A Day of Firsts

Yes, it was quite the day! I started out at St. Gabriel's in Monterey Park where I preached and celebrated for the first time solely in Mandarin. Thanks to the good work of both Fr. Peter Lo and Fr. Thomas Ni, I was able to have the service (which included confirmations) put into a bilingual booklet with "pinyin" and Chinese characters. I was able to read a good deal of the characters, but having the pinyin there helped me with the service. Comments included, "you speak so clearly", and "I understood everything you said." Whew! It was also Fr. Peter's birthday, so we were able to sing to him and share cake. The food at this event was amazing -- a delicious fish PLUS a whole roasted pig! Wow! The picture above is of the sanctuary before it burned early this summer. We met and celebrated in 1/2 of the parish hall, which actually years ago WAS the church.

Got home in time to put my feet up for about an hour then changed my clothes and went to the Sixth Day Service at St. Stephen's in Whittier. This is a truly innovative service which started with a group of people at the parish looking around to see who was around the church -- located in a residential area, lots of people walk their dogs outside the church. A "doggie water station" and "clean up bags" were installed outside the parish office. Then the brainstorm -- what about a service for people seeking God -- and their pets! Voila! Brilliant -- it is meeting the needs of people in the neighborhood. Two people, not members of the parish, have attended almost every service. There were over a dozen people and their dogs at this service, which started just a few weeks ago. My own Nigel Bruce (yes, really, that's his name) accompanied me. I was given the privilege of celebrating at this event, and Mary Trainor held Nigel for me. A light dinner followed -- people stayed for fellowship. We sang Happy Birthday to Chris Potter! It was truly a magical time. All the dogs got along very well -- Nigel included (you can see Nigel's picture from a few years ago above). Nigel is doing pretty well for 16!

I wonder how many people will start coming to the Sixth Day Service as word continues to get out about it in the neighborhood. I heard one of the women that has been attending this service with her two dogs say as she was leaving, "next week I'm bringing my neighbor -- she wanted to come today but had a prior commitment." THAT'S evangelism!

For the past 24 hours I had the great joy of spending time in prayer and reflection with men and women in this diocese, lay (but on the ordination track) and ordained who have one thing in common: working in Chinese ministry here in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

We spent time together, not talking about work, not planning programs, not looking at calendars -- but praying, resting, and reflecting. We started out with evening prayer late yesterday afternoon followed by dinner. Then it was laps around the edge of Echo Park Lake. Compline, followed by the Vicar of Dibley was a nice end to our evening together. No no no no no no no no yes! -- if you are a fan of the Vicar of Dibley, you'll understand this reference!

This morning we prayed morning prayer together in the beautiful Lazarus Chapel here at the Cathedral Center in Los Angeles. Breakfast, another walk, and a time of rest rounded out the morning. Noonday prayer, lunch, and yet another few laps around the lake gave us time to talk and to be centered. We ended the day with Evening Prayer and warm goodbyes, including plans for next year's same 24 hour event. I will be repeating this offering with other groups I work with as Multicultural Minister in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

What I realized a long time ago, being an Anglo doing ministry in Spanish for 12 years, is that sometimes this ministry and work can overwhelm you -- the demands are great, and resources are scarce. While all clergy have challenges and work very hard, the work of ethnic clergy is even more stressful (I do not like that way of putting this (ethnic clergy), but I have yet to find a better description - if you can help me I'd appreciate suggestions!).

My goal is to spend time (24 hours) once per year with each group here at the Cathedral Center to do nothing but rest, reflect and pray. A number of those gathered for this 24 hour period spent the bulk of the time in their rooms at the Diocesan Retreat Center resting -- many taking long naps along with time for meditation and reflection. I, too, spent time in prayer -- although I was fielding some phone calls and writing a bit. Yet, just knowing that people were here resting and praying made my heart happy and my soul rejoice!

All I can say regarding this experience is that I can't wait for the next group (those working with ministry in Spanish here in the Diocese of Los Angeles), and for NEXT year with the Chinese clergy!

By the way, I was happily surprised to find that today is the feast day of Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky. I hadn't looked at lesser feasts and fasts when I picked the dates for this gathering -- but I think the Holy Spirit must have been moving fast and furious! (In case you didn't know, Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky was a convert to Christianity and became an Episcopalian, later a priest. He was sent by the the Episcopal Church to China, where he devoted himself from 1862 to 1875 to translating the Bible into Mandarin Chinese. In 1877 he was elected Bishop of Shanghai, where he founded St. John's University, and began his translation of the Bible into Wenli --classical Chinese.)

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!