diocese and that Internet banking is

available. “They can see their balances, they can put it on their mobile phones,” she said.

Church members “shouldn’t be afraid to come to us,” Gomes said. “If they’re challenged credit-wise, we do look at the application. I cannot say we will give a loan for sure if there’s a poor credit rating but many times we do. Sometimes there’s a problem with medical bills or they were out of a job at a certain time. Even if they went bankrupt in the past two or three years, we will look at them again.

“We take chances on people. Because of the economy a lot of our members are suffering. People have lost jobs, are unem-ployed. What we can do for them is we put them on an extension. They can pay a little amount until they get back on their feet. We don’t take their cars from them; they need their cars. We work with our membership and as soon as they get back on their feet, they let us know because we do have that kind of relationship with our members.”

She added, “A lot of times the think-ing is that people who are marginalized or economically challenged don’t pay their loans, but they certainly do. Our members know that they can come back and we will take care of them.”

For more information contact the credit union at 213.482.2040 ext. 254 or visit the website at www.efcula.org/. ?

CREDIT UNION (continued from page 14)

At left: Margarita Mira and Estella Gomez, longtime employees, take care of business at the credit union’s office in the Cathedral Center in Echo Park (Los Angeles).Below: Urla Gomes and members of the Credit Union board preside over the annual members’ meeting on May 17. From left are Marvin Jensen, Marsha Vargas, Richard Platt, Gomes, Dan Valdez, Beverly Moodie and Lorna Cary.

16 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

and graduation rates for underserved students in Los Angeles and the San Fer-nando Valley.

“Most of the time the interns assist our students with special needs, helping them with what they’re working on inside the classroom,” Otero said during a tele-phone interview. “They tutor our students and help those who require small testing groups, and help proctor the exams.

Because of EUIP interns, the students are able to get much-needed and much-de-served attention. “I have one intern right now working with a student with autism, and who gives them the dedicated atten-tion they need. The quality of interns is excellent; they have the right disposition to work with our students who are not the easiest to work with,” Otero said. “You need to have patience, to figure out the best way to work with them. I am really happy with the selection of interns. They develop a real bond with our kids.”

Janet Kramer says her 2005-2006 in-ternship changed her life.

EUIP placed the Pittsburgh native as an employment specialist at Chrysalis, a non-profit agency dedicated to creating a path-way to self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income people by providing resources to help them find employment.

“I stayed on with Chrysalis after my intern year and then went to the business side,” said Kramer, 29.

Now she is employed at the Univer-sity of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business Society and Business Lab, teaching social entrepreneurship and working with students using their skills to solve social issues, she said during a recent telephone interview.

“I came to California not knowing what I was going to do with the rest of my life,” Kramer said during a recent telephone in-terview. “I am forever indebted to EUIP for placing me at Chrysalis.”

A year of struggle, serviceDuring her internship year Kramer

struggled with living in community, and the experience of negotiating life with four others. Now, in retrospect, she wishes “it was mandatory for everyone to do a year in these programs. They are pivotal in shaping how one acts at other places of employment. I’m really glad I did it.”

Allison Meyers, 24, looks back on her time with EUIP two years ago as an op-portunity to learn “about humanity and myself.”

Originally from Florida, she worked at the Salvation Army Silver Lake, a combi-

nation emergency shelter and permanent housing agency for families affected by HIV, serving in the child development pro-gram and after school youth group.

“I don’t know if that kind of growth could have happened in such a short time in another context,” she said. “My spiritual encounters with other interns, with residents at (the Salvation Army’s) Alegria, with churchgoers and all the sup-port people also helped heal some wounds I had prior to coming into the program. I began to see God again in my life and that, if nothing else, was truly wonderful for me.”

During her EUIP year she also “discov-ered my calling” and is beginning a mas-ter’s program in school psychology this fall at East Carolina University.

“I look at the tough moments, feeling helpless at work, feeling like our commu-nity wasn’t living up to our ideals at times — as just as crucial to my development as a person as the glorious, joyful moments,” she said. “I gained perspective and pur-pose as part of the program. I can’t speak highly enough of it.

“I recommend an experience like this to anyone I speak to. I’m glad I took that year to devote my time to service, and my heart to community. I’m now back in the ‘real world,’ so to speak, and I take those experiences with me wherever I go.” ?

EUIP (continued from page 11)

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 17

feeling like I was out there on my own.”Onyeka Onyiah, 21, of St. Martha’s,

West Covina, can relate.After graduating from high school

about three years ago, she inherited a youth group in transition when “everyone else went off to college.”

Sharing resources and collaborating with other youth leaders at a June PGYM retreat at La Casa de Maria in Santa Bar-bara has offered support and helped re-fresh her for ministry. “It’s difficult right now because we are in transition,” Onyiah said, during a recent telephone interview.

“We have younger groups that are el-ementary, middle school, that will be transitioning to the high school group in a couple of years.

“It always brings us to the question of how to get more young people in church,” she said. “But people go off to college and they don’t come back. Our church is very supportive and would love for young peo-ple to come so they can pass the torch to us. We would like more people to know our doors are open.”

So how do churches attract and engage more young people? Perhaps the solution involves asking different questions or the same question a different way, the youth leaders say.

South Pasadena’s Blackham says that, first and foremost, it helps to show up for youth activities, to become “part of the lives of teenagers rather than forcing them to become a part of the life of the church.”

And, regardless of the numbers of youth in church any given Sunday, offer them something. “It can be very beleaguering to feel like we’ve only got three or four kids and maybe it’s not worth it for me to do this,” he said. “But reach out to other Episcopal churches nearby. Don’t go it alone.”

Gibson also advises paying attention to youth leaders and to youth.

“When we’re working with young peo-ple at provincial events they have a lot of ideas, a lot of creative energy,” he said. “But there doesn’t seem to be a way that energy and those ideas are flowing back into their congregations.

“Some of them feel there’s a sort of wall where they just don’t get listened to. Somehow it breaks down.”

For Milhon-Martin of St. John’s, La-

Verne, the conversation about how to at-tract young people to the church “some-times feels more about anxiety than about helping young people know and experi-ence the love of God.

“What I seem to hear people saying a lot

is that we want our way of life to contin-ue and we need young people,” she said. “That’s a different thing than saying there are young people who need to know and experience the love of God. Those are two separate kinds of energies happening.” ?

YOUTH MINISTRY (continued from page 13)

18 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

T A K E N O T E

Former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold to lead Advent events

Bishop Frank Griswold and Barbara Braver will lead a Nov. 30 clergy retreat and a Dec. 1 Advent Quiet Day at the Cathedral Center in Los Angeles.

At both events Gris-wold and Braver will facilitate reflection and prayer under the theme “Fitting the Pieces Together: An Advent Puzzle.” They have of-fered the retreat annu-ally in various dioceses after its launch in 2007 at Washington National Cathedral. The sessions are enriched by the leaders’ collaboration in writing and speaking beginning during Griswold’s 1997-2006 tenure as the Episcopal Church’s 25th presiding bishop.

Clergy are encouraged to attend the Friday sessions and continue into a Satur-day Quiet Day joined by laypersons from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A full listing of schedule options, including meals and suggested contributions, may be requested by email

from bishopsoffice@ladiocese.org. Both commuters and overnight guests are wel-come, and retreat center accommodations at $60 per night may be reserved until capacity is reached. For further informa-tion call 213.482.2040, ext. 240.

Bishop’s Guild invites all to annual garden party

The Bishop’s Guild Garden Party will be held on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the home of Bishop Jon and Mary Bruno in Pasadena. All proceeds go to the bishop’s scholarship fund for semi-narians. Invitations and sponsor cards will be mailed soon; all are welcome. For information call or e-mail Donna Keller 951.279.4236 or donnakeller68@yahoo.com.

Congregation of St. Athanasius to sponsor forums on state ballot measures

Confused by this year’s state ballot initiatives? Much is at stake; the death penalty, juvenile justice, human traffick-ing, labor unions, raising taxes to fund education. Join the Congregation of St. Athanasius, together with informed advo-cates for the initiatives, for the Commu-nity Circle Forum Series, engaging issues through the lens of faith. Six initiatives will be discussed in six Tuesday evening sessions, beginning Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. with “End the Death Penalty.” Other dates and topics are:

Oct. 2: Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food

Oct. 9: Three Strikes Reform

Oct. 16: Californians Against Sexual Exploitation

Oct. 23: Selective tax increase to fund education, etc.

Oct. 30: Ban on union contributions to state and local candidates

All sessions begin at 7 p.m. Forums will be held at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles 90026. For information, contact the Rev. Deacon Frank Alton, 213.482.2040, ext. 201 or frankalton@ladiocese.org.

Professor Kwok Pui Lan to lead interfaith panel on ‘Occupy Religion’

The Cathedral Center of St. Paul and the Congregation of St. Athanasius will host a Sept. 16 interfaith panel discussion titled “Occupy Religion: Reju-venating Faith Communities to Respond to Local & Global Issues” and keynoted by Professor Kwok Pui Lan of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. Fa-cilitated by the Rev. Frank Alton, deacon in the congregation, the panel will begin at 12 noon following lunch at 11:30 a.m., with a $5 donation requested per person. A 10 a.m. trilingual worship service in English, Korean and Spanish is planned to open the day’s events. Panelists will include Rabbi Steven Jacobs, founder of the Progressive Faith Foundation; Brother Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California; and Cathedral Center honor-ary Canon Lydia Lopez. Kwok, who is William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at the Episco-pal Divinity School, is an internationally known scholar and author and editor of many books. ?• Chalices and metal ware

• Plating and refinishing • Altar wine and candles • Clergy shirts and collars • Black suits, choir robes • Stoles and vestments

LOS ANGELES1701 James M. Wood Blvd.

