St. Paul's Commons, Echo Park

We invite you to attend our Holy Week events, which will be offered both virtually and in-person. (All are Welcome): Apr 1 6:00 pm: Maundy Thursday Bilingual Eu...charist with Hand washing. This will be a hybrid service: Facebook, Zoom, and in-person indoor/outdoor service on the plaza at the church with masking & social distance. Maximum 35 congregants. A liturgy of hand washing (in lieu of foot washing) will be available for those desiring it. April 2 6:00 pm: Good Friday bilingual stations of the cross Hybrid service: Zoom, Facebook & in-person outdoor service on the plaza at the church with masking & social distance fjor 35 congregants. April 3 8:00 pm Diocesan Virtual Easter Vigil. Join the Diocese of Los Angeles for a virtual Easter Vigil with music and readings. The service will be on the diocese’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. April 4 11:00 am: Easter Sunday Eucharist Hybrid service: Zoom, Facebook & in-person outdoor service on the plaza at the church with masking & social distance for up to 35 congregants.

Church bells will ring today at 2:30pm across the Southland in concert with the national COVID-19 memorial lighting at the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC (at ...5:30pm Eastern). Please pause in prayer for the 400,000 who have died plus the thousands more worldwide, and for their families, caregivers and frontline medical professionals. Prayer resources from The Episcopal Church is here: https://episcopalchurch.org//wol_prayers_for_pandemic_fina Photo: Carillon tower of St. Athanasius Episcopal Church at St. Paul's Commons, Echo Park

ALTAR DEL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS CON FOTOS DE LOS DIFUNTOS DE MIEMBROS DE SAN ATANASIO Y ST. PAUL'S COMMONS ALTAR FOR THE DAY OF THE DEAD WITH PICTURES OF THE BELOV...ED DEPARTED OF MEMBERS OF ST. ATHANASIUS AND ST. PAUL'S COMMONS. Pasen por el patio de la iglesia para ver el altar por la ventana y leer los nombres y relaciones de las personas con fotos. Pass by the courtyard of the church to view the altar through the window and read the names and relationships of the people pictured.

JOIN US FOR HOLY WEEK! (PASSWORD: 2020) PALM SUNDAY Spanish at 8:30AM - https://zoom.us/j/185554061... English at 11AM - https://zoom.us/j/257790541 MAUNDY THURSDAY Bilingual at 7PM - https://zoom.us/j/127992780 GOOD FRIDAY Spanish at 12PM - https://zoom.us/j/415546169 English at 1:30PM - https://zoom.us/j/415546169 EASTER SUNDAY Spanish at 8:30AM - https://zoom.us/j/185554061 English at 11AM - https://zoom.us/j/257790541

JOIN US FOR HOLY WEEK! (PASSWORD: 2020) PALM SUNDAY Spanish at 8:30AM - https://zoom.us/j/185554061... English at 11AM - https://zoom.us/j/257790541 MAUNDY THURSDAY Bilingual at 7PM - https://zoom.us/j/127992780 GOOD FRIDAY Spanish at 12PM - https://zoom.us/j/415546169 English at 1:30PM - https://zoom.us/j/415546169 EASTER SUNDAY Spanish at 8:30AM - https://zoom.us/j/185554061 English at 11AM - https://zoom.us/j/257790541

040520 Servicio de Oración Matutina para el Domingo de Ramos/Pasión

#holydistancing With safety procedures in place, the Food Bank at St. Paul’s Commons continues its weekly Friday distribution to those in need gathered, under...standably, in larger numbers today due to the COVID-19 crisis. Operated by St. Athanasius Parish as a neighborhood resource for more than three decades, the Food Bank often serves as many as 300 households weekly. (Photos by Luis Garibay) #feedinghungryhearts See more

032920 Servicio de Oración Matutina

#housingjusticeEDLA At tonight’s Echo Park Neighborhood Council Forum on Echo Park Lake Homelessness, panelist Lloyd Edward, an unhoused resident of the neighbo...rhood, offered his perspective during discussion moderated by L.A. Times reporter Emily Alpert-Reyes. The Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, diocesan chief of staff, welcomed the more than 150 forum attendees (see remarks below), and the Rev. Canon Frank Alton, provost of St. Paul’s Commons, spoke as a panelist calling on the city to work substantively to increase permanent supportive housing solutions. He also encouraged neighbors and stakeholders to come together intentionally to achieve practical solutions. Forum organizers and attendees expressed frustration that invited city officials and police department representatives declined to attend the evening’s forum. Actions yesterday in the lakeside encampment, including the confiscation of chairs and the arrest of an unhoused resident, were decried. The tone of the two-hour program and Q&A session was respectful, professional, and compassionate. Other panelists represented the Urban Alchemy outreach organization, the Parkview Apartments, and Legal Aid. A panelist from the advocacy group Street Watch observed that when rents go up, tents go up. The forum was opened by Mo Najand, chair of the homelessness and housing committee of the Neighborhood Council. Canon McCarthy’s remarks: On behalf of our Bishop, the Right Rev. John Harvey Taylor, I am pleased to welcome you to St. Paul’s Commons, the diocesan center of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. My name is Melissa McCarthy, and I am the chief of staff here. We are glad you are here tonight. The housing problem we are experiencing in Los Angeles and right here in our neighborhood is one we will be grappling with for many years to come. Tensions are high, and sometimes it feels like there is no answer to the issues that arise when our neighbors do not have adequate housing. These tensions might easily divide us, but we believe they are really an invitation for us to work together. In times of stress and conflict, if we can work together well and in good relationship with one another, we have opportunities for creative solutions that may surprise us all. We can only get there if we work together toward a common solution. Tonight, we are your humble hosts. We are at your service and will do all in our power to care for you, our neighbors, and for our unhoused neighbors here in Echo Park and all over our city. It is the least we can do. We take our lead from Jesus who always prioritized the most vulnerable. Caring for our unhoused neighbors is, indeed, what Jesus would have done and so it is what we do. #feedinghungryhearts

