You know you've arrived when . . .

It is a funny thing. I was so excited when I ordered it -- I called Mary Gray-Reeves, the Bishop of El Camino Real to make sure she didn't want it. She told me she didn't -- and then I ordered it. I did! My own vanity license plate -- OBISPA. Yes, I know, that word doesn't exist yet in Spanish. Yet. I believe in changing the world one license plate at a time -- obispa is a feminine form of the word obispo which means BISHOP. Spanish speakers at the cathedral center at first shook their heads when they saw it. "La Obispo" is how they referred to me. Well, I think Obispa is much better, and checked it out with Bishop Carranza. He agreed. Actually, lately they have been calling me "obispa". Yes, I'm changing the language one license plate at a time.

Then the other day I realized I had "arrived" as our secretary Lilline would say. Yes, it happened -- I have my own parking space at the cathedral center. Never mind the fact that I'm only there only one day a week. Otherwise, as many of you are aware, I am "out and about" -- "wandering and wondering" around the diocese. There may have been part of me that truly looked forward to it. But, then again, there is part of me that is a little embarrassed by it.

I think that in my wanderings and wonderings I will be paying more attention to license plates I see on the road, and parking spaces reserved for clergy. In many places, these reserved spaces are necessary -- in other places, there isn't any need. What does each place look like? How do the clergy feel about having a parking space or not? What about those clergy (and I know they are out there -- I'm thinking specifically about the Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana) where there isn't ANY parking and, in fact, when they go to work they either have to park in a parking garage where they have to pay to park or they have to feed the meter.

If you're out there reading this blog and have a vanity license plate -- would you be willing to share with me what it is? If you have a reserved parking space, what does the reserved sign say and where is it?

Long Beach

What a busy few days I had a number of weeks ago. I visited St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Luke's, and St. Gregory's -- all in Long Beach! What an incredibly diverse group of churches, yet each are doing mission and ministry in wonderful ways. They are meeting the needs of the communities surrounding them. It was fascinating and humbling to hear all the areas of mission and ministry they are participating in!

At. St. Gregory's, I met with Fr. Stephen and found out about a wonderful food pantry they have, where they provide food to local families on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. At St Luke's, among all the outreach they do in the community they have a homeless shower program -- and in the women's shower area, there's a washer and dryer. How Christ-like! At St. Thomas, they'll be hosting a health fair in the near future which will include everything from soup to nuts, including bone density testing and fall prevention.

One of my favorite "findings" at St. Luke's was the picture above -- about Jesus being really, really, really -- well you get the message -- COOL! What a profound statement of faith in a community that takes outreach seriously.

The three parishes in Long Beach are different, but they are all committed to mission and ministry -- such a blessing!!

Back on the Board

One of the pleasures in my ministry that I had to give up when I became Rector at St. Clement's was being a member of the Camp Stevens Board. I had loved being chaplain there during the summer, and serving with a wonderful group of people who dedicated themselves to making Camp Stevens a place of adventure for children, refreshment for adults, and a base from which to explore -- literally -- the world. As Bishop Suffragan in charge of the southern third of the diocese of Los Angeles, it felt natural to say "yes!" when asked to come back on the board.

I went a few weekends ago for a board meeting. Much has changed there -- not the least of which is all the building post-big-fire a few years ago. The buildings that have been erected since the fire are more highly-insulated and eco friendly, not to mention beautiful.

One of the great new surprises was the incredible gardens that are under the watchful eye of Ryan Wanamaker, a young man who was on staff and who I thought the world of working with him with groups of children. Ryan keeps a keen eye on the garden behind the kitchen as well as a larger garden down the road.

When I was there for the board meeting, I noticed the wonderful signs above in the kitchen, talking about what is ripe for the picking and where it is, along with some "scavanger hunt" items to draw people to the garden.

