Jul 11, 2023 | #BishopStatements, #Press&BishopStatements
Dear Friends in Christ,
It is with tremendous sadness, and with great gratitude for a beautiful, faithful life and ministry, that I announce the death of the Rev. Iain Stanford, Rector of St. Peter’s, Redwood City.
Iain+ came to the diocese early in his life as an ordained person, after an academic career, with doctoral study at Harvard Divinity, with his beloved and dear friend, the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge. Iain’s first ordained ministry in the Diocese of California was at Grace Cathedral, where he was a colleague of our great team of liturgists there.
He left DioCal for a brief time, but during the Covid 19 lockdown, Iain+ was called to serve at St. Peter’s, Redwood City. Iain’s call to St. Peter’s was courageous in that it was a process carried out entirely by digital, remote means. Both Iain+ and the people of St. Peter’s leaned into the possibilities of the moment, uncharted as they were, and the result has been, I believe, a blessing for all. My sincerest condolences go to the good people of St. Peter’s who have lost more than a priest and rector.
Along with Cameron+ and our own Deacon Vickie Gray and Sarah Lawton, Iain+ was a pioneer for transgender rights in the Episcopal Church. The entire Church owes Iain+ thanks for his persistent work for equality and justice.
I understand that at his death, Iain’s sister was with him, and that for these months leading up to his death he was in a circle of loving clergy and lay friends, who prayed and sang him into the welcoming arms of God. My blessings to this close circle, who are themselves grieving now.
Very shortly after his diagnosis, Iain+ asked for a pastoral Zoom meeting with me, and we have stayed in communication throughout, even up to a telephone conversation as Sheila and I drove across the country, and texts on the night before his death. I am so grateful for those moments we shared.
Though we trust in God’s loving care and providence, yet the eyes of our faith are misted by tears of sorrow, sorrow only for our loss, for Iain+ truly lives with God now, unveiled. Please join me in praying for his family and closest friends.
+Marc
Jul 3, 2023 | #BishopStatements, #Press&BishopStatements
My family in Christ in the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area,
In light of last week’s disheartening Supreme Court rulings against affirmative action, student loan forgiveness, and LGBTQ+ protections, I commend our Presiding Bishop’s two statements to The Episcopal Church, which are pasted below. I would also like to add the following personal reflection:
At the 2008 San Francisco Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast, I heard our then-mayor, Gavin Newsom, say that as a lifelong member of the Church, he believed that the then-freshly passed Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was contrary to his understanding of Christianity. “I was taught,” he said, “that the Church works to expand rights, not constrict them.”
Immediately after Proposition 8’s passage, I and many within our diocese and the wider faith community partnered with LGBTQ+ advocates to overturn the proposition, along with the U.S. military’s discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and the disastrous Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage. I particularly remember the optimism of the advocates we invited for a gathering at Grace Cathedral; they were steadfast in their view that these policies would be overturned, and sooner than many thought.
Leveraging the far-reaching influence of our diocese, our own chancellor, Canon Christopher Hayes, asked me to join him in enrolling dioceses across The Episcopal Church to follow our lead and sign amicus briefs to the Supreme Court opposing Proposition 8. All of California’s six Episcopal dioceses joined us in that historic effort. We then rallied them to join Episcopal dioceses from nine other states and Washington, D.C., 23 in total, in signing a second brief challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
A short time later, in 2013, I found myself at San Francisco City Hall amidst a crowded, jubilant throng gathered to hear the official news that the Supreme Court had indeed rejected Proposition 8. It also deemed as unconstitutional the section of DOMA that barred federal recognition of married same-sex couples. By this time, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell had also been repealed. Of course, these overturns were no accident but the result of patient, persistent advocacy.
I recount all of the above to illustrate that DioCal — through its solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, with young people disadvantaged by race and income, and with all who experience injustice — breathes life into the Beloved Community principles that are so central to our identity. St. Paul taught us that love will not fail; everything that is not love will pass away; this I believe.
