You meet the most amazing people around the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, including the Rt. Rev. Naudal Alves Gomes and the Rt. Rev. Chet Talton, retired primate of Brazil and bishop suffragan of Los Angeles, comparing notes before dinner at the episcopal residence … the Rev. Canon Mark Weitzel of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Glendale, CA and the Rev. Bruce A. Freeman of the The Parish of St. Matthew – The Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades, at a clergy gathering at St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park … brilliant fellow minister Susan Brown, for a rich conversation about the church’s growth edge in caring for older folks; at Episcopal Communities & Services, she runs the By Your Side vigil companion training program … at our quarterly deans luncheon, the Very Rev. Kay Sylvester and the Very Rev. Anne Sawyer … members of the diocesan altar guild, enjoying lunch alfresco … Peter McDonald of the McDonald Agape Foundation and Rev. Jonathan Aitken, our special guests last week … HFS Adoption & Foster Care executive director Julie Brown and board chair Marianne Wright, along with Canon Bob Williams, for a great chat about HFS’s upcoming anniversary celebration … the Rev. Juan Jimenez of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (Anaheim, California) and Jamie Barnett of The Church of the Epiphany in Oak Park, chatting at the diocese … The Most Rev. Joel Porlares, newly elected supreme bishop of the Philippine Independent Church, sharing lunch near St. Paul’s … our judge of elections, Canon Patti Jo Ramsey, at a Commission on Ministry meeting … three more deans, the Very Rev. Bill Dunn, the Very Rev. Michael A Bamberger, and the Very Rev. Ian Elliott Davies … the Rt. Rev. Ed Little and Claudia Little and the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy with their new friend Jonathan Aitken … members of the Commission on Ministry and Standing Committee at a Next Steps retreat … the Rev. Canon Thomas Quijada-Discavage, presiding at a Thursday morning St. Paul’s Common’s Holy Eucharist service (join us weekly at 11:30 a.m.) … and Prism Restorative Justice co-director Sharon Matsushige Crandall and Patrick Crandall, over to dinner at our house.
