At historic Church of the Epiphany in Lincoln Heights this morning, the Rev. John Watson, the priest in charge, rang in Trinity Sunday and Fathers Day by reassuring the congregation that the authority of God resides in each of us and that no unjust earthly power can defeat it. It was a timeless and timely reassurance. As in every community of color in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles where immigrant workers live, folks in this neighborhood are scared because of our government’s cruel workplace roundups.
Since I didn’t have a scheduled visitation today, Epiphany was my choice. A focal point for Chicano and farmworkers’ rights a half-century ago, the church remembers Cesar Chavez and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sitting in these pews. Bassist and specialist education teacher David Garcia, an Epiphany stalwart, was in the band, with Alan Pinel on vocals and Gustavo Ramirez on keyboards. David told me his first instrument was piano, thanks to a teacher at a neighborhood youth center who encouraged him. He joined his first band in high school. They needed a bass, so he learned on the spot. His influences were Bowie and Elton John.
Fr. John uses the wonderful Spanish language missal the Rev. Canon Anthony Guillen and his team devised based on the prayer book. My visit ended up adding value, since the Eucharistic prayer for immigrants John wanted to use requires the approval of a bishop, and there I was. He also called up a half-dozen of us dads for a special blessing. Carnitas were on offer after church. With everyone’s anxieties on ICE for the morning, there was nowhere more glorious to be por el dia de los padres y el Domingo de la Trinidad.