+Marc
Pastoral word from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to LGBTQ+ community
Courtesy of The Episcopal Church, Office of Public affairs
Read the transcript
Statement from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry on Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in college admissions
Courtesy of The Episcopal Church, Office of Public affairs
“In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action in college admissions, I am saddened for all who will be negatively impacted, and I am mindful that we must continue to root out white supremacy and systemic racism.
Our mandate as followers of Jesus is clear: to create the Beloved Community by facing painful truths from our past, learning from them, and then turning and joining hands together to right wrongs and foster justice and healing. In so doing, we can be and build that community and world where there is truly liberty and justice for all. This is the work of love.
The Episcopal Church has long supported programs of affirmative action to address inequality wherever it exists. This work continues, and our faithful witness is more important now than ever before.”
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Jun 1, 2023 | #BishopStatements, #News&Events, #Press&BishopStatements, #PressRelease
At the 2008 Lambeth Conference, I was honored to lead the sponsorship of a new film, Prophetic Voices of Witness, Africa, which highlighted LGBTQIA+ Anglicans in Uganda and other African Anglican provinces. Our purpose in creating this beautiful, powerful film was not only to give these courageous souls the chance to speak of their lives and Christian faith but also to give lie to the assertions that: There are no African LGBTQIA+ people; that there is no “being” LGBTQIA+, that homosexuality is a choice; and that LGBTQIA+ lives are the result of corrupt Western importations.
Powerful as the film was, I was under no illusions that the deeply entrenched evils visited on the LGBTQIA+ community, not only in Africa but all over the world, would be so easily undone. However, the news that the current Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Stephen Kaziimba, has openly praised Uganda’s latest anti-LGBTQIA+ laws is appalling and an affront to Christian faith.
Only a year ago the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, made a historic statement that recognized the theological legitimacy of those within the Communion who affirm full inclusion and rights for the LGBTQIA+ community. And yet, now, the leader of the Anglican Church of Uganda is praising this dangerous new anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation.
It is a scandal that in most of the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly called the British Commonwealth), the core of the Anglican world, homosexual activity is criminalized. It is a further matter of shame that such criminalization is not condemned by the Anglican Communion and provinces of the Communion that contain such countries. It need not be argued that silence is complicity. Yet, for the Anglican Church of Uganda, through its Archbishop, to praise the nation’s new, draconian anti-LGBTQIA+ laws is beyond even this lamentable complicity. Moreover, it is unfortunate that Uganda’s new legislation aimed at LGBTQIA+ persons conflate numbers of abuses, such as sexual abuse of minors, with homosexuality. This area of Uganda’s legislation should not be linked to sexual orientation.
I wish to be clear: my position as Bishop of California in the Episcopal Church, and as a Christian, is one of affirmation of LGBTQIA+ persons. The Diocese of California and The Episcopal Church unequivocally support our LGBTQIA+ siblings (history). I join my voice with those admirable people in the film we showed at Lambeth 2008 to say that they are my kin in Christ. The LGBTQIA+ people of Africa should be respected and loved, not criminalized and persecuted
Apr 21, 2023 | #BishopStatements, #News&Events, #Press&BishopStatements
Dear Friends in Christ,
I’m writing to ask for your prayers of comfort and support for Our Saviour, Oakland, whose church home was badly damaged in a fire this morning.
Rector Merry Chan Ong reports that the Oakland Fire Department called her around 3:25 a.m. to tell her the front of the church was on fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire, which burned the chapel door and surrounding pillars. Thankfully, there are no reports of injuries. However, Rev. Merry tells me the amount of damage is heartbreaking; along with the fire damage, there is water damage to the narthex and smoke damage throughout the building, including the church office and conference rooms.
