Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

09/03/2026

The Season of Creation has begun, and Episcopal Churches across our diocese have already begun integrating prayers and teachings inspired by our Christian love for Creation into their worship. This is a wonderful time to tell stories about our relationship to nature, give thanks for God’s abundant blessings, and learn more about stewarding the beautiful Earth that God has given us.

Learn more about Creation Care Formation and how you and your church can participate here: https://www.norcalepiscopal.org/site/creation-care-formation/

09/01/2026

Reflecting on David Pendleton Oakerhater today, his feast day.

“O God of unsearchable wisdom and mercy; Liberate us from bo***ge to self, and empower us to serve you and our neighbors, that like your servant David Oakerhater, we might bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; through Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.”

On September 1st we celebrate the feast day of David Pendleton Oakerhater, or in his native Cheyenne, Oak-uh-hat-uh.

He is the only American Indian listed in the Episcopal calendar of the church year. He was born between 1844 and 1851 on a Cheyenne reservation in Western Oklahoma. Oakerhater, whose name means “Making Medicine,” was imprisoned in Florida for his alleged role in the Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874. During his imprisonment, he became acquainted with Episcopal Bishop Henry Whipple and Ohio Senator George Pendleton. While a prisoner, he drew pen and ink art in ledger books, signing his name Making Medicine often with a glyph of a dancer in a Sun Dance lodge. This glyph is now depicted as a stained glass window at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oklahoma City.
During his imprisonment, he was baptized and confirmed, and following his release from Fort Marion, Oakerhater was ordained deacon on June 7, 1881, and spent the rest of his life as a missionary to the Cheyenne Nation of Oklahoma.

09/01/2026

We're thrilled to sponsor this first Creation Care Conference event.
Join creation care advocates on Sept 25-27 in Salt Lake City, Utah!

07/20/2026

Congratulations to Deacon Maggie Rutherford! We are delighted to see her settling well into St. Luke's and St. Martin's, and can't wait to see how she will grow and help her churches grow during her newly-begun 3-year Curacy Program.

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day and 250th anniversary of the United States of America. As we reflect on our nation’s history and look towards the future that we hope to build for it, let us pray:

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our
heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove
ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will.
Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and
pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion;
from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend
our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes
brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue
with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust
the authority of government, that there may be justice and
peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we
may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth.
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness,
and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail;
all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

06/25/2026

June 24 is the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for the Lord. St. John’s preaching called the people to repentance and renewal in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, and his baptism of Jesus in the Jordan marked the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. The Gospels remember him as both prophet and forerunner, who pointed beyond himself to the One who was to come, declaring, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John’s feast celebrates his courage, humility, and faithfulness, inviting the church to follow his example in proclaiming the truth and preparing hearts for Christ.

𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑛.

06/24/2026

Dear Friends,

The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California was heartbroken to hear of the shooting that took place in Chico, CA last night and claimed the lines of two innocent victims. We grieve for the deaths of Cody and Robert and their friends and family. We praise the courage of the responders who shielded those inside the library and prevented additional tragedy.

Tonight, we will be gathering at 7:00pm at St. John's, Chico to pray, to support one another, to be spiritually fed in these moments of grief. For those outside of Chico, please join with us as we offer up the following prayer:

𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒. 𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ. 𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒, 𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑜 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑔𝑢𝑛 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒. 𝑊𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒; 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒. 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑛.

Bishop Deon Johnson of Missouri has authored this collect and litany for use in the wake of gun violence

Found on Bishopsagainstgunviolence.org

See Bishop Megan's full statement here: https://www.norcalepiscopal.org/message-following-chico-shooting/

06/19/2026

Juneteenth (short for "June Nineteenth") marks the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to enforce the emancipation of slaves in the United States’ westernmost confederate state. President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years earlier, but it was rejected by the rebel Confederacy, who refused to free their slaves until defeat by the Union Army finally left them no choice. Juneteenth celebrates the day when legal emancipation became fully realized and chattel slavery was abolished in the last corner of the American South.

Juneteenth is a day to remember, reflect, and recommit to the work of racial justice and beloved community. It is considered the longest-running African American holiday, and became an official federal holiday on June 17, 2021. For the many people who have today off from work, there is no shortage of events and celebrations to join – find a list of confirmed parades, festivals, block parties and more here: https://www.juneteenthevents.us/sacramento

06/16/2026

If it’s not of love…. It’s not of God. Love abounds in cLOVErdale!

If it’s not of love…. It’s not of God. Love abounds in cLOVErdale.

06/16/2026

Today we celebrate the feast day of Joseph Butler (1692 – 1752), an Anglican bishop and moral philosopher who advanced Christian moral thinking in response to the many new discourses of the Age of Enlightenment. His responses to famous philosophies of human nature from the likes of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have stood the test of time, skillfully applying contemporary argumentative methodologies to classical Christian thinking. His high degree of analytic rigor is widely admired by philosophers from a range of disciplines, earning him a place among the great thinkers of the Enlightenment.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭

O God, who raises up scholars for your church in every generation; we praise you for the wisdom and insight granted to your bishop and theologian Joseph Butler, and pray that your church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑛.