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TITLE:DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES CELEBRATES C
June 26, 1996
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

96-1509
DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL DETERMINED TO MOVE INTO GOD'S
FUTURE

BY 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."

--JAMES SOLHEIM IS DIRECTOR OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.