Bishop John Harvey Taylor and the diocesan community extend the warmest of L.A. welcomes Sept. 7 to Brisbane’s Archbishop Jeremy and Josie Greaves. L.A. was the last stop on their three-week ministry tour spanning the U.S. dioceses of New York, Washington (D.C.), Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, and Los Angeles, focusing on ways in which the church is bringing the gospel alive, especially to meet needs created by immigration, economic, environmental, and other crises.
At St. John’s Cathedral Sept. 7, Archbishop Jeremy preached on the power of hope over fear, and presented the Very Rev. Anne Sawyer, interim dean and priest-in-charge with the gift of a drawing of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane. The choir led the congregation in singing happiest greetings to Archbishop Jeremy, who was celebrating his birthday. Josie Greaves, a registered midwife by vocation, also was heartily welcomed.
On Saturday, Archbishop Jeremy visited All Saints Church, Pasadena, for conversations with the Rev. Canon Susan Russell, diocesan canon for engagement across difference, and the Rev. Dr. Francisco Garcia, a co-convener of the diocese’s Sacred Resistance immigration justice ministry.
On Friday, Archbishop Jeremy and Josie joined the Rev. John Watson, priest-in-charge of St. Athanasius Episcopal Church, Echo Park, in distributing groceries to some 200 served by the parish food bank, and received a briefing by representatives of Seeds of Hope, the diocese’s food-justice ministry.
The morning continued with a Zoom conference with three of the diocese’s interfaith ministers-in-residence — Dr. Sable Manson (an ecumenical Christian on staff of USC’s Office of Religious Life), Tasneem Noor (a Muslim and a program director of NewGround: A Partnership for Muslim-Jewish Change), and Tahil Sharma (a Hindu-Sikh and faith director of the National LGBTQ Task Force) — joined by Dot Leach, chair of the diocesan Program Group on Ecumenical and Interfaith Life; Rabbi Leah Julian, the diocese’s fourth interfaith minister, is traveling in the UK.
Conversations also highlighted the work of Neighborhood Youth Association, a diocesan institution specializing in 100% college placement for first-generation applicants. A driving itinerary included the Eaton and Palisades fire zones, with discussion of the effects of similarly far-reaching wildfires in Australia.
During a Friday-afternoon visit, The Getty Center afforded its signature panoramic views from the Pacific to downtown.