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WWW.EPISCOPALNEWS.COM SERVING THE SIX-COUNTY DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES JANUARY 29, 2017

Episcopalians join marches in downtown L.A. (top), Riverside (left) and Ventura.

Cathedral Dean Randolph “Randy” Hollerith, left, Diocese of Washington Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and Bishop Suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries James “Jay” Magness help lead 58th Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service Jan. 21 after swearing-in of Donald Trump.

Trump inaugural events end in prayer at National Cathedral

The morning after Donald Trump became the 45th

president, Washington National Cathedral performed one of its traditional roles in U.S. life by of-fering the new president and the nation a chance to come together in prayer.

A representative of the presid-ing bishop, the bishop of Wash-ington and the dean of the ca-thedral led 26 representatives of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Baha’ism and Buddhism in the service. Many of the partic-ipants read, chanted and prayed in the language of their faith traditions and in English. Some 1,275 invited guests attended. The cathedral can seat 2,500.

Prior to the service, the cathe-dral noted on its website that the

liturgy was an “interfaith service of prayer, music and Scripture read-ings, designed to reflect the diversi-ty of our nation and to remind the president that he is called to lead all of us, not just a narrow few.”

The service went on while thousands of people flooded Washington for the Women’s March, including many Episco-palians. Companion marches oc-curred across the country and in other parts of the world.

Diocese of Washington Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde welcomed the congregation “to this house of prayer for all people” and “to this hour of prayer for our na-tion, its leaders and all those who call this land their home.” ?

Interfaith service sought to ‘remind the president that he is called to lead all of us, not just a narrow few’ [Episcopal News Service]

Millions around the world joined “Sister Marches”

Jan. 21, and crowd sizes explod-ed as demonstrators voiced their concerns with the direction of the nation as a new U.S. administra-tion took office.

Episcopalians were among the estimated 750,000 who flooded streets of downtown Los Ange-les. More than 300 women, men, children, and families from All Saints Pasadena participated in the march, according to the Rev. Canon Susan Russell, senior asso-ciate for communications.

She said several All Saints mem-bers were organizers for a pre-march “Rally at the Rotunda”

at Pasadena’s City Hall — where more than 1,700 gathered to hear speakers including Congress-woman Judy Chu. “I’m a native of Los Angeles and no stranger to protest marches that fill the streets of downtown L.A., and I have never seen anything like the size, energy and passion of what we say on Saturday,” Russell told The Episcopal News. “The sea of signs carried through the streets supported a broad spectrum of issues, including women’s rights, civil rights, religious freedom, reproductive justice and LGBT equality and protested a long list of systemic evils: racism, sexism, nativism,

Southland Episcopalians join Women’s March in solidarityBy Pat McCaughan

(continued next page)

For full story, visit www.episcopaldigitalnetwork.org

F R O M T H E B I S H O P S

— SUNDAY, JANUARY 29 —5 p.m. Choral Evensong for Epiphany All Saints’ Episcopal Church 504 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills 90210 Information: www.allsaintsbh.org

— WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 —6 p.m. Loving our Bodies - Eating Disorders St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 242 E. Alvarado Street, Pomona Information: http://bit.ly/2jnilpr

— SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 —9 a.m. Introduction to Contemplative Prayer Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange St. Joseph’s Center434 S. Batavia Street, Orange 92868 Information: www.emmausspiritualministries.org

— SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5 —12:30 - 4 p.m. Men and the Father Wound: Discovering a New Freedom Holy Spirit Retreat Center 4316 Lanai Road, Encino Information/Registration: stillpointca.org

5 p.m. Taizé Eucharist All Saints Episcopal Church 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena Information: allsaintstaize@gmail.com

9 p.m. Compline at the Cathedral St. John’s ProCathedral 514 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles Information: stjohnsla.org/compline

— SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12 —4:30 p.m. Solemn Evensong & Organ Recital St. James in-the-City Episcopal Church 3903 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90010 Information: GreatMusic@SaintJamesLA.org

5 p.m. Chamber Music Concert III: J. S. Bach All Saints’ Episcopal Church 504 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills 90210 Information: www.allsaintsbh.org

5 p.m. Contemplative Evening Eucharist All Saints Episcopal Church 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena Information: allsaintstaize@gmail.com

For more events and program details visit www.ladiocese.org and select “Calendar.”

