Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service — Rionegro, Colombia] “¡EJE veintiséis! ¡EJE veintiséis! ¡EJE veintiséis!” “EJE veintiséis,” Spanish for “EJE26,” are the words Episcopal youth from Latin America shouted as they greeted Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris and other church leaders on July 13 here at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros. Their jubilant shouts and choreographed dance routine kick-started Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales, a gathering designed to celebrate Latino culture and youth empowerment. Myra Garnes, The Episcopal Church’s officer for youth, young adult and campus ministries, told Episcopal News Service she hopes young Latin American Episcopalians know how much the church “as a whole is committed to them and loves them.” “I hope that the youth from Province II and Province IX feel the electricity of God and of the love of Jesus this week, and that they know … that our young people are leading now in all sorts of ways in ministry and their communities,” Garnes said. “I hope that they will be lifted up and highlighted this week.” EJE26 brought nearly 100 young people ages 16 to 23 from South America, Central America and the Caribbean to Rionegro, a municipality in Colombia’s department of Antioquia, near Medellín, for the July 13-16 gathering. Delegations and volunteers came from five of the six Province IX dioceses and the dioceses of Cuba and Puerto Rico, which are in Province II. The event is styled after the Episcopal Youth Event, which has historically been held triennially in the United States. The first EJE gathering took place in 2019 in Panama City, Panama. Follow EJE26 on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #EJE26. This year’s EJE gathering will focus on forgiveness, discipleship and leadership. During the gathering, the delegates will break into discussion and reflection groups to address these topics. They also will participate in various workshops and activities, including a Q&A with Rowe and Ayala Harris, scheduled for July 14.  “The themes are selected so the youth can empower themselves and grow and mature in their faith,” William Muñoz Vanegas, a member of the EJE planning team from the Bogotá-based Diocese of Colombia, told ENS. “The youth can mature by learning to forgive themselves and to forgive others; develop discipleship skills so they learn to see their strengths and can follow God’s path; and develop their leadership skills and learn how to apply them in their church.” Welcomes continued throughout the first day. The delegates, for example, also greeted the six delegates from Cuba, who arrived shortly after the church staff, with cheers, claps, hugs and tears of joy. They were collectively celebrating the delegation’s safe arrival in Colombia after several months of uncertainty about whether they would receive their visas. Before the evening worship service began, Karla Sikaffy duPlantier, The Episcopal Church’s interim missioner for Latino Ministries, noted that the Rt. Rev. Antonio José Gallardo Lucena, who was born in Venezuela, was ordained and consecrated as bishop of Los Angeles on July 11. She and the Rev. David Ulloa Chavez, the church’s lead for Global Episcopal Partnerships, led the youth and adult leaders in recording a short video congratulating Gallardo on his ordination and consecration. Sikaffy duPlantier and Chavez told Gallardo they were unable to attend Gallardo’s ordination and consecration because they were heading to Colombia for EJE. “He said he remembers EJE and loves the youth and the conference that was held last time,” Sikaffy duPlantier told the crowd. The Diocese of Venezuela didn’t send a delegation to EJE26. The South American country, which neighbors Colombia to the northeast, has faced numerous conflicts in recent years and is still recovering from back-to-back major earthquakes last month that killed nearly 4,500 people. The evening healing and praise service started with joyful live worship, music and readings from Ephesians 6:10-18, Psalm 91 and Luke 8:26-39. Wilcania Ortiz Chemountd, a member of the EJE planning team from the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, gave a reflection on opening up to God while at EJE26 and other times in life. “God is here. … Let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit,” Chemountd said. When Chemountd concluded her reflection, several delegates moved around the worship space to hold individual prayer stations while the band performed contemplative music. Some delegates approached the prayer stations while others stood at their seats to sing as they held up tealight candles. The service concluded with the delegates and adult church leaders standing in a large circle within the worship space’s perimeter while holding hands and swaying in unison to the music. Based on the delegates’ enthusiasm throughout the first day, Garnes said she believes EJE26 is “off to a great start.” “It is beautiful. The Holy Spirit is on fire, and we can’t wait to hear from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and President Julia Ayala Harris,” she said. “There’s a lot that’s coming, and we can’t wait to see the young people start leading some workshops and programming. It’s going to be awesome.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at [email protected].

