Dean Letter: Peace & Justice

Hello St. Paul’s,

As we have lived through the general election, peace and justice have been topics on my mind, and I suspect on yours too. As you know, we have an active Peace and Justice committee at St. Paul’s, and I want to share with you a project they have been working on.

From time to time I receive a request from some organization, or sometimes from a parishioner, for me personally or for the Cathedral to take a public stand on some issue. It might take the shape of a letter supporting or opposing a specific bill that’s wending its way through the California legislature or the city government. Or, it might be a petition or an op-ed that we are asked to support. Sometimes the request is for financial support.

These issues are always related to peace and justice in some way, sometimes explicitly to the Gospel or to the faith community. Without exception they are presented as a good cause with an urgent need for our support. You might think it’s a simple matter for me to say yes or no, but things are not always what they seem. Sometimes the case that’s made for a cause doesn’t tell the whole story. Just as we have all tried to be wise and discerning about the candidates and propositions on this week’s ballot, we need to be wise and discerning about which causes to publicly support. I have a great deal of discretion in these matters, but ours is a collaborative ministry, and I have learned to be cautious.

When we discussed this in Chapter the consensus was that a simple policy would be helpful. Policies don’t tell us what to do in every circumstance but they bring objectivity to our discernment and also provide something we can point to when someone asks why we did or didn’t do something. So we asked our Peace and Justice committee to come up with a policy for Chapter to consider. They held two forums for congregational feedback and we now have a draft policy. We decided that the starting point should be the principles of Peace and Justice that Chapter approved last year, so I want to start by sharing those with you.

You can find these principles on our website, on the outreach page.

Our first response to any request for support of a social justice position will be to ask the requester to read these principles and give us a brief statement showing how the request is congruent with the principles. It’s important to note than under no circumstances will we take a position regarding a political party or an individual standing for election in the public sphere. Here’s a flowchart of how the process will work:

And here’s the form we will ask people to complete to aid us in our discernment:

Requests for Cathedral Endorsement or Support
St. Paul’s Cathedral, San Diego
Draft, Sept. 23, 2020

The following are guidelines for proposals requesting that the Cathedral endorse or publicly show support for an issue or event. Nothing in this process is intended to inhibit any individual clergy, staff or member from expressing a personal commitment to a position.

A request, in keeping with our Principles for Social Justice, will:

1. Describe generally the issue being presented.
2. Summarize any relevant positions of The Episcopal Church.
3. Describe any research that was collected and examined relevant to the specific issue and attach same.
4. If funding is requested, specify the amount and proposed source.
5. As appropriate, include information on other individuals or organizations sought for endorsement.

A request should first be sent to the relevant committee, whose recommendation will be presented to the Dean and Wardens. As deemed appropriate by the Dean and Wardens, the request may be submitted to the Chapter for consideration.

There will be cases where it’s immediately obvious to me that we should or should not support a request, but for those cases where a closer scrutiny is advisable, this additional information will help me, the wardens, and Chapter (if necessary) to make an informed decision and represent the Cathedral with integrity and wisdom.

Our plan is to use this draft policy for a few months to see if it works well; after that we will either revise it or submit it to Chapter for adoption. My hope is that this will allow us to respond quickly and faithfully to urgent issues while giving us solid information on which to base a decision. I welcome your thoughts.

See you on Sunday.

Your sister in Christ,
Penny