#feedinghungyhearts #OneintheSpirit Kicking off today's seminar, "Civil Discourse And The Church," at St. Paul's Commons, Echo Park, The Episcopal Church's Alan... Yarborough gave us three questions for small-group work: What experience did we learn the most from? When did we feel heard? When did we feel unheard? From that, you may imagine where the conversation will go. Sharing narratives, evincing vulnerability and empathy, and bridging differences imposed by barriers of prejudice and privilege, not to mention socio-economics and sheer geography. Co-sponsors are The Episcopal Public Policy Network-CA, Episcopal Sacred Resistance - Los Angeles, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and our own One in the Spirit initiative organized by the Rev. Canon Susan Russell. See more

#feedinghungryhearts The Rev. Canon Warner Traynham doesn't remember the first time he picked up a paintbrush. He just discovered the gift along the way, he say...s, somewhere between public school in his native Baltimore and Dartmouth, Oxford, and Virginia Theological Seminary. "Abstractions in Oil," comprising 32 of his works, is on display at St. Paul's Commons, Echo Park until March 31. "The Icon of the Black Christ," on loan from St. John's Cathedral, where he was rector for 18 years, is the only representational painting in the exhibition. The other paintings are for sale. Canon for Common Life Bob Williams, having added St. Paul's Commons curator to his portfolio, put together a reception for the artist last night after our monthly Diocesan Council meeting. I love what Canon Traynham says about his process, if only because it reminds me of preaching, since what's in my head and heart never quite make it directly into to words. "Either it looks the way you want, or does not," he says. "In which case you can continue, or wipe it out and begin again, until you get it to look the way you want -- or accept the accident and incorporate it into your vision."

#feedinghungryhearts Breathtaking Echo Park Lake views, comfortable retreat center rooms, high-tech meeting spaces, gracious worship spaces, fine catering, and ...even fine art in the first floor gallery. St. Paul's Commons, Echo Park offers these pleasures and more when you're planning a meeting, conference, or retreat. This afternoon I ran into two leaders from St Augustine by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Monica as they explored the premises during a break in their annual vestry retreat: Senior warden Susan Marquis and associate rector the Rev. Katie Cadigan. Great meeting so far, they said! Read more here: http://www.retreatcenter.org. See more

New Echo Park exhibit to feature paintings by veteran priest Warner Traynham Abstractions in Oil, an exhibit of paintings by the Rev. Canon Warner Traynham, will be on view at St. Paul’s Commons Jan. 21 - March 31, with an Artist’s Preview Reception set for 3 - 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25. Bishop John Harvey Taylor will host an reception Feb. 13, 6 - 8 p.m., in honor of Traynham, who retired 18 years ago as rector of St. John’s, Los Angeles. All are welcome at both rec...eptions. I tell people that painting is a kind of therapy for me, Traynham notes in his artist’s statement for the exhibit. In ministry, you are not always certain of your impact. With painting, when you put the pigment on canvas or board, the feedback is immediate. Either it looks the way you want or it does not. In which case you can continue, or wipe it out and begin again, until you get it to look the way you want, or accept the accident and incorporate it in your vision. I began doing representational paintings, like the ‘Icon of the Black Christ’ (included in the exhibit) and now I am mostly doing abstractions. My abstractions derive sometimes from the things I see, but mostly from my imagination. With abstractions, I call myself a colorist. I expect this exhibit will make it clear why. Born in Baltimore and educated at Dartmouth, Oxford and the Virginia Theological Seminary, Traynham describes himself as a self-taught painter. Selected paintings are available for purchase from the artist. St. Paul’s Commons is located at 840 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles 90026, with two levels of free secured parking. For further information, email [email protected] or call 213.482.2040, ext. 240. Pictured here: Central to the upcoming Abstractions in Oil exhibit featuring the work of the Rev. Canon Warner Traynham is this canvas titled Icarus, recalling the main character in the classic Greek myth.

#sustainableEDLA

A great morning launching St. Paul’s Commons. Learn more about its Retreat and Conference Center at www.retreatcenter.org.