One Last Time:

My older son is home from the War in Iraq Obama ended, my younger son is off unemployment and fully employed in the auto industry Obama didn't let go bankrupt and when my wife had a recurrence of cancer she had health insurance -- in spite of her "pre-existing condition" -- because Obama gave us the Affordable Care Act.

Not to even mention the fact that when Obama says he'll fight for your family he means ALL our families -- including LGBT families. He has not only given us change we can believe in, he has given us progress to take heart in. Four more years can't come soon enough for me! @Obama2012

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Statement on Hurricane Sandy from PB/PHOD* of The Episcopal Church

*that's "Presiding Bishop" and "President of the House of Deputies"

What I particularly appreciate about this statement is that it contextualizes the disaster of Hurricane Sandy within our global family and incorporates our the challenge of our call to be stewards of the planet. If you'd like to donate to the good work of Episcopal Relief and Development you can do that online here.

The storm called Sandy has wrought havoc northward hundreds of miles from its first Caribbean landfall, killing and injuring dozens of people in Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, United States, and Canada. The destruction left in its path has deepened the misery of those still recovering from the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as well as hurricanes earlier this season. It is always the poorest who are most affected, although the news media have shown only a little of that reality. The impact in a principal metropolitan area of the United States has brought an unimagined level of destruction, and suffering that will long continue in the mid-Atlantic region. It has also brought home the reality of changing global weather and the kind of extreme climate events that are increasingly likely to confront us all. The effects of this storm are being felt far beyond the lands over which it has passed. May this remind of us of our shared community and tenancy on this fragile earth, our island home.

This is a time for reaching out to neighbors next door as well as farther abroad with solidarity and offers of basic human hospitality – food, water, electrical connections, showers and shelter – as well as money to assist the lengthy recovery that will be required everywhere this storm has moved. Episcopal Relief and Development began preparations with dioceses before the storm made landfall, and will continue to respond in the days and months ahead. Please be generous in prayer, and with funds and neighborly hospitality. Our Anglican neighbors gathered in New Zealand for the Anglican Consultative Council have been profligate with their prayers and expressions of concern. We know that God is with us in the midst of this suffering; you can help others to discover that reality through your own response. May the light of Christ shine through you, and may his light shatter the darkness.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate

The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings
President of the House of Deputies

Celebrating Life on the Day of the Dead

"Dia de los Muertos" (The Day of the Dead) was NOT a tradition I grew up with.

Halloween I got. Totally. My parents ran with a crowd of long-time friends who ALWAYS celebrated with a Halloween party and so my childhood was one where kids AND parents dressed up and celebrated All Hallow's Eve on October 31. One Halloween I'll always remember was 1962 -- right in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember saying my prayers that October that Jesus please not let Castro come kill us all before I got to wear my fairy princess costume for Halloween. Seriously!

And All Saints Day I got. I prided myself on memorizing all the verses to "For All The Saints" before anybody else in the Junior Choir and I loved the music, the pageantry and the drama of All Saints Day in church and the stories of the saints -- some of them gory and dramatic -- we learned in Sunday School. St. George and the Dragon -- just to pick one -- was a favorite. Plus All Saints Day had the added advantage of bringing us one step closer to Advent which meant Christmas was coming, so it was all good.

I even got Reformation Day -- but not necessarily in a good way. My elementary school years were spent in a small Lutheran Day School in Highland Park. While the public school kids across the street were parading around in their costumes and getting prizes and candy, we were coloring pictures of Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the door of the Wittneberg Cathedral. We weren't bitter at all.

But by November 2nd it was all over -- except for what was left of the Halloween candy after my mother had picked out the good stuff and we were down to the gum and lifesavers. All Souls Day and the celebration of  "The Day of the Dead" wasn't even on our radar.

When it comes to "Dia de los Muertos" I am a "late adapter" but it is a tradition I am delighted to now embrace -- and last night we had a wonderful celebration at Holy Spirit in Silverlake ... which included the presence of our Bishop Suffragan Mary Glasspool as presider and seminarian Nancy Fausto a the "reflector" who led the gathered congregation in sharing stories of their departed loved ones -- represented by photos on the "ofrenda" pictured above.

My picture was this one of both my mom and Louise from Thanksgiving 2007. It was one I particularly liked because for me it has "heavenly banquet" energy about it -- and because it captures how much my mom and Louise enjoyed each other ... which was a tremendous joy and blessing to me.

So today -- on All Souls Day -- taking a moment to give thanks for those we love but see no more. Taking time to remember stories of shared love, joy, companionship and blessing. And taking time to give thanks for the gift of community, the mystery of the thin place between life and death and the power and promise of the resurrection.

And for Louise and Betty: Presente!

A Seasonal Reminder from Mom:

#Generosity

An Icon of Generosity in the wake of #SuperstormSandy twitter.com/ASCpas/status/…
— All Saints Church(@ASCpas) November 1, 2012

Speaking of Climate Change ...