Jun 13, 2023 | #DidYouKnow, #Stories
Story by Canon Stephanie Martin Taylor, Photos by the Rev. Merry Chan Ong
Late last week, a new mural appeared on the front of Our Saviour’s building in Oakland’s Chinatown. The mural depicts a rabbit, this year’s Chinese Zodiac sign.
The rabbit is a welcome sight for Our Saviour’s rector, the Rev. Merry Chan Ong, who has been shepherding her congregation through a series of traumatic events in recent weeks. These include an arson fire in the church doorway, a homicide in front of the building, and a series of graffiti attacks that have further defaced Our Saviour’s fire-scarred edifice.
In a text message, Ong said the rabbit and its symbolic qualities remind her of “Jesus, our hope.” “A rabbit symbolizes welcome, compassion, kindness, humbleness, gentleness, and affection,” Ong said.
Ong said artists from Three Thirty Three Arts (333) painted the rabbit mural at the request of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. 333 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building community through art. Its artists often paint murals to cover and deter graffiti on local schools, stores, and other buildings in East Bay neighborhoods.
Ong said that even before the arson attack in April, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and Our Saviour’s congregation had been working together to increase security in the neighborhood by installing surveillance cameras on the church’s building. The cameras captured footage of the arson attack as well as the homicide, helping police in their investigations.
Now the chamber is helping Our Saviour in its nearly-constant struggle to keep its building free of graffiti. In addition to 333, the chamber has asked a nonprofit called Family Bridges Oakland to send volunteers to help remove and paint over graffiti tags.
Ong said the frequency and extent of the vandalism have been exhausting, but her congregation won’t give up. With the help of the Chinatown Chamber and other artists and volunteers, Our Saviour is sending a strong message to the community that it cares for its building.
The diocese has created a new digital link for donations to Our Saviour’s fire recovery. Click here to contribute.
Checks may be sent to the Diocesan House address (see below), noting that the donation is for “Fire Relief for Our Saviour, Oakland.” Thank you for your prayers and support for Our Saviour and the Oakland Chinatown community.
DioHouse address:
The Episcopal Diocese of California
1055 Taylor Street; San Francisco, California 94108
Jun 13, 2023 | #DidYouKnow, #Stories
Story by the Rev. Canon Debbie Low-Skinner, Photos courtesy of the Rev. Canon Debbie Low-Skinner and Faith Formation Associate Caren Miles
Some 39 people from 13 congregations gathered at Grace Cathedral Saturday, June 10 to be confirmed, renew their baptismal vows, or be received as members of The Episcopal Church. As always, we thank our awesome diocesan associate for faith formation (who also specializes in youth and young adult ministries), Caren Miles, for organizing this confirmation event and making it run smoothly, with the great help and cooperation of the cathedral staff.
Our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Ph.D., presided. In his sermon on St. Ephrem of Edessa, he pointed out that on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to perform deeds of power. He said those being confirmed are also enabled to perform deeds of power. In the modern age, that could mean working to free people oppressed by unjust governments/institutions. It could also mean helping provide clean and safe water to the estimated three billion people (out of a world population of eight billion) who lack it. We are not here in this world to be only for ourselves, Bishop Marc said. We need each other. Quoting Ram Dass, Bishop Marc reminded the congregation that, ultimately, we are here to walk each other home. Think of a world where the clean water of the Spirit has been spread to everyone.
The collection taken at the service will help fund the planting of fruit trees at our Jubilee Farm/Church in Brentwood. ree planting is part of a global Anglican Communion effort to counter climate change.
After confirmations, Bishop Marc signed prayer books and posed for photos with confirmands in the cathedral chapter house library.
Jun 6, 2023 | #DidYouKnow, #Stories
Story and photo by Canon Debbie Low-Skinner
One of our lesser-known clergy and unsung heroes is The Rev. Liz Milner, who is the Executive Director of Chaplain Services of the Santa Clara County Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy (CIC) and also the Facility Chaplain of the Correctional Center for Women. She has worked for the CIC since 2016.
