Northern California Episcopal churches turn out for Oroville Dam evacuees

[Episcopal News Service | February 14] More than 180,000 Northern California residents were ordered to evacuate on the afternoon of Feb. 12, after officials said the emergency spillway from the Oroville Dam might fail. The first tweet from the California Department of Water Resources came in at 4:24 p.m. and sketched the situation in the darkest of tones: “EMERGENCY EVACUATION: Auxiliary spillway at Oroville Dam predicted to fail within the next hour. Oroville residents evacuate northward.”

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Photo: California Department of Water Resources

Annual Absalom Jones and Richard Allen commemoration at St. Paul’s, Oakland

Come join members of the Afro Anglican Commission, the Union of Black Episcopalians, and DioCal to celebrate the legacies of Absalom Jones and the Rev. Richard Allen at St. Paul’s, Oakland. Jones and Allen were friends, activists, and fellow evangelists who were active in The Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.  Absalom Jones, ordained priest in 1802, was the first African American priest of The Episcopal Church and first rector of St. Thomas African Orthodox Episcopal Church, Philadelphia. Allen was the first African American ordained in the Methodist Church (1816) and was the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Both men were leading abolitionists of their day. This year the commemoration is especially honored to have Bishop Marc Handley Andrus as the celebrant and guest homilist Bishop Clement Fugh of the Fifth Episcopal District, AME Church. Additional guests include a choir of the California Conference of the AME Church. Love to sing? Watch this space as for information on the DioCal festival choir forming to sing at the commemoration!

When: Saturday, February 18, 10:45 a.m. (choral concert), 11 a.m. (Eucharistic celebration), 1 p.m. (reception)
Where: St Paul’s, 114 Montecito Avenue, Oakland
Cost: Free
Contact: the Rev. Eric Metoyer, ericm@diocal.org
 

DioCal Lenten Carbon Fast

Rectors and Vicars: Report your lay delegates and alternates to Diocesan Convention

The names of your congregation’s lay delegates and alternates to the 168th Convention of the Diocese of California can be entered on the online form available here.  Please take some time today to complete the online form. Questions may be directed to Denise Obando, deniseo@diocal.org.
 

Health and wellness grants available through Episcopal Impact Fund Action Networks

The Episcopal Impact Fund is kicking off 2017 with $75,000 in new grant funding for organizations that are working to create pathways out of poverty! This year's granting focus area is health and wellness. Attend an Action Network meeting in your deanery and bring your ideas of organizations that are making a difference in your region. Action Network meetings are open to all members of the community, including staff and board members of nonprofits interested in learning more about this funding opportunity. Each Action Network will meet twice in 2017. The following is a schedule of the first meeting in each deanery:

Alameda Action Network Meeting
When: Tuesday, February 28, 7 p.m.
Where: Our Saviour, 1011 Harrison Street, Oakland

Contra Costa Action Network Meeting
When: Tuesday, February 21, 7 p.m.
Where: Resurrection, 399 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill

Marin Action Network Meeting
When: Thursday, February 16, 7 p.m.
Where: St. Paul’s, 1123 Court Street, San Rafael

Peninsula Action Network Meeting
When: Thursday, March 2, 7 p.m.
Where: Holy Child and St. Martin, 777 Southgate Avenue, Daly City

San Francisco Action Network Meeting
When: Wednesday, February 15, 7 p.m.
Where: St. John the Evangelist, 1661 15th Street, San Francisco

Southern Alameda — To be announced

Link: http://www.episcopalimpact.org/news-and-events-blog/new-health-and-wellness-grants-available-through-our-action-networks
 

Touch of the Irish — the spring concert supporting the San Francisco Night Ministry

Begin your St Patrick’s Day celebrations with the San Francisco Night Ministry Spring Concert, Touch of the Irish. Hear songs to remember the Emerald Isle performed by members of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, with special guests! Following the performance, join the artists and members of the San Francisco Night Ministry for a reception in Heritage Hall. The San Francisco Night Ministry provides a presence to the most vulnerable persons of the central city through programs of the Crisis Line Counseling call center, Open Cathedral, and the Night Ministers, who have been on the streets of the Tenderloin every night for over fifty-two years. The mission of the Night Ministry is supported by the Diocese of California.

When: Sunday, March 12, 3 p.m.
Where: St Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1111 O’Farrell St, San Francisco
Cost: $25 (at the door), $20 (seniors/students)

These are our bodies’: talking about faith and sexuality in youth and family ministry

Parents, clergy, and lay leaders are invited to the fifth annual CDSP Youth Ministry Symposium with keynote speaker Leslie A. Choplin, D.Ed.Min., co-author of These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith and Sexuality at Church and at Home. Choplin received her doctor of educational ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary and spent a decade as a director of Christian education, sexual misconduct prevention trainer, facilitator, and speaker in Episcopal congregations across the United States. In addition to the keynote address, the symposium will include opportunities for training and certification in safe church practices in accordance with the national policy.

When: Saturday, March 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; those taking advanced Safeguarding training will continue to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 2451 Ridge Road, Berkeley
Cost: $25 (Youth Ministry Symposium, including standard Safeguarding workshops); $75 (Youth Ministry Symposium plus advanced Safeguarding training). Scholarship and travel funding is available from the Diocese of California, Diocese of Northern California, and Province VIII.
Registration: http://cdsp.edu/on-campus-courses/these-are-our-bodies-talking-about-faith-and-sexuality-in-youth-and-family-ministry/
Contact: For registration, Alissa Fencsik, call@cdsp.edu. For Provincial or Northern California scholarship aid, Anne Clarke, anne@norcalepiscopal.org. For Diocese of California scholarship aid or questions about Safeguarding training, Caren Miles, carenm@diocal.org.
 

