What a Difference a Year Makes

Rainbow altar decorations in 2023

One year ago our church not only acknowledged but celebrated Pride month. The altar was decorated with the colors of the rainbow, and Jason, the new rector, wore rainbow vestments. Jason's husband, Lance, sat in his usual spot on the left side.

The congregation, IMHO, responded positively to Jason and the practices he introduced to us (all were approved liturgically). They would not have done so were it not for his personal qualities of treating everyone with kindness and consideration. Unfortunately, he resigned for health reasons early this year.

Ordinary liturgical green

Today is the second day of Pride Month in 2024. Grace Cathedral, the seat of our Diocese, is one of the centers of celebration. However, our staid suburban church is "back to normal" with the traditional liturgical green during ordinary time (the period between Pentecost and Advent).

Today we bade farewell to two long-time parishioners who are moving away. We also officially welcomed a former parishioner, Rebecca, to be our priest-in-charge. After a year of change, a little ordinary time is what the doctor ordered.

No Other Gods

The fondness of Episcopal clergy--and leaders of other Protestant denominations--for socialism and progressivism has been commented on in this journal before. But the love is not reciprocated.

The War on Philanthropy. [bold added]

(Image from FourStarWealth)

progressive editorialists and political candidates openly call for deep cuts in the charitable deduction, an end to tax protections for churches and other charities, the taxing down of personal fortunes, and new regimes in which government becomes the sole ministrant of societal needs.

Christians who are political progressives think that socialism's battle is with capitalism. They do not see that a powerful socialist State views all groups that have influence--not only businesses, but also churches, charities, and universities--as threats to its authority.

Authoritarians have always hated independent civil society. Russian, Iranian and Chinese dictators clamped down on charities in recent years because they want the state to be the only forum for human influence. “Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state” was Mussolini’s encapsulation. For people with a controlling impulse, private wielders of resources represent alternative sources of ideas and social legitimacy that must be suppressed in favor of unitary government prescriptions.

The first of the Ten Commandments was: You shall have no other gods before Me.

When the State supplants God, I suspect that it will adopt the first commandment as its own.

MEGA

Nob Hill or Knob Hill?

Reported by the Chronicle:

“I like to have sex before I come to church. That way, if anything happens, I’m covered.”

Man to man, overheard at Grace Cathedral by Alexandra Morgan

Making Episcopal Great Again.

Happy Mother's Day!

167th Diocesan Convention

L to R: Rev. Joseph Peters-Matthews, David Franquist, Christoper Hayes, Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus

The 167th Diocesan Convention (October 14-15, 2016) was devoid of true argument. To be sure, speeches displayed passion, but since everyone was in agreement it was largely preaching to the choir.

The Episcopal Church is a religious organization, but it is like other non-profits in that it must have an annual meeting to listen to reports, approve budgets, elect officers, and vote on resolutions. Of course, at Convention there's also worshipping, singing, praying, and sermonizing, but those are adornments. Without the legal requirements, IMHO, we probably wouldn't have this large a gathering of laity and clergy. How do I know this? In past years no official business was conducted on the Friday portion of Convention and was much less well attended; it's a hassle for the majority who don't live in San Francisco to head into town on a Friday.

Hard to read, so I just listened.

Jottings:

The 167th Convention - I wonder what event in 1849 resulted in the Episcopal Church having sufficient numbers to form a Diocese.

The "Diocese of California" encompasses only 6 counties--Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Clara--out of California's 58. You get naming privileges when you were there first.

This was the first paperless Convention. Binders full of documents have been replaced by PDF files.

Putting the hymns on Facebook or Twitter ("search for hashtag diocal167") was taking electronic downloading too far, though. The majority either gave up looking or found music too hard to read on tiny smartphone screens.

In this rancorous political season the Church leadership asked everyone to pray for reconciliation. Meanwhile, one lady asked the Convention to vote for the anti-gun violence resolution now in case a "vile Supreme Court" results from the elections.

One of the highlights of the weekend was Friday night's sermon by the Bishop of Cuba, Griselda Delgado del Carpio. Her mystical style was well-suited to the theme of caring for the earth.

It rained. Hallelujah.