She wrote (in her LinkedIn profile), ” I love working with people who are incarcerated, discovering their stories and their strengths. (I also) love speaking and connecting with local faith groups to bridge divides and grow spiritual health.”
Previously Rev. Liz was the former Executive Pastor of the Palo Alto Vineyard Church for 12 years. After she completed a Certificate of Anglican Studies at CDSP, she was ordained an Episcopal priest by Bishop Andrus in 2018. Besides an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, she earned a BA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge in England.
Currently, Rev. Liz is a member of DioCal’s Commission on Ministry and occasionally serves as a supply priest.
FYI if you are interested in volunteering for jail ministry, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga is offering training on June 10th. St. Andrew’s has had many of their parishioners actively involved in this lay ministry over the past 40 years. (While serving as Pastoral Associate at St. Andrew’s, Rev. Debbie Low-Skinner conducted monthly holy communion services at the Santa Clara County Main Jail.)
At this upcoming CIC Ministries in-person “Going In, Staying In” volunteer training on June 10th, people will be trained to provide 
spiritual services in Santa Clara County Jails (i.e., the Main Jail in downtown San Jose and the Elmwood Facility in Milpitas) and the Juvenile Detention Facilities. Take the first step to share the hope found in knowing the love of God with individuals that are incarcerated. The CIC is especially looking for volunteers for Juvenile Hall and to lead group studies in the adult men’s facilities.
The “Going In, Staying In” jail ministry training is for new and returning volunteers and focuses on orientation to chaplaincy and facility updates, as well as context specific skill building such as trauma informed ministry and cultural humility. The training is free and open to all over the age of 21.
Jun 5, 2023 | #DidYouKnow, #Stories
Originally published on Building Faith: A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary. Written by Alberta Brown Buller (she/her/hers), Jeanette Dinwiddie-Moore (she/her/hers), and Mauricio J. Wilson (he/him/his) in collaboration with the Vivian Traylor Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.
The Juneteenth Diocesan Feast Day and liturgy grew out of a Diocese of California Resolution passed in 2021. The resolution championed promoting understanding and inclusion of every human being, working toward the elimination of oppression and all forms of modern-day slavery, and eradicating racism. It aimed to move the diocese toward reconciliation and healing.
The Significance of Juneteenth
The resolution also provided an opportunity to share within our communities a greater understanding of the meaning of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment in abolishing racism, slavery and involuntary servitude of the past, modern-day slavery, and involuntary servitude that still exists today in this country. Juneteenth continues to represent both the day when all the people who were enslaved in Texas finally heard the news of freedom and also the ongoing struggle of the African American community over centuries to win freedom in the United States.
The timing for the resolution was ripe for bringing greater awareness to these issues, particularly because in the first half of 2020 the country was struggling with the unconscionable acts and senseless and horrific killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black and Brown persons. Senseless kills that continue today.
The three of us who collaborated to develop the Juneteenth liturgy believed it was important for the church to move forward in working for change and to join the fight to eradicate the systemic racism that has plagued our country as well as the church. The Juneteenth liturgy has become part of the Diocese of California’s Becoming Beloved Community efforts to “respond to racial injustice and grow a community of reconcilers, justice makers, and healers.” It is also a way for the church “to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ,” as our Baptismal Covenant says (Book of Common Prayer, 305), and to publicly acknowledge things done and left undone. It is a step toward fostering healing, reconciliation, and justice.
Developing a Liturgy to Remember Those Forgotten
Putting together the liturgy for the inaugural Juneteenth Feast Day Celebration at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on June 19, 2022 was both thrilling and daunting. Our team of Rev. Deacon Alberta Buller, Rev. Dr. Mauricio Wilson, and Jeanette Dinwiddie-Moore worked together closely to create the liturgy. This was not something that a vocational deacon and layperson in the Episcopal Church are typically asked to do, and a question that came up for us was: “Are we good enough to do this?” However, we spent time in prayer discerning God’s call for us. Our answer was, like the prophet Isaiah’s, “Here we are, Lord” (Isaiah 6:8).
