Responding to God's Disturbing Spirit in troubling times
June 12, 2025
Dear people of Trinity -
On Wednesday afternoon, June 11, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe sent a letter to the Episcopal Church titled, "Acting faithfully in troubling times." Bishop Rowe's letter speaks to recent troubling events in our country, including an executive order banning or restricting travel from 19 countries (some of which are home to dioceses in the Episcopal Church), the unrequested and unwarranted deployment of National Guard and U.S. Marine troops into Los Angeles, and the pending federal budget bill which defunds essential public health, social service, and foreign aid programs, and widens the growing gap between the richest and the most impoverished in our country. These are, indeed, unsettling developments, which do not align with our gospel mandate to love and care for our neighbors, especially those who are most marginalized.
But there are things that we can do to combat these actions, and speak out and up for the just future God envisions for all people. Below are a list of resources, upcoming events, and ways to stay informed:
Participate in the 805Undocufund Rapid Response Network initiative; learn more at 805undocufund.org
On June 6, 14 members of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Hollywood were unjustly detained by ICE, as part of raids on businesses, schools, and homes in Los Angeles. St. Stephen's has established a fund to cover the costs of legal representation for these folks. If you would like to help, you can make a donation via PayPal or Venmo @ststephenshollywood
Read about the "ICE out of 805" press conference event held June 10 at the Santa Barbara courthouse (see event photos below): independent.com
Participate in the "No Kings" non-violent demonstration at Chase Palm Park on Saturday, June 14, 10:30am-12noon, organized locally by Indivisible Santa Barbara: indivisiblesb.org/no-kings-day
Get updates from the Episcopal Public Policy Network on legislative and policy actions in connection with many topics including immigration and refugees, human rights, racial reconciliation, creation care, gun violence, and how to get involved and speak out about those issues: episcopalchurch.org/ministries/office-government-relations
Find out about how you can participate in or support the work of Sacred Resistance, a social justice ministry and advocacy branch of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, begun in 2016: lasacredresistance.org
Learn about the ongoing work of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)— episcopalmigrationministries.org—a ministry of the Episcopal Church involved in refugee resettlement in the U.S. If you click on the "How you can help" link on their website, you'll learn about ways to take action to support immigrants and refugees, and get updates about immigration policy and EMM's work via bi-weekly Zoom webinars.
Find out how you can participate in or support the work of the local chapters of the ILDC (Immigrant Legal Defense Center) and SURJ (Standing Up for Racial Justice) Information about upcoming trainings and events can be found at sbimmigrantdefense.org and surj.org
If you are on Facebook, consider following Bishop John H. Taylor, as he posts frequent updates about what's going on in Los Angeles right now in connection with solidarity demonstrations, and unjust actions that are targeting our immigrant neighbors.
And, please pray—for peace, for strength to work for justice, for the safety of all those working on behalf of people on the margins, for the reunification of families separated by actions taken outside of the protection of due process. If you can't find your own words, I offer this prayer authored by Bishop Taylor:
God of compassion and justice, give the people of the United States a better understanding of the plight of the undocumented immigrant worker. Inspire us to demand that our leaders undertake the long-overdue work of regularizing their status. Taking advantage of their labor while giving them no means of security or political representation is our nation's greatest civic sin. Lord, have mercy upon us. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who came to free the prisoner and care for those whom power had forgotten. Amen.
In faith and confidence,
Elizabeth+