213/385-3366

LONG BEACH1960 Del Amo at Cherry

562/424-0963

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012 19

million annual budget shortfall created by cuts in the hospital’s funding.

Dawani told the gathering that the dio-cese has no intention of closing the hos-pital, even though it recently lost funding sources, a decision he called “political.”

“It had to do with the situation in Gaza itself,” Dawani told the gathering of about 100 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianap-olis. “We are the only Christian institution in that region and we have no political af-filiation. We serve everybody, regardless of their religion, race or language. The hospi-tal is open to everybody.”

“We believe that our work in Jerusalem is your work as well,” Dawani said. “Our institutions are your institutions because we are the Body of Christ and what we are doing there is really a continuous witness to the living Lord, especially in the land of the Resurrection.”

He said the hospital has a staff of about 120 and no patients currently. But he add-ed emphatically: “I tell you that we are not going to close the hospital.”

The hospital must remain open, he said, because its services are needed in the com-munity especially a new women’s cancer unit, because the staff depends upon it to earn a living, and because “it is our Chris-tian witness,” he added.

Los Angeles Bishop Suffragan Mary Glasspool reiterated the importance of positive investment in Jerusalem, an-nouncing amid applause that the AFEDJ “had sent a $50,000 check today to the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza.”

Glasspool, representing Bishop Bruno and the Diocese of Los Angeles, which shares a companion relationship with the Diocese of Jerusalem, said that Bruno had written, in absentia, General Convention Resolution B017, calling for support for the hospital.

“This is something you don’t even need to take a political stand on,” Glasspool told the gathering. “This is an institution that heals people and treats everyone, no matter what their religious belief or faith, no matter what their political stands and

we need to really be supportive of them.Phoebe Griswold, past AFEDJ presi-

dent, whose husband Frank is the retired 25th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, agreed. “The way Bishop Dawani expands our sacred language is so impor-tant, bringing understanding in the life of the Anglican communion. Our greatest charism as the Episcopal Church is to be part of a global Body of Christ and to lis-ten to one another.”

The Rev. Deborah Dresser, from the Di-ocese of New York and the AFEDJ board president, said, “The gathering was filled with excitement of hearing from Bishop Suheil and our presiding bishop. What we gained was a sense that we together as a church can address the needs of our brothers and sisters in Palestine and really strengthen the community for a future state.”

AFEDJ Executive Director Anne Lynn thanked the gathering for their support.

“As you know this work is incredibly difficult and it’s also vital,” she said. “It takes each of us in our own particular way and all of us together to work toward a solution and we’re grateful to each of you for your role in making that a reality.

Dawani said the diocesan mission is to serve as “a bridge” between the faiths as

well as to serve and support the commu-nity.

He noted that St. Luke’s Hospital in Nablus is doing well, and is at a break-even point after receiving assistance from Episcopal Relief and Development during its first two years of operation.

Diocesan-operated schools recently have graduated more than 400 young men and women, he added. “Education is very important and we continue to be a Christian presence, a bridge for others. Our presence there means a lot for many people, Jews as well as Muslims,” he told the gathering.

“We hope that you will come and see us, come and visit our parishes because partnerships means that we are one in our work and in our ministry.” ?

HOSPITAL (continued from page 5)

800-366-1536ext. 254

www.efcula.org

Did you know?The Diocese of Los Angeles has a full-service Credit Union.

The Episcopal Community Federal Credit Union has been in existence for 14 years, and any Episcopalian in the diocese can join.

ECFCU offers a full line of financial products:Savings AccountsChecking AccountsHoliday Club AccountsDebit/ATM CardsOn-Line BankingBill Pay24-Hour Telephone Information

Auto LoansSignature LoansBusiness LoansWire TransfersIndividual Credit CounselingFinancial EducationFree Income Tax Preparation

Suheil Dawani, Anglican Bishop in Jerusa-lem, speaks to a reception on July 3 about the need for positive investment in the institutions of the Diocese of Jerusalem.

JAN

ET K

AWAM

OTO

“We are the only Christian institution in that region and we have

no political affiliation. We serve everybody, regardless of their

religion, race or language. The hospital is open to everybody.”