Blessing of the Animals, 2016

Threatening clouds and stiff breezes dissuaded pet owners from venturing out, and there was only sparse attendance at today's Blessing of the Animals.

No matter, every two- and four-legged creature that did show up today knew what it was like to give and receive love, and blessings were conferred upon their bond.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love. --Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

[Update - 10/3/2016: the service held at the mother ship (ark?), also known as Grace Cathedral, blesses a large variety of animals:

Former Dean Alan Jones led Grace Cathedral’s Blessing of the Animals for 24 years. He blessed snakes, birds, cats and even San Francisco Police Department horses, which got spooked by the organs.]

The Journey, Not the Destination

The Chartes labyrinth design

The popular definition of labyrinth is maze. That venerable meaning harks back to Greek mythology, which describes how the Minotaur was trapped in the Labyrinth, a prison with branching paths and dead ends.

There's another ancient meaning which is gaining purchase among enthusiasts worldwide. In a unicursal labyrinth the wanderer traces a meandering but singular path to the center, then exits by retracing the path.

At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.

The traveler doesn't get lost in the unicursal labyrinth; he empties the mind of the world's concerns and "finds" himself in the center, then slowly returns to the world.

(Your humble observer/truth-seeker has walked both labyrinths at Grace Cathedral but has found that the mere act of walking [but yes, I can chew gum at the same time] makes him too distracted to meditate. Labyrinths don't work for me, but perhaps they can work for you, dear reader.)

The $500,000 labyrinth comes with a 300-ft-long fieldstone wall (WSJ Photo)

In America, the land of going overboard, it's possible to spend up to $500,000 constructing a labyrinth on one's property. For homeowners on a budget The Labyrinth Company sells paver-brick kits ($4,000-$28,000) for the back yard.

Happy Trails!

166th Diocesan Convention

Bishop Marc Andrus kicked off proceedings on Friday.

Your humble observer again represented his parish at the 166th Annual Convention of the (Episcopal) Diocese of California. This year's convention was devoid of fireworks--nothing like 2011's rejected resolution to divest companies doing business in the West Bank--but the progressives finally did manage to pass a version of 2013's resolution to banish fossil-fuel companies from the church's portfolio.

The church's mission: progressive "Justice".

Apparently natural gas, oil, and coal are all substances more deadly than tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, against which nary a resolution has ever been proposed. The inconvenient truth is that fossil fuels are necessary to power the furnaces that enable millions to survive the winter. Well, we in sunny California hope we made them feel guilty about turning up the heat, and have they tried solar panels?

One lady mentioned how she is so devoted to the anti-fossil-fuel campaign that she is flying to Paris to attend a climate-change conference. I just smiled and nodded in agreement. As they say, you can't make this stuff up.

There are small signs that a half-century decline in the Church's attendance may have bottomed. Youth are drawn to the Church's non-judgmentalism (unless you're talking about guns, conscious and unconscious racism, patriarchal attitudes, Western values, wealthy Republicans, Israel, and global warming unbelievers), and one mission was upgraded to Parish status. The new Skellig Celtic Christian Community of Marin County decided to join the Episcopal Church and was welcomed by acclamation.

The Christian-themed music by the Theodicy Jazz Collective was beautiful, as was the majesty of Grace Cathedral. Yes, aspects of the Episcopal Church continues to provoke me ("comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable"), but I will be a member until the day I die.

The Tree of Hope

On a Sunday morning 73 years ago the world changed forever. (Note: last month an historian told us about one of the less well-known chapters of that fateful day.)

But let's not dwell on a past which fewer and fewer people remember.....

Displayed at Grace Cathedral, the Rainbow World Fund Tree of Hope
has over 12,000 origami decorations.

The End of the Beginning

Six months after they entered the diaconate, three ordinands were welcomed into the priesthood of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Marc Andrus, fellow Episcopal clergy, laity, friends and family gathered at Grace Cathedral to celebrate the end of a journey and the beginning of a longer one that will take the rest of their lives.

From the Ordination of a Deacon and (Three) Priests:

"As a priest, it will be your task to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion your life in accordance with its precepts. You are to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor.

The Revs. Claire Dietrich Ranna, Rebecca Lee Goldberg,
and Annie Pierpoint Mertz

You are to preach, to declare God's forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God's blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood, and to perform the other ministrations entrusted to you.

