The children of Abraham have ever been reminded to care for the widow and or-phan and the sojourner in their midst,

who were the refugees and homeless of the time. Jesus charged his followers to care for the least of these and pro-claim the near presence of the Reign of God — in other words, feed the hungry, water the thirsty, house the home-less, heal the sick, and liberate the captives. We cannot ignore the massive human suffering in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, nor in Asia and the Americas. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, and our lives are bound up with theirs. The churchwide ministry of Episcopalians has included refugee resettle-ment since the refugee crisis of World War II. It continues today through the leadership of Episcopal Migration Ministries, and I urge your involvement, action, and support. Read about their work below, and share these op-portunities with friends and co-workers. You will discover anew the power of good news in the face of the world’s tragedies.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts SchoriPresiding Bishop and PrimateThe Episcopal Church

Congregational and individual responsesThe Syrian Civil War, now in its fourth year,

has unleashed a humanitarian emergency in which severe war crimes — including indis-criminate massacres, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender-based violence, and other humanitarian abus-es — have become widespread. According to a recent UNHCR report, more than 4 million people (through the end of 2014) have fled their homes to escape the war in Syria, add-ing to a worldwide total of nearly 20 million

refugees, half of whom are children. This is the largest and most widespread refugee cri-sis the world has known since World War II. Powerful images of refugees fleeing Syria are compelling the world to action.

LearnThe media publishes articles on a daily

basis chronicling the most recent events and statistics. This crisis is complex geopolitically and historically; for more information, visit bit.ly/1JbalvO.

ActIn 2015, the United States is welcoming

70,000 refugees to our country as new Amer-icans. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, through Episcopal Migration Minis-tries, works in partnership with its affiliate network, along with dioceses, faith commu-nities and volunteers, to welcome refugees from conflict zones across the globe. Your local resettlement agency is always preparing for arriving families and in need of financial support, resources and volunteers. IRIS, the Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service, is the EMM branch in Los Angeles; visit iris.ladiocese.org.

AdvocateAs a global leader in refugee resettlement,

the U.S. can and must do all that it can to wel-come Syrians to the United States. Reach out to senators, representatives, and the White House and ask them to support a robust refu-gee resettlement program and significant in-crease in Syrian resettlement. The Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) has written a sample letter: visit advocacy.episcopalchurch.org. Join EPPN to receive updates and policy action alerts to your inbox. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Be awareFollow Episcopal Migration Ministries on

Facebook and Twitter. Share news articles and stories online and through your social media networks. Generate discussions in your community about the issues refugees are facing.

Join the #RefugeesWelcome global social media campaign urging governments to wel-come refugees to their countries.

Teachers can use UNHCR’s toolkit at bit.ly/1gEzG3v for teaching young people about migration and refugees.

For additional information, contact Allison Duvall, Manager for Church Relations and Engagement for the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, at 212.716.6027 or adu-vall@episcopalchurch.org. ?

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Caring for the sojournerA message from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

In this photo from 2011, near the beginning of the civil war in their homeland, Syrian families try to cross the border into Turkey. Four years later, the refugees’ plight once again draws international attention.

Today’s Gospel lesson from Mark tells of the second time in the Gospel Jesus talks with his disciples about his eventual

death at the hands of humanity (and there will be a third). The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again (v. 31) Mark also writes that they did not un-derstand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him (v. 32). We can surmise, without manipulating the text at all, that the disciples were in denial. They refused to believe what Jesus was saying to them. For me this raises the question: When do we deny reality? Un-der what circum-stances do we practice denial?

A basic defini-tion of denial, according to the American College Dictionary, is the contradiction of a statement. More relevant to today’s lesson, it is the refusal to believe, or disbelief in the existence of a reality or thing.

And the Gospel writer Mark gives us a partial answer to the question, when do we deny reality? We, like the disciples, may deny reality when we do not understand and when we are afraid. I would add a third type of situation connected to the first two: we may deny reality when there is a trauma, such as a sudden death. When a trauma happens to us or we hear a piece of devastating news, we may find ourselves saying, “I don’t believe it!” or “This isn’t really happening!” or “It can’t be!” Psychologists tell us that there can be a positive aspect to denial; it can be a coping mechanism, or a survival tool that can help us eventually to deal with reality.

But prolonged denial in the face of a real-ity that needs to be received, understood, and

integrated can have some neg-ative effects. Prolonged de-nial for Jesus’ disciples found them entering into a more complex level of denial. The disciples began to talk with one another about who was greatest among them. What they were talking about was, itself, a profound denial of the very essence of Jesus’ teaching and ministry: The last shall be first and the first last. The greatest shall be least and the least, greatest. Unless you become

like children …Prolonged denial can

lead to isolation; to mak-ing the abnormal seem normal; and to the unreal assertion that there is no problem — there’s noth-ing wrong.

There are several ways in which we can overcome the human experience of denial. One way is to do a reality check. In the face of a fragile truth or a hard-to-understand re-ality, we can ask others what they are perceiv-ing. We can test our perceptions, check for denial, and in the process build relationships and community.

But the best and easiest way to deal with denial is to stick with reality. Jesus stuck with reality. He very often repeated truths he was trying to convey to overcome sometimes understandable denial on the part of his fol-lowers. And he frequently illustrated those realities he was conveying with a story; with a child; with his life. When, in the final analy-sis, we overcome denial and engage the real-ity that is God’s gift to us of life, then we will live into the greatest reality of all: the reality of the Resurrection. ?

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

— SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 —4 p.m. ‘Voices in Bronze’ Solo Handbell Recital St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church 6201 E. Willow Sreet, Long Beach Information: 562. 420.1311

— TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 —7:30p.m. Versed: Hard Truths - Study of Prophecy (Session 1 of 6)Cathedral Center of St. Paul 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles Information: 213.482.2040 Registration here bit.ly/1ON50A9

— FRIDAY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 - 27 —Core Godly Play Training All Saints’ Church 504 N. Camden Drive, Beverly HillsInformation: www.godlyplay.org

— SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 —5 p.m. St. Stephen’s Centennial Homecoming Beaumont Civic Center 550 E. Sixth Street, Beaumont Information/Tickets: 951.845.1358

— SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27—4 p.m. Interfaith Meditation Garden Dedication St. George’s Episcopal Church 950 Spruce Street, Riverside Information: 626.862.1502

— SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 —10 a.m. Celebration of New Ministry All Saints-by-the-Sea 83 Eucalyptus Lane, Santa Barbara information: 805.969.4771

12 noon Decoding Rituals & Symbols of Hinduism Vedanta Society’s Hollywood Temple 1946 Vedanta Place, Hollywood (Los Angeles) Reservations: www.TheGuibordCenter.org

6 p.m. Lobster Fest St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 10354 Downey Avenue, Downey Information: 562.862.3268

More listings are at www.ladiocese.org. Select “Calendar” on the navigation bar.

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THE VOLUME 4, NUMBER 37

By Mary D. Glasspool

The best and easiest way to deal

with denial is to stick with reality.

Jesus stuck with reality.