Okay, anyone who knows me well knows that I am not the world's best gardener. Although Steve does tell me that I do a bang up job pruning the azaleas every year! I was so struck with Ryan's work and creativity, I have come to a decision: next summer, when I am "bishop in residence" during one of the summer weeks (the week of July 18th, to be exact) I will volunteer to help in the garden any way I can. Weeds? No problem. Slimy things? -- maybe an issue, but I'll do my best.

As I'm wandering and wondering, I can't help but give thanks to God for people like Ryan and the staff at Camp Stevens who not only care about our children, but also the quality of the place they sleep and the food they eat.

With Glee

There is a wonderful young lady who acolytes at St. Stephen's in Whittier. Her name is Lauren Potter (and yes, I received her father's permission to print these pictures). You may recognize her. She is one of the many stars that we have here in the diocese of Los Angeles -- not only a star in the sense that she is a star acolyte (pictured above), she has also played a role as a cheerleader with down syndrome on the popular show GLEE. Her father told me she has her own SAG card! I found a wonderful Glee Fan Club article about Lauren that you can read if you'd like: http://www.gleefan.com/lauren-potter/

This very poised young lady waited patiently as her father -- Chris Potter, along with the Rev. Mary Trainor and other members of St. Stephen's spoke with me recently about a new service they want to start -- The Sixth Day. It will begin on Sunday, October 3rd at 5:00. The service itself will last about 1/2 an hour, with a dinner following. The service is for people seeking God -- and their pets, especially their dogs. This service even has its own page on facebook! The service will be offered every Sunday at 5:00.

It was with glee that I drove home from meeting Lauren and hearing about the great work she is doing as an actress AND an acolyte. It is with glee that I look forward to attending this new Sixth Day service at St. Stephen's!

Dogmatics -- and The Sixth Day

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ENTRY -- YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY.

Visiting with the Deanery 9 Clergy at their monthly clericus today, I met Montera. Montera is a guide dog specially trained as an Eagle Scout project for people who are hearing impaired. She was brought to the clericus meeting by the man she helps, Deacon Steven Sterry from Blessed Sacrament in Placentia.

The Rev. Lisa Golden mentioned to the group that a friend of hers has her dog dress in appropriate liturgical-colored scarves during the year. Steve, as a Deacon, mentioned that as he wears a dalmatic, he is hoping for someone to make a "dogmatic" for Montera. Well, a great deal of laughter ensued, as you can only imagine. Montera had been very attentive to the paten containing the communion wafers earlier in the Eucharist that I celebrated. Steve joked that she cannot receive communion because she had not been trained in the CATechism yet. Okay, that was a bad joke, but it was made. Actually, I thought it was pretty funny!

What IS serious -- and wonderful -- is a NEW service that has been developed by the people and clergy of St. Stephen's in Whittier. This new liturgy is -THE SIXTH DAY: FOOD FOR PETS, FOOD FOR THE SOUL. According to the Facebook group: Bring your pets to this inaugural service of Word, Table, Meal, in the Episcopal tradition. Gather at 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 3rd and on Sundays thereafter with other people who enjoy the presence of companion animals. Help support our mission of providing pet food and other life resources to help keep pets in their homes during this economic crunch.
The Sixth Day:The Beginning
Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 5:00pm
In The Back Room of St. Stephen's, 10925 Valley Home Ave., Whittier.

It is truly an emergent service. It speaks to who is around the parish -- and in the parish. What a wonderful outreach opportunity!!!! And yes, I believe Montera will be present on October 3rd. On October 24th I will be there along with my dog Nigel Bruce (yes really, that's his name) -- our 16 year old corgie/shepherd mix.

I believe that the love of God in Christ is visible in many forms -- and today, laughing with Deacon Steve and Montera, I can't help but think that Jesus would say, Amen, Amen, Amen!

Colin my GPS.

"Please follow the highlighted route." That's what Colin, my GPS system says to me (in a British accent) as I finish plugging in where I'm going and hit the "done" button. Then, well, the fun starts.

I have lived in Southern California for over 20 years. Really. Yet, with Colin I've experienced more side roads and routes than I thought imaginable. For example: Did you know you can get to St. Mary's in Mariposa heading north on the 5 Freeway from Irvine by exiting at Garfield? Yes, you go through Vernon, the LA garment district, skirt down town (all on side streets) -- but you get to St. Mary's. Really. Honest.

When traffic looks heavy ahead, Colin will call out to me, "traffic heavy ahead -- diverting". If I decide NOT to divert with Colin, he calls out: "recalculating, recalculating, recalculating." I think sometimes I frustrate Colin. More often than not, I follow his directions. More often than not, I scratch my head as I am "diverted" into neighborhoods I've never been through, off the beaten path, into the unknown. "This can't be right" I often say to myself. Yet, Colin IS right -- he hasn't failed me yet!

I was wondering today as I was wandering from the 405 to the 5 (trying to get to the Cathedral Center from Newport Beach) when Colin "diverted" me up Studebaker over to Firestone then to Lakewood THEN to the 5 and up to the 101 -- isn't this a metaphor for our spiritual journey? The faith journey isn't a "straight shot" -- there are all SORTS of "diversions" that happen to us, taking us places we've never been and encountering areas that we SHOULD see. Our faith journey demands of us that we trust enough to follow a path that we may be unsure of -- and to know that we will make it to our next destination. And there WILL be a next destination, and a destination after that -- after all, it is a journey. It's not a once-and-forever event. We constantly change and grow, and our journey helps takes us to that next place we need to go to.

I trust Colin will get me to where I need to go. The first few times he sent me off the freeway or through areas I was unfamiliar with, I thought to myself, "what the heck?" -- I was tense. Now, I'm relaxed, knowing that I will eventually get to where I need to be. It's not always going to be a straight shot -- there will be twists and turns, but I'll get there. I just relax and listen to the current book in my cd player, and say prayers of thanksgiving as I go through new neighborhoods throughout Southern California.

Thank you, Colin! Thank you, Jesus!

Story in Stained Glass

I visited St. Mary's Mariposa the other day. I was struck by the beauty of the stained glass windows. On closer inspection, I began to notice stories from the parish history (or, rather, the people of the parish -- but that's the same thing, isn't it)....reflected in the windows.

The stained glass window that has what looks to be shields around the image of Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane intrigued me. I apologize for the lack of clarity in the photo -- but there are words in the shields, and images. Quoting the booklet on the windows that the people of St. Mary's produced: "(The shields) represent the Episcopal Church diocese in those states where people of Japanese ancestry were sent to internment camps -- an exodus experience:

Wyoming -- Heart Mountain

California -- Tule Lake and Manzanar

Arizona -- Gila River and Poston

Utah -- Topaz

Colorado -- Amache

Arkansas-- Rowher and Jerome

Idaho -- Minidoka

There is also the patch of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose slogan was 'Go for Broke'. This most decorated regiment of World War II consisted of Japanese American 'Nisei' from Hawaii and the mainland. Over 150 soldiers were from St. Mary's".

What an incredible witness to the history of the people of St. Mary's! I was also struck by the image of Snoopy of Peanuts fame in one of the windows -- it was given in remembrance of a young boy who died of a brain tumor who was visited by Fr. Yamazaki, the priest at the time at St. Mary's. The young boy had a stuffed Snoopy by his bedside all during his illness.

Talking with the clergy at St. Mary's (Richard Van Horn, Marilyn Omernick, Butch Gamarra), what became clear is that, as this congregation has been working toward calling its next rector, there is a "new" stained glass "pattern" that is developing. As the demographics around the neighborhood of this historically Japanese parish has changed, so has the mission and ministry focus of the parish. A Spanish speaking service has been started, as well as a community garden (picture of the garden top right). St. Mary's Mariposa, with its rich history, is moving to embrace who they have been and who God is calling them to be. While there is still work to do, a trip to this beautiful church is worth it -- not only does it have an interesting and unique history that is told in its windows, but it is moving out to create a new history for itself.

I wonder if we all took a look at who our neighbors are, and embraced them, what this diocese would look like? Hmmmm.....