Our Saviour has a long and proud history serving Oakland’s Chinese community. Their outreach has expanded even further in recent years, thanks to their partnership with True Sunshine, San Francisco to offer multi-lingual worship on Zoom. As Our Saviour’s bishop, I am committed to ensuring that their legacy continues. May the peace of Christ be with Rev. Merry, the lay leadership, and the entire congregation during this difficult time and help them move forward with a spirit of hope.
Almighty and everlasting God, we ask that you bless the people of Our Saviour, Oakland and the community they serve with your comfort, strength, and guidance in the wake of today’s devastating fire. We offer our thanks to Oakland Fire Department for their work to extinguish the fire. We ask for your grace as we gather resources for our work to reestablish Our Saviour to its longstanding place as a beacon of faith, love, and community. In your gracious name, we pray. Amen.
In faith,
+Marc
Apr 20, 2023 | #BishopStatements, #News&Events, #Press&BishopStatements, #PressRelease
The following is message to the Diocese of California from the Rt Rev Marc Handley Andrus, PhD. The message is followed by quotes contributed by the leadership of the Union of Black Episcopalians – Vivian Traylor/Northern California Chapter, the Afro Anglican Commission of the Diocese of California, the diocesan Standing Committee, and the diocesan Executive Council.
April 20, 2023
Dear Friends in Christ,
On Tuesday evening, April 18, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Diocese of California, took a historic step by enabling the funding of a Canon position which I have called for, the Canon for Racial, Social and Environmental Justice.
The decision to fund the position was the coming together of several powerful strands of thought and commitment: there was an original task force to come up with job description for the Canon; an activist coalition convened by the local Union of Black Episcopalians and the Afro/Anglican Commission of the Diocese of California, a coalition that came together to present a resolution to me and the Executive Council, presenting the case for the urgency of creating this position, and the Council itself, which has doggedly worked on creating a workable path to fund the position.
I acknowledge that the challenges around racial, social, and environmental justice are vast — too vast to be carried by any one person. With this in mind, I invite us to see the Canon as one who helps all of us to connect, lift up, and stand with those in our community who are the inheritors of oppression, and who experience oppression and violence in their current lives. It is also my belief and hope that the new Canon will bring with them experience and training that will help us advance justice. Personally speaking, and as I told the Executive Council Tuesday evening, I expect that the new Canon will know more about each of these areas than I do. While I have been committed and worked for racial, social, and environmental justice for many years, I am sure that the new Canon will teach and lead me into new understandings and paths of action.
It is important for me to say a few words about the source of funding for the Canon position. Through the thoughtful work of our Finance Committee, we identified using a portion of money raised in our Expanding Horizons capital campaign. As with the Canon position, I initiated the Expanding Horizons campaign, but it was fulfilled – bringing close to $20 million dollars into new missional initiatives of the diocese, diocesan institutions and partner congregations – by a multitude of faithful people, with the expertise of our Canon for Development, Planned Giving and Stewardship, Mr. Davey Gerhard. The incredible generosity of major donors and some 1000 Episcopalians have made the new Canon for Racial, Social and Environmental Justice possible – I am deeply grateful to them all.
Thanks to the Executive Council’s decision, I am now building a task force to search for our first Canon for Racial, Social and Environmental Justice. The task force will post a job description and then conduct the search over the summer, with the hopes of filling the position by the fall of 2023. I ask for your prayers and blessings as we take our next steps toward becoming Christ’s Beloved Community.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
Amen.
In faith,
———————————————————–
From the Union of Black Episcopalians – Vivian Traylor/Northern California Chapter:
“Our Union of Black Episcopalian members are thrilled to hear that the Canon for Racial, Social and Environmental Justice position is approved, and we eagerly anticipate the hiring of a great candidate.
It is our strong belief that in the Diocese of California, one of the most diverse racially, ethnically, culturally, gender and sexually-orientated dioceses in the nation, the work of this Canon poses an exceptional opportunity to grow and become more reflective of the Bay Area’s richly diverse demographics.
The Church’s work towards the realization of the Beloved Community is of the utmost importance, and we believe that the Canon for Racial, Social and Environmental Justice is an essential piece to achieving this goal.”