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Central New York is planning to relocate its diocesan headquarters to a larger facility in Syracuse that will expand its capacity to host meetings, house diocesan archives and foster ministry development. The diocese, which spans New York’s midsection from the Canadian border to the Pennsylvania state line, is currently based in Liverpool, a Syracuse suburb. Its lease on the 3,500 square feet it occupies in an office park there expires in April 2027. Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe said in a message to the diocese that the search for a new location originated in conversations that date back to 2018. “Our ability to remain connected and engaged is essential to the well-being of our parishes,” Duncan-Probe said, adding that the Liverpool facility does not meet the diocese’s needs. “Without the empowerment of a central hub, we are missing the necessary support to stay connected.” In June, diocesan leaders visited several potential new sites for the diocesan offices and agreed on a 6,000-square-foot facility that currently houses a podiatrist’s office and a law office and has a dedicated parking lot. The diocese made an offer of $400,000 and is waiting for the purchase to be finalized. “If the purchase is successful, we will renovate the space to meet the needs of the diocese with an eye to future potential. It is also our intention that this new Diocesan Center be as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible,” Duncan-Probe said. The diocese will use investment proceeds and revenue from the sale of closed churches to pay for the new property without raising congregations’ assessments, she said. “I am grateful for the faithful work of our discernment team and all those who contributed to making this possible,” she said.

[Episcopal News Service] Joshua Maria Garcia first downloaded TikTok as a joke. But what started as casual posts became genuine reflections on their faith journey. Then, Garcia said, “I kind of lived out my spiritual crisis on the internet.” They weren’t the only one. Over time, they encountered more people online who sought belonging and theological meaning in faith lives that, like Garcia’s, are complicated. Their TikTok now has over 25,000 followers. Garcia, an Episcopal seminarian at the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, is among a growing number of creators ranging from clergy to lay people to monastics who make religious content accessible online. The most exciting videos to make, Garcia said, are collaborative. Sometimes they make videos with other Episcopalians, interact with commenters, and even get into arguments about matters of faith. “I think what we’re doing in those conversations is modeling what church can be, maybe should be, in my humble opinion,” Garcia, who is resident in the Diocese of Rhode Island, said. “The posts that show there’s a different way to respond, a different way to react, a caring, loving way to disagree, that’s actually really valuable.” Garcia said they grew up with a negative perception of Christianity on both sides of their family. While their mother’s family was what they described as “old-school Congregationalist” turned “pseudo-Baptist, evangelical non-denom[inational]” Christians, they chose to follow the faith of their father’s family, who immigrated to the United States as Jewish refugees escaping pogroms in Ukraine. “Judaism was a breath of fresh air for me because it had a lot of structure and a lot of openness at the same time,” Garcia said. “Kind of like The Episcopal Church.” After two years of rabbinical school at Hebrew College in Boston, Massachusetts, Garcia walked into the dean’s office and told her, “I think I’m a Christian.” Their dean responded with support that they said they will never forget. In the following years, Garcia explored their faith, experiencing Episcopal liturgy at the monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston, getting baptized in a pond by a United Church of Christ pastor and even reverting to Judaism. It was the frank, empathetic conversations with others – Jewish friends who nudged them back to Christianity and an Episcopal priest who invited them to worship – that Garcia said helped them find their way to the church where they would soon discern a call to ministry. Garcia said their honesty online about their faith identity, especially as a young, queer person who considers themself theologically conservative, has permitted others to be vulnerable. Some of these followers have also found a home in The Episcopal Church. “I think the traditional orientation and radical inclusion of the church is really where it’s at,” Garcia said. “And I think that’s what ‘all’ the young people of the internet are seeing in The Episcopal Church right now.” More of Garcia’s experiences and wisdom can now be found off the internet and on bookshelves with the publication of their new devotional, “A Tranquil Body: Finding the Peace of God in Breath, Movement, and Awareness.” “A Tranquil Body” is a collection of meditative exercises that Garcia intended to be accessible to people of many abilities. Garcia began meditating when they were 12 years old, but with ADHD, silent stillness never seemed to work for them. After being told too many times to “try harder,” they thought there must be another way to find spiritual peace. They said that while Episcopalians might be comfortable with traditional practices like lectio divina, this book presents methods of meditation that will be unfamiliar to some. “Once you start talking about moving your body in a spiritual way or actual breathwork or visualization, it’s like, ‘ooh that’s a little woo-woo,’” Garcia said. “But the reality is, for those of us who can’t do the silent, quiet thing, that’s what we need. And if that’s what we need to be also faithful Christians because that’s what we’re called to, then that’s what we need.” Offering spiritual practices in this format was daunting at times, they said. They wrote the manuscript during their first semester of seminary, surrounded by professors who are published academic authors. “I’m looking at their books, and I’m going like, “Oh my gosh, how dare I even pretend to be an author?” Garcia said. “So, it was also an experience of figuring out how to hold my own and how to hold myself and believe in what I was writing, even if it was a very different style and register from what my teachers had done that I so admire.” Ultimately, Garcia said the experience of writing “A Tranquil Body” helped them rethink notions of authority and approval. They said the church is begging for more young people to offer their perspectives. Online and in print, Garcia does what they said The Episcopal Church is good at: make God approachable to all, regardless of identity, ability or background. “My story is a really good example of how religion is not a zero-sum game and that we can support each other in differences,” they said. –Logan Crews is a freelance reporter and hospital chaplain resident in the Diocese of Missouri.

