This MLK Day we are reminded of the great strides that have been made in this nation, still mired in the reverberations of having enslaved peoples on the basis of origin and ethnicity.
We know that our common labor toward American ideals of equality and shared liberty have found enormous traction, and yet remain a present endeavor.
The religious incentive embodied in the English anti-slavery initiatives, the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the non-violent expressions of the 1960’s civil rights movement, the inspiration motivating Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the leading role of the Anglican Church in the dismantling of South African apartheid…that spiritual drive is now needed to defend American Dreamers, and the long-embedded immigrants in our land. We are summoned by texts such as Leviticus 19:33-34, and 24:22…and many other such texts…to know that the immigrant is near to God’s heart, and that God demands respect for the immigrant from those who dare to name the Holy Name.
I was personally pleased to see the work of CRISTOSAL (HERE) noted in a recent Op-Ed piece in the LA Times, and hope that your will recall Cristosal in your prayers and charitable giving.
I confess to personal sadness over the regression experienced under the current presidency in matters I had imagined to be long settled. I have, hence, been stirred from a dangerous complacency in support of the values I believe to be rooted in the Christian Gospel, and embodied in Anglican Tradition.
Your prayers are additionally asked for the people of Montecito who suffered so unexpectedly from last week’s debris flow. Dear friends Mari Mitchel, a former employee of our Diocese, and her husband the Reverend Canon Hank Mitchel (shared friends with Julie and John Quinn), nearly lost their lives and did lose their possessions. Mari may be seen speaking HERE.
May we all resist complacency in this Season of Epiphanies and Manifestations.
GFW+
Christmas Eve 2017 You Tube Video in now live and may be viewed on the Parish You Tube page HERE
Robert Hovencamp, Organist and Choirmaster, will play a concert of Christmas and Epiphany music at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Wednesday, January 17th at 12:30pm. The concern immediately follows Noonday mass and is 30 minutes in length. The concert is free, and parking in the Cathedral garage is validated.
The Lessons for the Third Sunday After The Epiphany HERE
Read “The Lead” from Episcopal Café HERE
The recent edition of Episcopal News from the Diocese of L.A. may be found HERE, and articles from the national Episcopal News Service
HERE
