This Sunday, May 18, is Diocesan Sunday, an annual observance marked by prayer and action on behalf of shared ministries within the six-county Diocese of Los Angeles. The occasion usually falls on the Sunday before Memorial Day weekend and marks the date of Diocesan Convention's first annual meeting, held in 1896.

This year's focus for Diocesan Sunday is the "Horizons & Heritage" initiative that invites all congregations to provide for online posting of their current ministry priorities and vision statements, together with text and photos highlighting their history. New web pages will be assembled for this purpose and featured at Diocesan Convention's upcoming annual meeting Dec. 5 - 6.

In a special Just Action video for Diocesan Sunday, reflecting on 150 years of parish ministry in Southern California, Bishop Jon Bruno invites congregations to share in Horizons & Heritage project, beginning May 18. To view the video, click here.

For more information, please see Bishop Bruno's column from the Episcopal News Weekly for Sunday (below, or as a PDF here), or email horizons@ladiocese.org.

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By J. Jon Bruno

What are your goals for the next five years? Is your vision "2020" in the sense of looking ahead to that upcoming year?

Within the Diocese of Los Angeles, we have a unique opportunity to shape the vision of our diocesan community by recording the priorities and goals of our congregations, schools, institutions and shared work during this current year, which marks the 150th anniversary of Episcopal Church parish ministry in Southern California.

I invite you on May 18 - the annual occasion of Diocesan Sunday - to begin gathering and fine-tuning expressions of the current vision, priorities and goals of your congregation, school or institution - as well as highlights of its history - for compilation on the diocesan website. Please send your texts and photographs by email to horizons@ladiocese.org. Through the coming year, pages will be available for viewing for each church site under the theme "Horizons & Heritage." Please also continue to pray regularly for the ministries of our Diocese.

To help us focus, here is the present diocesan vision statement:

Together in Christ, the Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 70,000 Episcopalians serving in 140 congregations, 40 schools and 10 institutions and agencies united in increasing spiritual and physical wellness, strategic ministries, and interfaith understanding among all people.

As the Lord said to the prophet Habakkuk, "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets..." While today we have modern tablets such as iPads and Kindles to help us express our faith, our vision remains the same, to serve God's mission among us, loving God and our neighbor as ourselves, and respecting the dignity of every human being.

-- The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno is sixth bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles.