wfn.org | Episcopalians: Episcopal Communicators meet in Los Angeles--the 'brownest city in America'

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

May 7, 2003

2003-099

Episcopalians: Episcopal Communicators meet in Los Angeles--the 
'brownest city in America'

by James Solheim

(ENS) Episcopal Communicators from across the nation met April 
23-26 in Los Angeles, described by the keynote speaker as "the 
brownest city in America," where the program of the conference 
drew heavily on the city's cultural diversity in exploring the 
theme of "transformation." The 120 participants were welcomed by 
Bob Williams, director of communications in the host Diocese of 
Los Angeles, during an opening dinner at the pueblo where the 
city was founded in 1781. 

Quoting a Buddhist teacher who said that "change by choice is 
transformation," Williams presided at the opening session at the 
Los Angeles Times the next morning. He introduced keynoter 
Richard Rodriguez, author and commentator on PBS' News Hour, who 
described the "browning of America," how old cultural categories 
are breaking down and new possibilities are emerging. What he 
described as the historic American "founding palette" of black, 
red and white, he said, is being muddied into brown. "Brown is 
irrelevant to Americans but brown gives freedom to wander, to 
blend," he explained.

As a result, America is getting "messy," Rodriguez argued, with 
endless combinations of races and cultures. He described meeting 
young people during his speaking engagements who don't look like 
any of their grandparents. Yet he said that "brown can be a 
dangerous color because some people don't want to be brown so 
some children are at war with their own complexity." 

He told the communicators that "there is something essentially 
brown about Christianity and we must get at that if we want to 
get Christ, the brown man from Nazareth." Yet he expressed a 
fear that we could be headed into a century of religious 
divisiveness "like we haven't seen since the 13th century" as 
people war with each other for some clarity about religion and 
culture.

During a discussion with staff, the Los Angeles Times was 
described as a newspaper that takes religion seriously, with 
three staff members currently assigned to the beat. Staff 
religion writer Bill Lobdell said that he writes religion 
"because it's a place where people's lives change dramatically." 
Noting that the beat used to be the "last stop in journalism," 
he said that it is now "a hot beat," drawing some of the best 
journalists in the profession. He finds it "a dream job," 
although he admitted that it also exposes reporters to the 
"underbelly of religion--and it's not pretty." Lobdell has 
recently covered sexual abuse cases involving Roman Catholic 
priests.

Seeking reconciliation

Workshops at the conference included one on "race and prayer," 
with Bishop Chet Talton of the Diocese of Los Angeles and author 
Malcolm Boyd. Another tackled the very hard work of 
reconciliation, drawing on the experience of an initiative 
fostered by Bishop Jon Bruno.

The initiative began in the wake of the Lambeth Conference of 
1998, with its strong stance against the ordination of 
non-celibate gays and lesbians and the blessing of same-gender 
relationships. The Rev. Brian Cox of Santa Barbara, who has 
professional experience in conflict management, said that 
reconciliation is about "how we learn to love one another in the 
midst of our profound differences." Cox participated in the New 
Commandment Task Force's initial meeting in Seattle in November, 
1999 and saw first-hand how difficult and painful the process of 
reconciliation can be. He admitted that he wondered if the 
church could hold together as it faced divisive issues. Yet he 
concluded that the goal is to create an atmosphere that allows 
for transformation, based on the conviction that reconciliation 
is at the heart of the Gospel.

"This is about spiritual transformation, not about changing 
someone else's mind," added Joanne O'Donnell, another 
participant in the panel. She said that it had been possible in 
the reconciliation seminar to develop deep caring and respect 
"so that we no longer saw each other as enemies. Now I couldn't 
imagine the church without these people."

Magical awards

Participants trundled off to the Magic Castle in Hollywood, home 
of the Academy of Magical Arts, for the annual Polly Bond 
Awards--a mixture of magic and mayhem. (A complete list of 
awards is available at 
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens/2003-090.html.) The top awards 
for General Excellence for national publications went to 
Cathedral Age, edited by Craig Stapert; Episcopal Life, edited 
by Jerry Hames; and honorable mention to Trinity News, edited by 
John Allen.

General Excellence for publications with a subscription above 
12,000 went to Anglican Advance, edited by David Skidmore; The 
Communicant, edited by the Rev. Ted Malone Jr.; and honorable 
mention to Interchange, edited by Richelle Thompson.

General Excellence for publications with a subscription under 
12,000 went to Diocesan Dialogue, edited by the Rev. Dan 
Webster; The Advocate, edited by Kay Collier McLaughlin; and 
honorable mentions to Churchwork, edited by Ann Ball; The 
Southern Cross, edited by Jim DeLa; and Church News, edited by 
Marjorie George.

General Excellence for Newsletters went to Hi-Lites, edited by 
Norman Carr; FaithWorks, edited by Malaika Kamunanwire; and 
honorable mentions to Vestry Papers, edited by Lindsay Hardin; 
and St. Columba's Newsletter, edited by Susan Elliott.

Business, business

Carol Barnwell of Texas presided over a breakfast forum and 
business meeting, including the election of new board members 
(Jim DeLa of Southwest Florida and Heidi Schott of Maine were 
elected.)

John Allen of Trinity Church Wall Street described the new 
Anglican Communion web portal. He reported that 20 provinces out 
of 38 have web sites--half of those in the developed world. He 
said that the new portal will connect sites throughout the 
Communion, using links, and will reflect the needs of different 
provinces.

Ed Cimafonte, web director at the Episcopal Church Center in New 
York, previewed the sweeping changes on the church's site which 
should be operative before General Convention. "The site is 
designed to get the church talking and working together through 
a more dynamic flow of information and resources," he said. 
"It's not just a pretty face, it is meant to foster 
collaboration throughout the church."

Joe Bjordal brought news from the Diocese of Minnesota as it 
prepares to welcome the General Convention this summer. He said 
that this will be the third time the convention has met in 
Minneapolis, going back to 1895 when it was the first convention 
west of the Mississippi. The convention in 1976 cleared the way 
for the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. 
"We are going to meet on very sacred ground," he said.

Frank Ballard sketched early plans for the next Communicators 
convention June 2-6 at the Kanuga Camp and Conference Center in 
the mountains of western North Carolina, which will be 
celebrating its 75th anniversary as "a crossroads of the 
Episcopal Church."

Arlene Pickard of Oregon and Jim Solheim announced plans to 
retire at the end of the year.

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--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal News Service.