The Bishop's Blog
Gustavo Dudamel
Once more I took my weakening ears into the breach, that oasis of glorious sound, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct the LA Phil before he decamps to New York at the end of...
Hearing the Echoes
Our youngest grandchild, Emmett, who is seven months old, lives in New York. He and his parents, Dan and Michelle, came to visit Kathy and me last week, and for the whole wonderful week. You know...
Holy Trinity Saint Benedict Episcopal Church, Alhambra, and the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers
My Sunday was full of church present and church future — visiting a thriving parish that goes against the grain of narratives of decline, then spending the afternoon with our denomination’s foremost...
Overcoming temptation to rage with the Golden Rule
Sometimes when I read the news, I’m tempted, just as Jesus was. I’m tempted by the rage clutching at my heart. So like Jesus, who matched the Tempter with the words of Deuteronomy, I go to...
Visiting St. Joseph of Arimathea Episcopal Church, Yucca Valley
Its sun-drenched campus beautifully maintained, its cheerful nave thoughtfully appointed, the parish hall, kitchen, and parking lot gleaming with coats of TLC, St. Joseph of Arimathea Episcopal...
Year of the Horse
This is the year of the horse. My annual practice as a non-expert is not to rely too much on academic or internet learning about the significance of these ancient traditions. But I have learned...
Closing of St. George’s, Hawthorne
In this, its centenary year, St. George's Episcopal Church in Hawthorne offered its final Sunday service last week. When its devoted priest in charge and an energetic prophet of peace and justice,...
Sermon from St. George’s Episcopal Church, Hawthorne
You and I and this parish are in a similar position. Bishops retire not when they want to retire but when they turn 72, as I will in late October. I don’t feel as though I have finished, but the...
National Association of Episcopal Schools conference on equity and justice
“The students are watching us.” So said Ted Sizer, head of school, then called headmaster, at my high school, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. As an editor of the school weekly, I wrote a...
Daily prayer: Abraham Lincoln
Almighty God, Abraham Lincoln reckoned your purposes to be just and perfect while struggling with the idea that you would ordain a terrible war to achieve them. We give you thanks for Lincoln’s...
Daily prayer: Bessie Smith
Heavenly God, we give you thanks for the fully lived life of Bessie Smith, who recorded "Downhearted Blues" on this day in 1923. Challenging norms and breaking barriers, she embodied the blues and...
Daily prayer: Henry Lewis
Gracious God, the great orchestrator, we give you thanks for the pioneering artistry of Henry Lewis, born in Los Angeles in 1932, who, as a 16-year-old double bass virtuoso, joined the LA Phil and...