Candles And Chant resumes Thursday, March 9 at 6:15 PM.

Unlike previous semesters, we will have evensong every Thursday.

Read more here.

For the second year, the Episcopal Church has sent a delegation to COP, the UN climate conference. Last year in Paris the team was witness to the significant treaty signed there. This year, in Marrakech, for the first time we have three people involved in the Blue Zone (the diplomatic area). In addition to the Blue Zone the church is also leading each day an interfaith prayer service focusing on a series of four virtues and including chants.

More news tomorrow but for complete up to date please check out the facebook group:

Spiritual Sustainability.

Dear Diocese of California,

I write to you from COP22, the United Nations climate summit, being held in Marrakech.

Like many of you, Sheila and I stayed up through the night following the results of our November 8 elections, especially the presidential election.

First, I want to say I’m grateful for the long, widespread, and continuing effort that allows us to live in a healthy democracy, where people may vote without fear. The repeal of the Voter Rights Act point up the fact that the maintenance of a democracy takes hard, vigilant work, and we must work on to seek a more perfect union, while we give thanks for our great country.

Also, I want to urge us all to pray for the President Elect — may the Holy Spirit shape him to assume the office as one who will lead us to a just society. May Mr. Trump become a president who keeps immigrant families together and creates an equitable path to citizenship for them. May he work in the area of racial reconciliation and to recognize the rights of women. May Mr. Trump become a president who will recognize the peril of our planet and seek its healing.

We also pray in thanksgiving for Secretary Hillary Clinton and her gallant candidacy and the her many-decades dedication to the welfare of the vulnerable.

Today, standing in the public zone of COP22, the Episcopal delegation led worship around the theme of courage. We heard this scripture: “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.” (The Gospel of John)

At the end of the service, attended mostly by Moroccan Muslim women, we prayed the following prayer:

Please God, give us courage to lament this loss, and to give our full selves toward a new future. Give us the courage to reject half truths and easy answers. Fill us with courage to speak out and stand up. Empower us to move past divisions and forge new partnerships. Give us courage to name our dependence on all of your creation. And send us forth renewed and inspired to share your love. Amen.

Please pray that prayer with me.

It was announced that Intervarsity Christian Fellowship will terminate staff who disagree with their policies on  marriage, specifcally in conflict with the idea that marriage must exist between a man and a woman.

The Episcopal Church does not support this stance and we welcome all within the queer spectrum as we welcome all, regardless. If you are affected by this announcement or are concerned about how to practice your Christian faith and still be queer or support those who are, please know you have a home with us and are welcome to be in touch for further information or support.

Top Evangelical College Group to Dismiss Employees Who Support Gay Marriage

Dr. Morton Paley (Berkeley) – Blake’s illustrations of Dante, Dr. Bill Mahrt (Stanford) Silence in the Paradiso, Dr. Inez Hollander Lake (formerly of Berkeley) – Henry Miller and the Oranges of Bosch, Dr. Henrike Lange (Berkeley) – Visibility and Invisibility of God in Dante and Bosch, Travis Stevens (Harvard) – Hell as Love’s Highest Name: Hadeqijch on Suffering in Heaven. Tom Emmanuel (PSR) – A Poetic Response to the Garden of Earthly Delights

Things are getting exciting for our interdisciplinary symposium on Hieronymous Bosch and Dante Alighieri. Topics include: Music in the Paradiso, Heaven and Hell and Longing , William Blake’s Illustrations of the Inferno, Visibility and Invisibility of God in Bosch and Dante, and Henry Miller and Hieronymous Bosch