In all that you do, you are to nourish Christ's people from the riches of his grace, and strengthen to glorify God in this life and in the life to come."

165th Diocesan Convention

The speech timer was turned off for Bishop Marc.

Under halcyon skies we drove to Grace Cathedral for the 165th Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of California.

The Diocese of California consists of 80 congregations in the greater Bay Area, and lay and clergy showed up from 71 and 68 congregations, respectively. IMHO, it was a decent turnout, though a bit shy of the perfect attendance that the Bishop desired.

Bishop Marc opened the meeting at 9 a.m. Through strict enforcement of speech cutoff limits we held to the schedule and were done a little after 5 p.m. Most of the agenda consisted of reports, elections, and resolutions. There were very few surprises, with only one of seven resolutions being defeated.

The six approved resolutions were:
1) to support Prop 47, the safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which reduces petty theft and drug possession to misdemeanors;
2) to encourage better coordination with the other five Episcopal dioceses in California;
3) to revise the wording of the marriage ceremony in the Book of Common Prayer to include same-sex couples;
4) to redirect the church’s endowment funds to socially responsible investments;
5) to reaffirm the church’s position in support of reducing carbon emissions and against environmental racism (how power plants are often located in poor neighborhoods and harm the health of families living next to them);
6) to call for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This last resolution was one of the most contentiously debated, though it did pass.

The measure that was defeated was entitled “Benefits Cost Sharing." It attempted to raise the premiums on medical insurance dependent coverage for all employees of the Diocese, both lay and clergy. This is in line with what is going on in the marketplace, and many clergy agreed with it. However, the no's prevailed when a few pointed out the severe harm that would have occurred to their finances as they deal with debilitating diseases in their children.

There was a resolution from the floor that concerned the actions of the Board of Trustees of General Theological Seminary. (GTS was founded in 1817 in Manhattan and is the oldest Episcopal seminary.) A conflict between the Dean and faculty culminated in the firing of 8 of 10 faculty members. The resolution to condemn this action passed overwhelmingly.

One of the highlights of the convention was its theme, From tears to joy: Our Asian experience. In addition to presenting the history of their communities within the Church, clergy of Asian descent led the prayers and scripture readings that were interspersed throughout the day.

The church is steadily moving into the 21st century. Most of the delegates no longer needed the over-100 page binders of materials but downloaded them to tablets and computers. Also impressive was the growing number of young people—under 30 and even teenagers—who had important roles to play.

Perhaps the church's decades-long decline in attendance has finally bottomed out, but, as I've stated before, am not too hopeful. © 2014 Stephen Yuen

Cheerfully and Willingly

Four new deacons, holding Bibles presented by the Bishop

On a mild spring afternoon in the City four deacons and three priests were ordained into the Episcopal Church at Grace Cathedral.

In addition to passing tests and interviews, ordination requires two years of full-time study at divinity school and 3-6 months of field work ("Clinical Pastoral Education"), but for those who hold full-time jobs and/or are raising a family the journey can take much longer; in the case of the deacon whom we had been sponsoring it took nine years.

The bishop and the newly ordained prepare for Communion

The two-hour service breezed by since all in attendance had a personal connection to the participants and paid rapt attention. Even Bishop Marc's homily on St. Basil, one of the principal authors of the Nicene Creed and the doctrine of the Trinity, was surprisingly interesting.

After the recessional, well-wishers surrounded the new men and women of the cloth. A lifetime of service with few earthly treasures awaits, but they will walk that path cheerfully and willingly.

Full of Grace

At Grace Cathedral in 2011
the Rev. Whitney Roberson & friend

The last time I saw Whitney she greeted me with a smile and a hug. Though sick with the cancer that would eventually end her life, she asked about the health of each of us. That's one of the reasons she was beloved; she was always turning the subject away from herself.

At yesterday's memorial service, Whitney's daughter Sarah reflected upon the life of the single mother who raised three daughters, went through seminary, and became an ordained minister late in life. We met Whitney when she was in San Carlos. She had that light in her eyes that invited us to return every Sunday, and so we did. Rest in peace, dear friend.