— Suheil Dawani, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem

20 THE EPISCOPAL NEWS Fall 2012

u The Rev. Karri Backer has been called as director of formation at St. Andrew’s, Fullerton.

u THE Magazine named the Rev. Canon Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Church, Pasadena, one of its top 50 innovative men for 2012 at a June 21 reception. “Ed’s energies focus on leadership in anxious times, peacemaking, interfaith relations, and articulating the Christian faith in non-bigoted ways,” read the citation. Ba-con has written a book, 8 Habits of Love: Open Your Heart, Open Your Mind, to be published in September.

u The Rev. Carissa Baldwin has conclud-ed her ministry at All Saints, Pasadena and is returning to the Diocese of Texas.

u The Rev. Bonnie Brandon will be in-stalled as rector of St. Andrew’s Church, Torrance, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16 by Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce. The diocesan community is invited to at-tend. u The Rev. Canon David Caffrey will re-tire as rector of Trinity Church, Redlands, on Dec. 31. u The Rev. Patrick Crerar was installed as rector of St. Clement by-the-Sea Church, San Clemente, on Aug. 26 by Bishop Bruce.

u The Rev. Canon Gary Hall, a native Angeleno who served at several parishes in the Dio-cese of Los Angeles including All Saints, Pasadena, as well as churches in Malibu, Westlake Village and La Cañada, has been named dean of the Wash-ington National Cathedral. He will begin serving in that capac-ity Oct. 1.

u Canon Percia Hutcherson of Christ the Good Shepherd Church, Los Angeles, celebrated her 90th birthday with a gala luncheon at the Ca-thedral Center June 30. Hutcherson has led several key initiatives in the diocese, including assisting with the development of Good Shepherd Manor, Good Shepherd Homes, and a ministry of physical therapy in the Diocese of Eldoret, Kenya.

u The Rev. Wilma Jakobsen will begin her ministry as rector of St. Jude’s, Cupertino, California in the fall. Currently an associ-ate at All Saints Church, Pasadena, she has for the past few years served as diocesan coordinator for Episcopal Relief & Devel-opment, leading the diocese’s Nets for Life campaign.

u The Rev. Sarah Nolan was awarded an Episcopal Church Foundation fellowship,

for her work with the Abundant Table Farm. Receiving renewal grants were Sister Greta Ronnigen of the Community of Di-vine Love, and the Rev. Altagracia Perez, rector of Holy Faith Church, Inglewood.

u The Rev. George Otiende Okusi was in-stalled as rector of St. Timothy’s Church, Compton, on June 24 by Bishop Suffragan Mary Glasspool.

u The Rev. Barbara Stewart has an-nounced her retirement as rector of St. John the Divine Church, Costa Mesa, at the end of August. The parish celebrated her ministry on Aug. 26.

u The Rev. Kay Sylvester will be installed as rector of St. Paul’s Church, Tustin, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13 by Bishop Suf-fragan Diane Bruce. The diocesan commu-nity is invited to attend.

u The Rev. Arthur Toro will be installed as vicar of the Church of the Holy Com-munion, Gardena, on Sunday, Oct. 14 by Bishop Bruce. The diocesan community is invited to attend.

u Bob Williams, canon for community relations for the diocese, wrote one of a series of articles about church commu-nications in the July issue of the Episco-pal Church Foundation publication Vital Practices, available at www.ecfvp.org. ?

CONNECTIONS

Obituaries may be read in full at wwwepiscopalnews.com

u Canon Marga-ret Jane Campbell, longtime lay volun-teer at St. Edmund’s Church, San Marino, and within the Dio-cese of Los Angeles, died Aug. 8 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena after a brief illness. She was 86 and a Pasadena resident. A memori-al service was held on August 18, at St. Edmund’s Church. Campbell served on a wide variety of diocesan committees, including a volunteer group for Hill-sides, and most recently as a board member of Holy Family Adoption and

REQUIESCANT

P E O P L E News of the Diocesan Communi t y

Bishop Suffragan Mary D. Glasspool (right) ordained (second from left) Sharon Kay Sheffield, James Kyung-Jin Lee and Jadon Dean Hartsuff to the transitional diaconate June 16 at St. John’s ProCathedral. Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce, at left, celebrated the Eucharist at the service.

JAN

ET K

AWAM

OTO

ORDINATION

Foster Care Services, an institution of the diocese.

u Maria Cueto, a longtime lay leader in social services and La-tino ministries of the Diocese of Los Angeles and wider church, has died. A memorial service was held on July 20 at Imman-uel Church in El Monte, Calif., where Cueto served as a licensed lay minister and staff member of the adjacent Our Saviour Center. Colleagues confirmed Cueto’s death after her body was found June 23 at her nearby home. She was 68 and had been in declining health. ?