A R O U N D T H E D I O C E S E

God remains in charge

Islamophobia and homophobia.”In Orange County, Joyce Swaving joined

an estimated 20,000 marchers as a volun-teer route guide.” We had prepared for about 5,000, but it was estimated that 20,000 peo-ple were there,” Swaving said. “The beauty was in the makeup of the crowd — lots of young people, lots of families, lots of different combinations of what comprises family.”

As a guide, she had prepared to intervene if there were protestors or other problems, but there were none, she said. “I helped guide people through the intersections to make sure everyone was safe,” said Swaving, bishop’s warden at St. George’s Church in Laguna Hills. The crowd was enthusiastic, joyful, collegial, she said. “I wanted the march to be about inclusion, that people love who they love, and have access to affordable health care, and that just by our presence we can make a difference.”

After marching with about 5,000 others in Riverside on Jan. 21, Shannon Conrad said the call to continued action was so strong that another gathering was planned for Jan. 26 at All Saints Church, where her husband John is rector. “People came out of it committed to actually doing some work. It wasn’t just a one-time march,” she said. Signs and speak-ers were focused on women’s health issues,

immigration reform, access to health care, the environment and social justice concerns, she said. “Downtown was packed and there were a lot of men and little girls; it was so upbeat and positive.”

She felt motivated to attend the march because of “the negative discourse going on right now and because I feel disheartened by what looks like some of the changes coming, about which I don’t agree. I knew I had to get out and act on what I believe.”

Episcopalians also participated in similar marches held in both Santa Barbara and Ven-tura; reporting will follow in The Episcopal News magazine.

In Pasadena, All Saints’ Russell said she hopes others will also act: “My hope is that the marches are but the beginning of a move-ment — a movement of sacred resistance that will equip and empower us to be agents of God’s love, justice and compassion as we fol-low not only Jesus but all those who have gone before us — blazing the trail of transformative love in action. Because in the final analysis, no matter how fervent our prayers or powerful our rhetoric or clever our protest signs ... if it’s not about love it’s not about God.”

The Pasadena church is hosting a series of forums titled “Intersectional Resistance” — focused on “how we work together to dismantle the systemic evils we marched against,” Russell said. ?

WOMEN’S MARCHContinued from previous page

Almighty and everlasting God, you governall things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Source: GregorianSacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Although this collect is now used for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, its

“staying power” from centuries ago through today remains strong. It has been used since the time of the first Book of Common Prayer (1549):

ALMIGHTIE and everlasting God, whiche doest governe all thynges in heaven and earthe: mercifully heare the supplicacions of thy people, and graunt us thy peace all the dayes of our life.

Coupled with the Beatitudes (Mark 5:1-12) it is a reminder that no matter what station

you are in this life — rich or poor, healthy or sick, male or female — you are not ultimately the one “in charge.” In Christ Jesus we are shown the way of peace — that peace that pass-es all understanding.

The reason the Church continues to pray this collect is that somehow we have never fully learned that God is the one in charge. We can look back historically and see all the ways we as human beings have tried to second-guess God, or in some cases we see the results of people who tried to “play the role of God.” It never ends well.

May we at this point in our history togeth-er on this our fragile island home embrace both the collect for today and the message of the Beatitudes — may we prayerfully and peacefully work together to give voice to the voiceless, care for all, and preach the Gospel at all times, understanding that it is God who is over all. ?

By Diane Jardine Bruce

Episcopal News WeeklyEditor: Janet Kawamoto, editor@ladiocese.org 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90026 • 213.482.2040, ext. 251

THE VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4