164th Diocesan Convention

Graced with Light, by Anne Patterson, at Grace Cathedral.

As they did last year, delegates from 74 Episcopal congregations gathered at Grace Cathedral to conduct the business of the Diocese of California (summary here).

Like most corporations, non-profits, and other non-governmental entities, the Diocese is required to have an annual meeting to receive reports, elect officers, and vote on resolutions. Over the years it's been a challenge to avoid losing control over time, since every Episcopalian who loves to hear the sound of his or her own voice shows up at convention. (Your humble observer, a kindred soul to Chauncey Gardiner, just likes to watch.) The organizers are to be commended for strict enforcement of the two-minute speaking rule. (The bishop was exempt.)

The most spirited discussion concerned a resolution that would order the endowment manager to divest all shares in fossil-fuel companies, a tricky and somewhat costly proposition if one participates in a broad-based investment fund. A counter-proposal to invest new monies in alternative energies won the day, although everyone seemed to agree that being anti-carbon was a good thing. As for me, I sympathized with all the employees and retirees of Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, Philips Petroleum, and Occidental whose livelihood was lumped in with apartheid (divestment was a favorite method of expressing disapproval of South Africa in the 1980's). Fossil-fuel people won't debate, they'll just join the millions of others who have stopped coming.

So why do I stay? I've already stated my reasons, or maybe I'm just a creature of habit. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

163rd Diocesan Convention

As Bay Area residents frolicked in the sunshine, 300 Episcopalians chose to spend their Saturday indoors at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. It was the 163rd Convention of the Diocese of California.

(Historical footnote: the Diocese encompasses only seven Bay Area counties but has appropriated the "California" designation due to primogeniture. There are now other, larger Episcopal Dioceses in California, e.g., Los Angeles and San Diego.)

Bishop Marc Andrus led by example on his 56th birthday and presided over an uncontroversial agenda. Three resolutions passed by large margins:

1) Every meeting of every committee, no matter what its purpose, shall begin by asking the question, "How will what we are doing here affect or involve people living in poverty?"

2) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be a Day of Service for all members of the congregation and particularly for children and youth.

3) The Diocese declares its support of California Proposition 34, also known as the Anti-Death Penalty Initiative.

Fortunately this year, there were no discussions or proposals that upset Episcopalians who do not call themselves progressives. (Bishop Andrus has declared that he is in "the progressive wing of The Episcopal Church"; his advocacy of same-sex marriage--the official position of the church is that it will perform blessings over same-sex relationships--has resulted in a spat with the local Catholic archbishop.)

Two months ago this humble observer half-jokingly commented about church leadership:

Why don't they just say what they really believe? From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Well, the Bishop did use Karl Marx's famous dictum in response to a question about wealth redistribution among the parishes and missions, and he said it as if he meant it. No wonder we're a dying denomination.

© 2012 Stephen Yuen

Top of the Mark

The view makes a $7 beer a bargain.

The amateur San Francisco tour guide begins without taking a step. The guide must discover how much time the visitor has, how familiar he is with the City, and the visitor's preference between depth or breadth of experience. If the visitor is interested in cramming as many sights as possible into a short period, for example, then he might try the one-day quickie tour.

Union Square

On Wednesday the amateur guide appraised his client objectively. Touring by auto would be unsuitable; there must needs be beer, and it would be unsociable for the guide to abstain to keep his blood alcohol level below the driving limit.

On the other hand a lot of walking for one who is not accustomed to the steep hills may make for an unpleasant experience.

The visitor helped make the decision; he expressed a desire to see Grace Cathedral, the Mecca for western Episcopalians. Nob Hill it would be.

We departed the hotel and walked two blocks to Union Square. The visitor had last seen the square in the mid-1990's and was impressed with its 2000 renovation.

We trudged up Powell to the crest of Nob Hill. It was time for our break.

I first visited the Top of the Mark as a 21-year-old graduate student. To a starry eyed kid from the Islands the Fairmont and Mark Hopkins hotels represented the pinnacle of San Francisco sophistication. That one could drink in the view from the top floor of the Mark Hopkins for an unrushed $2 glass of beer was one of the greatest deals he had ever seen.

