The Rt. Rev. Robert Wright, Bishop of Atlanta, will preach at the 2015 diocesan Eucharist celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The service, to be celebrated by Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce, will take place at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles 90026, at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Episcopal Chorale, directed by Canon Chas Cheatham, will provide music. Wright is the first African American to become an Episcopal bishop in Georgia. He formerly served as rector of St. Paul's Church, Atlanta, and canon pastor and vicar at the Cathedral of St. John in New York. He is an adjunct professor at Virginia Theological Seminary. His biography is here.

The annual Bishops' Ball for high-school age youth of the diocese will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31 at St. Mary's Church, 961 S. Mariposa Avenue, Los Angeles 90006. Theme for the event, which will be coordinated by the Rev. Nancy Frausto of St. Mary's, is inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. The Bishops' Ball has traditionally featured music, food, games and fellowship. All youth of the diocese, with their leaders, are invited to attend.

The 2015 National Episcopal Preaching Conference, titled "La Predicaci�n de Jes�s: Preaching in Spanish," will be held at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul on March 5 - 7, 2015. The conference, sponsored by the Episcopal Preaching Foundation, in partnership with the office of Latino/Hispanic Ministries of the Episcopal Church, and the Diocese of Los Angeles, is for all who are interested in preaching more effectively in Spanish and English - native speakers and those just learning, seminarians, clergy and laity. In a mix of worship and celebration, plenary sessions and preaching groups, participants will learn and grow together as they study and proclaim Jesus. Featured speakers will be Justo Gonzalez, Cuban American Methodist historian and theologian; Sim�n Bautista, canon missioner for Latino ministries and outreach at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Houston, Texas; and Arturo Ba�uelas, cofounder of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians in the United States and pastor of St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church, El Paso, Texas. Workshop and preaching group leaders include Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce, Tom Callard, Anthony Guill�n, Miquelina Howell, Luis Le�n and Margarita Santana. Registration (includes meals) is $75 before Feb. 1, 2015 or $100 thereafter. Daily registration fee is $40. The conference begins at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 and concludes at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7. For more information and to register, click here.