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Diocese of Los Angeles celebrates centennial determined to move into God's future

Episcopal News Service. June 26, 1996 [96-1509]

James Solheim

(ENS) A century to the day when Episcopalians in southern California first gathered in convention to launch a new diocese, almost 10,000 heirs to the original vision gathered May 26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center to celebrate their history -- and their remarkable diversity.

The festival Eucharist was the high point of a year-long celebration that began last December with a commemoration of the date when the Diocese of Los Angeles was officially incorporated. Over the century the church has grown from 8,000 to 85,000 members, from 16 parishes to 148 scattered across six counties, living out its centennial theme, "Adelante: Forward Together into God's Future."

Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, joined by his wife Eileen and several staff members, spent several days exploring a variety of diocesan ministries, from the barrios of the inner city to the posh parishes of Beverly Hills and Pasadena.

Shortly after his arrival May 24, Carey addressed the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall on the issue of the role and responsibility of religion in seeking world peace. While acknowledging that "human sinfulness can pollute every kind of belief system," he argued that the inherent strengths of religion can help in the search for a "new world order of peace."

Sounding themes he used during a similar three-day visit to the Diocese of Chicago (see separate article), Carey said that the history, theology and experience of Anglicanism has its own contribution to make in the search for peace. "We are committed to discovering God's truth and making it known -- but we are equally ready to live with questions and resist easy answers if valid answers are not at hand," he said.

Facing the major problems of our time "requires the dynamic power of commitment, faith and love," Carey added, not the "privatized morality" that seems to infect much of modern society. "Christianity insists on justice, because we have a common creator who loves us all. It teaches that we are all fallible and in need of God's grace. Our God of forgiveness encourages us to forgive those who sin against us. Those are indeed the essential elements of reconciliation and underpin so many church initiatives in pursuit of justice and peace in world conflicts," he concluded.

A voice of compassion

In an emotional encounter with the diocesan AIDS commission at All Saints Church in Beverly Hills, the Careys learned that the Episcopal Church has been a leader in facing the crisis and providing services not available from other agencies but that many are discouraged with the progress.

"Unfortunately many churches remain closed -- or in denial -- of the crisis," said the Rev. Malcolm Boyd during a sobering discussion. Speaking as a gay man whose life partner has the virus, the prominent author and activist added, "We have lost many friends and we are facing a time of burn-out and despair after a decade of fighting. Some parts of the church are still not reaching out in love, and sometimes even with hate. We need your help very much, your understanding and your prayers for us at every difficult time." Another man who is living with AIDS added that some parishes still ask HIV-positive people to leave.

Carey said that he was "startled that the message doesn't seem to be getting through to young people." Several people responded that "Americans are still prudish about dealing with sexuality. This society is tired of hearing about AIDS and wish it would go away."

When Carey asked how the church should respond, participants told him that the stigma of AIDS still keeps people quiet and that openness by clergy and more forceful education are needed. "But it also important for lay people to come forward and serve as models," added Boyd.

Carey shared an experience of visiting a dying 24-year-old in Seattle, describing it as "one of the most moving moments of my life." He said that he was proud of the church's ministry among those living with AIDS.

During an open discussion with parish members the Careys related stories from their travels to other churches in the Anglican Communion. The archbishop said that "we in the West have lacked confidence, taking the decline of the church for granted. In the Third World Christians expect God to bless them." While admitting that "sometimes God prunes us, cutting us down so we can grow again," he is convinced that part of his role as an Anglican leader is "restoring that confidence." Part of that response, he argued, is to "become more politically involved, protesting some of the terrible things happening in the world. Too often we are silent when we should speak out."

A New People

It is a relatively short distance from the posh precincts of Beverly Hills and Hollywood to MacArthur Park, but they are worlds apart. The park is populated by the poor and homeless, the hopeless and the addicted.

In visiting the newest congregation in the diocese, Pueblo Nuevo (A New People), the party heard the story of the powerful witness of the Eucharist, a "mass on the grass" first offered three years ago in the park. From a handful of the curious a community was created that includes a thrift shop, a cooperative cleaning company and a store selling crafts and furniture made by members of the parish.

Following a Mexican lunch prepared by the parish, Carey related his own spiritual journey and how he was influenced by all the traditions of the church and has learned to respect them all. He again drew on his visits to 45 countries in the five years he has been archbishop to demonstrate that Anglicans all over the world are responding to God's call to build the church.

In a plea that Anglicans not allow disagreements to deter them from God's work, Carey said that "it's not an accident that the dominant motif in the New Testament is that of family. A good family doesn't repudiate one another when they get into a fight. We must live with tension and ambiguity and open questions," he said. "I urge us to travel together."

Carey faces issues head on at Hillsides

At Hillsides Home in Pasadena, a diocesan-sponsored facility that offers care for children in crisis, Carey joined an open air forum on "perspectives on the faith," moderated by the Very Rev. Mary June Nestler, dean of the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont.

Addressing the issue of gay clergy, Carey said, "I'm struggling. I don't want to be heard as someone who rejects others. I want to be heard saying that we have to live with the questions, and if we're going to travel with the questions, then I must also travel to listen to the experience of others -- and it may be that I would have to change my mind or others would have to change their mind."

Happy Birthday LA

Drawing upon the celebration of Pentecost as the birthday of the church, Carey told the thousands at the Festival Eucharist that "birthdays are not just times to look back with thankfulness -- they are also times to look forward with expectant hope." Even during his short visit, he said that he had "become very conscious that you are wanting to move forwards and outwards in mission." And he added that the new diocesan Cathedral Center of St. Paul near the city center and the mission it represents "all point to the kind of spiritual life emerging in many parts of our Anglican Communion in this Decade of Evangelism."

In a service that included lessons read in several languages, Japanese liturgical dancers, a baptism of adults and children, a choir of several hundred people, and an offering of projects with youth as part of a New Century Leaders Centennial Offering, Carey left the congregation with a deep personal plea for unity.

"Every church seems to be divided these days by issues like homosexuality and ordination," he said. "On Pentecost we need to re-learn a language of love, of tolerance with one another. There will always be questions waiting for further answers. We must not walk away from one another. The doors and windows of our churches should be open so that the spirit of God can move.... Adelante, let us move forward with God's mission in the world."