Over 30 years later the price of a glass of Anchor Steam at the Top of the Mark is $7. It's still a great bargain.

Swan Oyster Depot

After satisfying the visitor's request to tour Grace Cathedral, we strolled west on California to the Swan Oyster Depot, which has a permanent spot on the list of the Chronicle's top-100 Bay Area restaurants. One has to make a determined effort to dine there: seating is limited to an 18-stool counter (and there's always a line), the restaurant closes at 5:30 p.m., payment is cash only, and street parking is scarce. But determined efforts are what we amateur tour guides are known for.

There were five people ahead of us when we arrived at 4 p.m. Wednesday. We were seated in 20 minutes.

There are no menus at SOD. The fairly limited selection and prices are posted behind the counter.

Because of the proximity to fellow diners (and the girth of modern-day Americans, including ourselves), one is nearly forced to make conversation, such as "I think that's my bread" or "these clams are delicious." ("How do you like them oysters?" is neither witty nor original.)

Despite the aforementioned drawbacks the Swan Oyster Depot is definitely worth a visit. The seafood is very fresh, and the prices are reasonable.

The $11 combination cocktail was chock full with crab, shrimp, and clams. The $5 bowl of white clam chowder had a distinctive clam flavor; it was thinner than prepared by most restaurants and didn't have too many chunks of potatoes and clams. When complemented by sourdough and butter, however, the SOD clam chowder is the archetypical San Francisco meal.

Dining at Swan Oyster Depot is one of those experiences where positive memories become stronger as time passes. At some point in the future, when the craving for fresh crab, oysters, and clams becomes overwhelming, I'll be back.

Diocesan Convention

Friday night mass at Grace Cathedral

It was a beautiful weekend in the Bay Area, and I spent it indoors. Every October members of 108 Episcopal churches in Northern California gather at Grace Cathedral for the Diocesan Convention.

Prayers are said, reports are presented, resolutions are made, and officers are elected. Given all the business that had to be conducted---the Diocese has 162 years of legal and procedural barnacles encrusting its activities---it was remarkable that we completed the agenda within the allotted nine hours.

Bay Area attendance has dwindled to a weekly average of 8,500 Bay Area worshipers. Bishop Marc called for renewal--we dare not call it evangelism!--by telling our story to the community. There is an ingrained reluctance and much Scriptural support against tooting one's horn, but in these cacophonous times one can't be completely silent. The church and church members perform many unpublicized acts of charity; some people in the wider community might be interested in joining the Church if they heard about them.

The spirit of comity pervaded the meeting hall, even during the contentious debate on Israeli settlements. The proposed Resolution called for "divest[ment] from all companies that enable the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and to boycott all products manufactured in Israeli settlements." The church would urge other organizations, such as the $236 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), to liquidate investments in such companies, which included names like Boeing, Motorola, Caterpillar, and General Dynamics.

To soften its seeming one-sidedness, the Resolution was amended to acknowledge the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to self-determination, statehood, safety, and security. Nevertheless, the Resolution was defeated, 171-144, in a show of hands. We live in one of the most liberal Dioceses in one of the most liberal Protestant denominations, but this one was too much to swallow. Other resolutions, which pertained to church matters, passed overwhelmingly.

After the convention adjourned, we passed by Occupy SF demonstrators marching along Sixth Street. There are many different ways, over and above mere working and consuming, that people choose to participate in civic society, and some of them were on display on this beautiful weekend in the Bay Area.

Easter Evensong

The Keiskamma Altarpiece is on display through May.

Easter is one of Christianity’s three great feasts, the other two being Christmas and Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit entered the world and begat the Church). Casting off their Lenten abstemiousness, Christians fill their places of worship with celebration and song. Afterwards there are Easter egg hunts, family gatherings, and a groaning board of comestibles that would do Thanksgiving proud.

This year I have more than the usual preoccupations, and the contemplative mood of Lent has not quite been banished. And so it was that we filed silently into Grace Cathedral last Sunday afternoon. The small gathering included tourists, Christians who missed morning Mass, and still others who needed evening prayer to complete their day.

The choir had gone home to their families, and congregants were invited to sit in the choir stalls surrounding the altar. The dignity of the surroundings enjoined us from slouching. I gazed at the polished wood, the granite carvings, and the stained glass while a young priest repeatedly called for peace and justice during the homily.