New preacher announced to teach with Bishop Marc at preaching symposium at the Bishop’s Ranch — Register today!

Jere Torkelsen (baritone) and Sibel Demirmen (soprano) in concert at Incarnation, San Francisco

A vocal recital with baritone Jere Torkelsen and soprano Sibel Demirmen in a program of art songs by Purcell, Britten, Korngold, Debussy and songs from musicals ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ ‘The Music Man,’ and more. Jere Torkelsen has been a member of the San Francisco Opera chorus since 1987.  During his tenure he has performed many roles, including Gen. John Rawlins in Philip Glasses Appomattox, Melisso in Handel’s Alcina, The Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, and The Journalist in Berg’s Lulu. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “superb singer” with a “crystalline voice,” Sibel Demirmen is a versatile soprano praised for her charming stage presence and colorful coloratura sound. She has sung with many Bay Area companies, including Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Townsend Opera Players, Berkeley Opera, and others.

When: Friday February 17, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Incarnation, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco
Cost: $20 (general), $15 (seniors/students)
Contact: Mathew Chacko, comebefed@aol.com, 415.564.2324
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jere-torkelsen-baritone-and-sibel-demirmensoprano-tickets-29736051330
Link: https://sunsetarts.wordpress.com/jere-torkelsen-baritone-and-sibel-demirmen-soprano/   

Other upcoming events at Incarnation

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper with live music
Tuesday, February 28, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. $12 (general),  $6 (children under 12)

Journey to Rwanda and Kenya with Dr. Barry Levine (SFSU) – An Incarnation Travelogue Series
Saturday, March 4,  5:30 p.m., free. Please bring a dish to share at the potluck.

Shawnette Sulker (soprano), Victor Khodadad (tenor), in concert
Saturday, March 11, 7:30 p.m., $20 (general), $15 (seniors/students)

Patrick Galvin (violin) in concert
Saturday, March 25, 7:30 p.m., $20 (general), $15 (seniors/students)
 

St. Cuthbert's, Oakland, hosts spaghetti feed and drag show

For the 6th year in a row, St. Cuthbert's, Oakland, will host Mama Portugal's Spaghetti Feed & Drag Show, a fundraiser for the Royal Grand Ducal Council of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties (in the non-drag world, Mama Portugal is known as Don Silva, a parishioner at St. Cuthbert's). The event will feature entertainers from Oakland and San Francisco, a spaghetti dinner, a raffle and an auction. 80% of proceeds benefit the Ducal Council's charity fund, which in the past has supported organizations like the Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, Bay Area Women Against Rape, Oakland East Bay Gay Men's Chorus, the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic (serving low-income women with cancer), and Project Dignity (serving homeless veterans). 

When: Saturday, February 18, 5 p.m. (show), 6 p.m. (dinner)
Where: St. Cuthbert's, 7900 Mountain Blvd (at Keller Ave), Oakland
Cost: $15 (at the door, but the event often sells out, so call or email ahead to reserve your tickets)
Contact: Mama Portugal, gdmamap@sbcglobal.net, 510.261.6353

Carey Perloff: A Thousand Splendid Suns, at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

ACT’s Artistic Director will take the audience behind the scenes for the world premiere adaptation of the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini that tells the epic story of three generations of Afghan women and opens at the Geary Theatre in February.

When: Sunday, February 19, 9:30 a.m.
Where: Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St, San Francisco
Cost: Free
Link: https://www.gracecathedral.org/events/carey-perloff-a-thousand-splendid-suns/

Other upcoming events at Grace Cathedral

Gabriel Gold + Sam Jackson
Saturday, February 18; 7 p.m.; free

ODC Behind the Scenes
Wednesday, February 22; 7:30 p.m.; free

Help to save lives by packaging nutritional meals in partnership with Stop Hunger Now at St. Mary the Virgin, San Francisco

Please join parishioners at St. Mary the Virgin on Saturday, March 4, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., in packaging high-protein meals for an impoverished Third World community in partnership with Stop Hunger Now, a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to eliminating global hunger. The goal of the event is to package a total of 15,000 meals for those who suffer from a chronic lack of food. Volunteers from all ages are invited!  Please register asap. Space is limited!

When: Saturday, March 4, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Where: St. Mary the Virgin, 2325 Union St., San Francisco
Cost: Free
Contact: Deacon Tim Smith, tim@smvsf.org, 415.921.3665, ext. 352
Link: http://events.stophungernow.org/episcopalchurchofstmarythevirgin3/4/17 
 

Seekers and Saints, Women of Transformation, at Resurrection, Pleasant Hill

Help support St. Dorothy’s Rest — a new monthly giving program!

St. Dorothy’s Rest has started a “monthly sustainer” giving program. It’s easy to sign-up for, and the hope is that everyone can participate! When asked why she decided to give to St. Dorothy’s monthly, Director of Programming, Sara Gunter, had this to say: "It has been an honor and a thrill to get to work and live at St. Dorothy’s Rest this past year. This place gives life to many, is a home for many. It has certainly been both for me in very concrete and personal ways. I decided to make St. Dorothy’s part of my regular giving, in part because I care about the work we do here and want to be a part of its daily maintenance and its growth.” If you would like to give to St. Dorothy’s Rest, our monthly sustainer program is one of many ways you can support their ministry. To find out how you can help click here.


Upcoming events at St. Dorothy's Rest

Choral Evensong at Grace Cathedral
Thursday, February 23, 5:15 p.m.

Family Camp at St. Dorothy’s Rest
Friday, April 7 to Sunday, April 9

Camp Open House at St. Dorothy’s Rest
Saturday, April 8