July 12, 2015

From the bishop & Standing Committee...

Bishop, Standing Committee comment on sale of
Newport Beach property

[July 8, 2015] The Bishop Diocesan and Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles today respectively released statements on the sale of Newport Beach property owned by the Bishop as Corporation Sole. Those texts, including a link to the Standing Committee's June 11, 2015 letter to Diocesan Council, appear below. Further comment is circumscribed at this time by pending litigation.

Moving Forward

by Bishop J. Jon Bruno

Momentous events of these recent weeks have brought our nation new progress in overcoming racism and homophobia. President Obama's eulogy for the Charleston shooting victims underscored the urgency of controlling weapons while also teaching ethical and culturally competent behavior. In the Episcopal Church, the election of Michael Curry as our next Presiding Bishop brings new perspective, much as the General Convention's provision of marriage rites for same-gender couples echoes the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling for marriage equality. I give thanks for this progress, and I pray that we as a nation and a church now will move into new, intentional efforts to address poverty, immigration reform, and gun violence, in particular.

As your Bishop, I remain focused on these areas while also strengthening sustainable ministries within our diocesan community. This work involves balancing pastoral care with making responsible fiduciary decisions not only for today but also for the future of the Diocese. This remains the goal of my decision to sell, with the concurrence of the diocesan Standing Committee, Newport Beach property owned by Corporation Sole.

I thank the Standing Committee for its diligence and for its statement and letter released today recounting the transactions related to the sale of the Newport Beach property (see documents here). As the Standing Committee points out, Corporation Sole has handled the purchase and sale of numerous properties through the years; in fact, the Newport Beach property was in 1945 originally deeded to the Bishop as Corporation Sole. While the Standing Committee correctly acknowledges that it has no jurisdiction over Corporation Sole, I greatly appreciate the Standing Committee members as trusted advisors who also have in mind the overall best interests of the Diocese.

I am fully aware that the decision to sell the Newport Beach property is not to the liking of some Episcopalians and other stakeholders, and I sincerely empathize with the sense of loss felt by many, particularly after the joint efforts of local parishioners, the former vicar, and the Bishop's Office to rebuild the mission congregation there. However, as I stated to the congregation on May 18, there are options available to us for ministry separate and apart from the Via Lido site, and in partnership with the three neighboring Episcopal parishes within a seven-mile radius, including the Corona del Mar parish within the city limits of Newport Beach.

Ways forward in these and other areas of ministry will be a focus of considerable prayer and reflection while I am away on a long-scheduled month of sabbatical leave. After this time away with my family, I will return in August with further perspective. I thank you for your prayers, and I assure you of mine as we move forward together in Christ.

_____________________________

From the Standing Committee of the
Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles

Statement on Newport Beach
Property Transactions

July 8, 2015

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Los Angeles provides the following factual information bearing on the situation involving the mission congregation of St. James the Great, Newport Beach, and the property at that location. The ability of the Standing Committee and that of the Bishop to comment is circumscribed at this time due to various considerations including, but not limited to, pending legal proceedings.

First, the then-parish of St. James caused to be recorded on January 18, 1984, in the office of the Orange County Clerk-Recorder, a deed that omitted any use restrictions on the property.

Second, as the people of the Diocese are aware, in August 2004 the then-parish of St. James, plus two others, announced that a majority of members had voted to terminate their affiliation with the Episcopal Church and to affiliate with the Church of Uganda. In response to this decision, the Diocese of Los Angeles, Bishop J. Jon Bruno as Corporation Sole, and various individual plaintiffs, sued to recover the properties.

Third, in connection with this litigation, Bishop Bruno presented a request to the Standing Committee of the Diocese as it was then constituted, and asked the Standing Committee for permission to use monies of the Corporation of the Diocese to fund the litigation. The Standing Committee, as then constituted, voted to decline Bishop Bruno's request. Bishop Bruno proceeded to use monies from Corporation Sole to fund the litigation.