Listening in my high-backed chair, I was annoyed because I don’t believe that fighting AIDS in Africa or fixing the environment or even withdrawing from the Middle East, worthy causes though they may be, was the takeaway message from the Resurrection, but then again I wasn’t taught in seminary. If the mission of the church is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, the Episcopal Church is doing a good job, at least with the latter. That’s one reason why the national membership has been halved to about two million, and that’s why this magnificent cathedral is rarely filled.

After the service we chatted briefly with newly installed Bishop Marc and his wife Sheila, who had quietly attended the service with other worshippers. He doesn’t seem at all impressed with the trappings of his office. There’s hope yet. © 2007 Stephen Yuen

There's A Pony in Here

The children had not rehearsed for the Christmas pageant at Grace Cathedral, but the relatives of the participants didn’t notice or care. The cherubic choir hit the high notes without straining, and the headdresses and sashes of the shepherds and wise men glittered under the lights.

The newly elected bishop of California greeted the assembly. He seemed in good spirits despite, or because of, his recent arrest for blocking the Federal building in protest against the Iraq war. Untypical behavior for an Alabaman, perhaps, but new Bay Area arrivals often feel compelled to remove the bushels from their lamps and let their lights shine, whatever the consequences. Marc Andrus has a long way to go before he shocks this flock. Northern California Bishop James Pike set the standard over 40 years ago:

[Pike's] episcopate was marked by both professional and personal controversy. He was involved with introducing the ordained ministry of women into the Episcopal Church, a living wage for workers in San Francisco, the acceptance of LBGT [Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay, Transgendered] people in the church, and civil rights. Among his notable accomplishments, Pike marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Selma, Alabama. His theology was profoundly challenging to the Church, as Pike wrote condemning a number of widely regarded theological stances, including the virginity of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the doctrine of the Trinity. He was censured by his brother bishops in 1966 for this and resigned his position shortly thereafter.

It’s a sign of how much the Church has changed that many of Bishop Pike’s views are considered mainstream by the American Episcopal Church . But enough of bishops and their obsessions.

Joseph, Mary, and the pony marched down the aisle to take their place at the altar. Cameras snapped, rolled, and flashed. I sang the familiar carols, only stumbling over the grating insertion of PC-pronouns into centuries-old lyrics (Hark the Herald: "born that we [men] no more may die"; Joy to the World: "let us our [men their] songs employ"). Yuck, the goddess of inclusion has a tin ear. But enough about me and my obsessions.

In the feast of the Nativity Christians put aside their divisions over human sexuality, the use and misuse of language, the role of women, the role of the Church, and the triune nature of God. We gather to celebrate the day without which none of these arguments would matter, the day when the Word became flesh and everything changed. In this Christmas season, may you experience love, joy, and peace with your families and friends. © 2006 Stephen Yuen

In The Book

I rolled over and peered at the alarm: 6:06 a.m. As usual, I was awake before the alarm had gone off. 0606 on 06/06/06. If I were superstitious, I would stay in bed. 666 is the mark of the beast described in Revelations, when the Antichrist makes his appearance, death and destruction reign, thousands are raptured away to heaven while billions of us losers are left behind, and Jesus returns (and boy, is he mad). I decided not to worry and put on the coffee. If there really was a problem Dan Brown would have mentioned it in the book.

Today is the opening of the remake of the Omen, a 1976 movie about the birth of the Antichrist. The possible end of the world as marketing tie-in. It’s also election day, perhaps a greater cause for worry. Who knows what mischief will result from someone who believes victory was due to his virtues and not his consultants?

Retiring Bishop Swing ordains his last class of deacons.

A group who shouldn’t have any problems with hubristic self-delusion is the class of Episcopal deacons who were ordained last Saturday at Grace Cathedral. The deacons had to complete a three-to-five-year course of rigorous study. They endured this burden, not for fame, glory, or wealth, but in order to be servants (the meaning of “deacon”) of the Christian community. Once again, I was humbled by the example of others. © 2006 Stephen Yuen

The Asian-American ministry is growing. Congratulations, Jay!