[Diocese of Los Angeles] The Rt. Rev. Antonio José Gallardo Lucena was ordained and consecrated the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on July 11 – the first Latino to hold the office – in a festive multilingual ceremony celebrating the diocese’s rich cultural diversity. Rousing Korean drummers called out joyful welcome as hundreds of lay, clergy and ecumenical colleagues gathered at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, where the Venezuela-born Gallardo served as pastor for Latino ministries from 2015 to 2019. The inter-tribal Native American Sisters of the One Drum led processions of more than 30 bishops from across The Episcopal Church. Thousands more joined the livestreamed celebration in watch parties at churches and from homes across the six-county diocese. A moment of silence recalled victims of the June 24 earthquakes that struck Venezuela, killing nearly 4,000, injuring another 16,000 and displacing more than 18,000. The offertory collection was dedicated to support Episcopal Relief & Development’s International Disaster Fund. The organization is providing critical relief and long-term recovery support to those impacted by the earthquakes. Gallardo’s election represents “God doing a new thing,” according to the Rev. Norma Guerra of St. Paul’s Church in Tustin, preaching in Spanish and English. “One of the most important things to remind you is, you are not alone in this journey; God is by your side and we are, too,” Guerra said, offering advice from her father, the Rt. Rev. Armando Guerra, who served as bishop of Guatemala from 1982 to 2018 and archbishop of the Anglican Church in Central America from 2010 to 2015. “I know you can feel the love in this room and across the diocese and across the distance all the way to Venezuela and in other places,” she said. “You also stand on the shoulders of earlier bishops whose faith and integrity have provided a sure foundation and cornerstone for your ministry. You have the wisdom and support of your fellow bishops and a wonderful diocesan staff,” Guerra said. Gallardo chose the theme “In the Spirit of Love and Truth” for both the consecration and his episcopate, from Ephesians 4:15: “Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him, who is the head, into Christ.” Banners depicting the theme in a specially designed shield lined the entryway to the Pasadena church. Bishop John Harvey Taylor presented Gallardo with the diocesan crozier, a pastoral staff carried by all previous bishops of the diocese. In a written word of gratitude in the service program, Gallardo offered thanks to God, family, mentors and teachers, with a special thanks to his Aunt Yeya, “for instilling in me the love for God and Jesus since I was a little child.” “This day we begin a new stretch in our life as a diocese,” Gallardo wrote. “I look forward to exploring, discovering, and growing together. May the road ahead be inspired by the desires of our hearts to grow closer to Jesus, to be one in Christ, and to be led by the Spirit of Love and Truth.” Gallardo was elected bishop Nov. 8 on the eighth ballot by the 130th annual meeting of the diocese. Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he was ordained a priest in 2019 in Los Angeles. He holds a doctorate in business and economics from Lehigh University. Prior to ordination, he served as chief program officer for First 5 Los Angeles, a public foundation, from 2010 to 2013; as deputy director of the Farmworker Institute of Education & Leadership Development; and as president and CEO of Philadelphia Area Accelerated Manufacturing Education. He is a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona’s Business School and served as instructor in UCLA’s Department of Engineering, Information Systems and Technical Management from 2008 to 2015 and professor in the School of Sciences, Universidad Centro Occidental Lisandro Alvarado, Venezuela, from 1990 to 1993. Gallardo succeeds Taylor, who served as diocesan bishop for nine years. The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles was established in 1896 and encompasses 49,000 members worshipping in 132 congregations, 26 schools and institutions located in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.