Fourth, in 2009, after the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Episcopal Church Cases, 45 Cal.4th 467 (2009), but before the litigation concluded in the trial court, Bishop Bruno informed the Standing Committee of the prior 2004 decision of the Standing Committee, and that upon recovery of the properties, he would dispose of them in his discretion, and sought the Standing Committee's agreement that in light of the prior 2004 decision to decline use of Corporation of the Diocese monies to fund the litigation, the proceeds from the properties would go to reimburse Corporation Sole for the monies it expended in the litigation, with any excess to be applied at the discretion of the Bishop Diocesan. The Standing Committee, as then constituted, voted to approve this request for use of the proceeds upon disposition of the properties.

Fifth, in light of the fact that the original deed for the property from the donor was to Corporation Sole, and the prior decisions of the Standing Committee regarding the source of monies to fund the litigation, the Board of the Corporation of the Diocese, pursuant to the authority of the Standing Committee and its 2009 vote cited above, voted on May 20, 2014, to convey title to the Newport Beach property to Corporation Sole.

The 2004 and 2009 meetings of the Standing Committee at which the above two votes were taken were both regularly scheduled and conducted meetings of the Standing Committee, as was the 2014 meeting of the Board of the Corporation of the Diocese at which conveyance of title to the St. James property from the Corporation of the Diocese to Corporation Sole was approved, as is reflected by the minutes of each of these meetings.

Sixth, Diocesan Council received at its June 11, 2015, meeting a letter from the Standing Committee (see copy here), which was read aloud to the members and guests present.

The Standing Committee provides the foregoing information in the interest of assisting the people of the Diocese in understanding the present situation.

/s/ The Standing Committee

News ...

Above: Archbishop Paul Kim of Korea, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, and Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu are welcomed to St. Mary's Church with traditional lei offerings. At right are Aidan Koh, chaplain at St. James' School, Los Angeles, and Jamie Hammons, deacon at St. Barnabas' Church, Pasadena. Below left: Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce, who organized the meeting of the three primates, preaches the sermon. Photos / Janet Kawamoto

Reconciliation event brings presiding bishop, archbishops of Japan and Korea to Los Angeles

The archbishops of Anglican churches in two nations with long histories of mistrust and anger came together July 5 in Los Angeles with their Episcopal Church counterpart to continue work of reconciliation between their people.

Archbishop Paul Kim of the Anglican Church in Korea, Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Anglican Church in Japan) and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori worshiped together with a full congregation in St. Mary's Church, which had its beginnings more than a century ago as a mission to Japanese-Americans and new immigrants in a neighborhood that is now called Koreatown and also is home to many immigrants from Mexico.

Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce, who conceived and planned the event, preached the sermon, in which she reminded the congregation that any differences they have are much less important once they have share "one bread, one cup."

At a panel discussion after the service and luncheon, the three primates shared their own reconciliation stories and took questions from the audience about how past wounds might be healed and future cooperation assured.

Additional participants included Catherine Roskam, retired bishop suffragan of the Diocese of New York and bishop-in-charge of St. James' Church, Los Angeles; Allen Shin, present bishop suffragan of New York; Andrew Yoshimichi Oohata, bishop of Tokyo; and clergy from around the diocese and the wider Episcopal Church. Anna Olson and Nancy Frausto, rector and assistant priest of St. Mary's, respectively, facilitated the event.

More about the reconciliation gathering will appear in the Late Summer 2015 issue of The Episcopal News magazine, to be published in August.

_____________________________________

Interdependence Walk

Interfaith prayers near
Echo Park Lake mark 'Interdependence Day' July 3

Above: Alicia Mesco of Islamic Center of Southern California offers a final meditation in a six-station interfaith Walking Meditation on Interdependence, held July 3 around Echo Park Lake and sponsored by the Interreligious Council of Southern California. At right: U.S. Naval Chaplain Aroon Seeda offers a Buddhist reflection. At five similar stations, comments or prayers were offered in the Baha'i, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish traditions. Photos / Bob Williams

General Convention

General Convention reports

Extensive coverage of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, which concluded its 2015 meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 3, may be found on the Episcopal News Service website here.