From the Rev Dr Mauricio Wilson, Rector of St. Paul’s in Oakland and Chair of the Afro Anglican Commission of the Diocese of California:
“The Diocese of California is committed to the ministries of advocacy for the most vulnerable among us, as well as breaking down the systems and barriers that contribute to divisions and discrimination. The calling of this Canon will help us remain faithful to this call.”
From Mr. Warren Wong , General Convention Deputy (Calif.) and member of the GC Task Force on Care of Creation & Environmental Racism; President of the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of California
“The new Canon for Racial, Social, and Environmental Justice position reflects the Church’s commitment to three interconnected systems that impact our SF Bay Area communities.”
From Ms. Sherry Lund, Chair of the Executive Council of the Diocese of California:
“We look to this Canon to help us expand our vision and work toward overcoming injustice, and toward caring for the earth.”
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Mar 6, 2023 | #BishopStatements, #News&Events, #Press&BishopStatements
Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.
Dear Beloved Community in the Diocese of California – The sad news of the death of former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold came as a surprise for me, and I’m sure many in our diocese. In addition to sharing Presiding Bishop Curry’s prayer and the Griswold family’s obituary for Bishop Frank, I’d like to also share a few of my memories with you.
Bishop Frank Griswold was the chief consecrator when I was ordained as a bishop on February 7, 2002. Before that time, he was a remote figure for me, but one of great interest and curiosity. I first heard Frank’s name when he emerged as a candidate for Presiding Bishop. At the time I was a priest in the Diocese of Virginia and had been formed at Virginia Seminary; in other words, a person raised up in a Low Church environment, which I naively took to be normative across the Episcopal Church. I said, upon hearing about Frank’s candidacy, “He can’t be elected, can he?” But with time, I learned much about the beauty and depth of high church liturgy and worship from Bishop Frank.
More meaningfully, I also heard about a House of Bishops’ gathering at the Kanuga Camp and Conference Center in North Carolina in the early years of Frank’s tenure as Presiding Bishop, at which Bishop Griswold invited all the bishops to dance together in a dance of the Trinity, of the Trinity’s energies of dispossession and possession, of giving and receiving. Prior to hearing a wisp of this story of a spiritual dance or practice, the very idea of the House of Bishops was at best vague to me. My imagination was activated about the House of Bishops, and Frank as the Presiding Bishop – the House of Bishops and its head now began to appear as spiritual leaders, followers of Jesus Christ, in addition to their undoubtedly important roles in administration.
The above being true, at that time I had not even an inkling of thought about being called to the ministry of a bishop. Then, with my election and consecration in early 2002, Frank became much more prominent in my life. He was not only the Presiding Bishop under whom I initially served, he was a kind, wise and generous mentor. I hope I assimilated his lessons to me, both those that he intentionally imparted and those I gleaned by observation.
As the whole Church, and within it the House of Bishops struggled over the recognition of the full rights of LGBTQ people, Frank led us with both great, steady courage and equipoise. Bishop Frank drew on the depth of his formation in Ignatian spirituality to help the House of Bishops discern its way forward, a path that led us to become more just, more in conformance with the dream of God, as Verna Dozier would have put it.
A last memory to share comes from a Diocese of California clergy retreat shortly before COVID, when I invited Bishop Frank to lead our clergy in a time of spiritual reflection. Bishop Frank’s teachings came from his life of deep prayer, which fueled his attention to the world. My time with him then was a gift. We talked on the long drive from San Francisco to Healdsburg and back, and during breaks at the clergy retreat, and while our time was marked by fun, it was also a time when Bishop Frank was attentive to our friendship and my ministry as a bishop.
Sheila and I are praying for Frank’s wife, Phoebe and their daughters. I will miss Frank Griswold, and always feel gratitude for his leadership of our Church through crucial times of change, and for the kindness and support he always offered to me and our family.
