Although I wasn’t baptized until I was 6 (my parents lived in an area with only a Catholic and a Presbyterian church), I am basically a “cradle Episcopalian.” From the age of 6 to about19, I attended church, was an acolyte, confirmed at the age of 11, and served at the Christmas Midnight Mass every … READ MORE…
Perhaps you’ve recently seen, here and there around the Cathedral campus and in the weekly bulletins, some notices announcing the 2010 sessions of “What is an Episcopalian?” and wondered to yourself, just what that was all about.Well, it’s a series of forums, spaced usually one per week, which gives an overview of our Church: its … READ MORE…
In 1820, King Kamehameha II announced to his Hawai’ian people the end of the system of taboos, or kapu, the end of the traditional gods, and thus the end of the highly structured, ritualized society of old Hawai’i. Not long thereafter, the first American missionaries, of a strict Calvinist tradition, arrived, presumably finding fertile ground … READ MORE…
Here’s an update from Bart Smoot about his recent mission to Haiti on behalf of St Paul’s Cathedral: Dear Friends, My trip to Haiti in early November was busy, but a success. I was pleased to find that the blood pressure clinic is going strong and getting quite popular. I would estimate that we have … READ MORE…
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I … READ MORE…
I think one of the coolest things about being an Episcopalian is that we are more than just our own church. We are a diocese, which extends from North County San Diego to the Mexico-US border, from the Pacific Ocean to Yuma, Arizona. We encompass San Diego, Riverside, Imperial Counties and Yuma, Arizona, with the … READ MORE…
As a youngster I was always surprised each year when I read Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, or heard the radio broadcast starring Lionel Barrymore (This was before television.) Later, I enjoyed the various television specials. I think my favorite is the one in which the late George Scott portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge. At the climax of … READ MORE…
I will never forget the Christmas following the sudden death of my 19 year old daughter/college student. We buried Debbie the week before Christmas almost 40 years ago. That “Christmas”never happened for me and my family that year. We were “numbed” with a tragic loss. Christmas is a celebrative time, the world is in a … READ MORE…
My uncles live in Green Valley, Arizona, where they attend The Good Shepherd UCC church. You might recognize the welcome expressed on their web site . Last Sunday, their good friend and pastor Rev. Randy J. Mayer preached the following, and I thought it very resonant for us in San Diego as well. Careful, it … READ MORE…
After being on the Holiness in Relationships Task Force for the Diocese, I have to admit I wasnt exactly anxious to read yet another book about the debate between those who use the Bible to uphold their prejudice (fear?) of gays and lesbians and those who feel scripture offers support for gays and lesbians. I … READ MORE…