The Episcopal News issued daily reports by email from General Convention, following the work of Diocese of Los Angeles bishops and deputies, Triennial delegates, and other participants and volunteers from the Southland. To read the reports, visit the Archive page here.

Videos of sermons and other events at Convention may be found on the Episcopal Church's website "Media Hub."

On social media, the General Convention 2015 hashtag is #GC78.

Coadjutor Search Committee

REMINDER: All are invited to 'Listening Sessions' to aid coadjutor search

The Coadjutor Bishop Nominating Committee has begun as series of "listening sessions" at which members of the diocesan community are invited to share their thoughts and vision as the committee begins the process of preparing a diocesan profile, the first step in identifying candidates for the election of a bishop coadjutor who will succeed Bishop J. Jon Bruno upon his retirement in 2018. For further information, times, addresses and additional sessions, see "This week around the diocese" below, or visit the search committee web page here.

Events & announcements ...

Rick Steves' Holy Land travelogue is next in
All Saints' summer
movie series

All Saints Middle East Ministry Summer Movie Series will present "The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today" on Sunday, July 12, at 7 p.m. This special from travel expert Rick Steves weaves Israeli and Palestinian narratives as he takes travelers from the walls of Jerusalem to modern Tel Aviv, from Hebron to Bethlehem and Ramallah. Steves includes such current situations as the separation wall, settlements and the persistent challenges facing the region. Light refreshments will be served after the screening, with a discussion to follow. A freewill offering will be taken. The event will be in the downstairs Forum at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena.

Episcopal, Buddhist experiences are basis for 'Soul Work' spiritual
formation workshops

Anthony Miller, priest in the Diocese of Los Angeles, and Robert Cornell, spiritual psychologist and former Zen Buddhist monk, are offering "Soul Work" spiritual formation workshops beginning July 11 and July 18, 2 - 5 p.m., and continuing twice monthly, on the second and fourth Saturdays, at St. Barnabas' Church (pictured at left), 1062 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena 91103. The July sessions are free of charge; thereafter the cost is $100 per month, payable at the first workshop of the month. According to their announcement, the sessions will help participants "purify their hearts, access true power and identify their unique gifts." Anthony Miller has 20 years of experience in spiritual formation work, and especially ministers to people "on the margins of society and all who look to live a heart-centered life." He holds degrees from General Theological Seminary, Yale University Divinity School, and Harvard University. Robert Cornell teaches Buddhist and Christian meditation techniques. He holds a master's degree from the University of Santa Monica and is a licensed marriage and family therapist.

Build sand castles with GFS at Cabrillo Beach 'Splash Bash' July 25

Girls Friendly Society-Los Angeles will hold a Splash Bash and Castle Building Contest on Saturday, July 25, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Cabrillo Beach State Park in San Pedro. Girls ages 5 - 21 are invited to relax together, play games, and have lunch. Hot dogs and chips will be provided; please bring your own beverages and snacks to share (friut, cookies, etc.), as well as bathing suits, towels, beach chairs, toys and sunscreen. Bring shoes if you wish to visit the nearby tide pools. A flyer with directions is here. Reservations requested by Monday, July 20; contact Margaret Nolde, 714.330.1156 or gfscalifornia@gmail.com; please include names and ages of guests.

Local feline to appear
in Episcocats calendar;
caption ideas sought

A photo of Kevin Bacon, a Bengal cat in the household of Beth Dancy and Mercedese Bantz, parishioners at St. George's Church, Laguna Hills, has been chosen to appear in the 2016 EpiscoCats calendar from Forward Movement. Photos of the cats (and dogs, for the EpiscoPups calendar) appear on the Forward Movement Facebook page, and readers are invited to submit captions. Forward Movement will present a free calendar for the winning caption. Captions must be submitted before July 12, when the winners will be announced.

This week around the diocese ...

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 6 p.m.