Our theme and callings were to care for those who have been forgotten. The enslaved people of Galveston were not only forgotten in 1863, but they continue to be ignored today. The task that lay before us was this: How could we best bring their story to light in liturgy? We felt their eyes upon us and didn’t want to disappoint them.
Beginning with this commitment, we spent considerable time pouring over scriptures, liturgies, prayers, and other materials from various sources that called to us. If you read through the liturgy, you will find, from beginning to end, that the focal point is this: Let’s remember the harm that was done in ages past as well as the harm that continues today, and let us recognize how we have all benefited from that harm. As the Morning and Evening Prayer Confession in Enriching Our Worship says, “We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf.”
Our quest began by searching through other liturgies. We gleaned from them what we believed best conveyed our focal point. We were also careful to note our sources and give credit as appropriate. Our proposed Juneteenth Feast Day liturgy received approval from our Diocesan Committee on Liturgy without changes and was approved for use in April 2022.
Who Should Use This Liturgy
When we started the work on this liturgy our minds were set on offering the Diocese of California a way to express through worship our commitment to racial reconciliation. Our conversations led us to the important realization that we should offer it as a liturgical resource for all congregations in the diocese to use, not only on the Sunday closest to June 19, but also on other occasions in which the continued struggles for racial and social justice call God’s people together.
We also want to offer it to the whole Episcopal Church community with the clear understanding that differing historical contexts, dates, and stories of emancipation and liberation make up the history of the institution of slavery in this country. Many may be unaware of the significance of Galveston, Texas and June 19, but they are probably familiar with another community and other dates that share the same the same focal point. We hope that this liturgy can be adapted to those realities and needs.
Juneteenth Liturgy
The Juneteenth Liturgy is available on the Episcopal Formation in the Bay Area website. You can access both a web version and a downloadable document through this link: Juneteenth Liturgy
Editor’s Note: Please credit the authors as well as the Vivian Traylor Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians when you use it.
Featured image collage of the inaugural Juneteenth Feast Day celebration in the Diocese of California at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco is provided by author Jeanette Dinwiddie-Moore
The Rev. Deacon Alberta Brown Buller was born and raised in New Britain, CT. She worked as a dental surgical assistant and dental business office manager in California for many years. After experiencing a strong call to the Diaconate (the Holy Spirit) that began with a visit to the Vatican and ended with an after church class, one Sunday, Alberta decided in March of 2013 to attend the Episcopal School for Deacons in the fall of that year. In April, she was diagnosed with cancer. After prayerful consideration, she decided to continue and was able to begin classes that fall. She completed her studies and the ordination process in 2016 and was ordained at Grace Cathedral on June 11, 2016. In 2022, Alberta retired from serving the faithful people of Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito, CA, and she retired from her position as the Supervisor of the Spiritual Care Department of MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA. She and her husband, Dave (a retired commercial diver), now live on The Big Island of Hawaii with their dog, Lido. They have a blended family with 5 adult children and 7 grandchildren. Alberta serves as deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles in Hilo.
As a cradle Episcopalian, Jeanette is a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Oakland, CA and serves as a Prayers of the People writer, Lector, and member of the Altar Guild. At the Diocesan level, she is a member of the Executive Council, and the Peace, Justice and Hunger and Afro-Anglican Commissions. She is also co-chair for the Northern California/Vivian Traylor Union of Black Episcopalians Chapter. Professionally, Jeanette is a city planning consultant and a Fellow in the American Institute of Certified Planners. She is married to Arnett Moore.
The Rev. Dr. Mauricio J. Wilson currently serves as the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland, California where he resides with wife, Dr. Karla Morris, and their two children. He is Vice-president of the Standing Committee and chairs the Anglo Anglican Commission of the Diocese of California and is also the Western Regional Director of the Union of Black Episcopalians. Rev. Wilson obtained his D.Min. in Congregational Development from V.T.S., with the M.Div. and S.T.M. degrees from the G.T.S.
