| Dear People of the Diocese of Olympia, We’re all shocked and saddened by the terrible and tragic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon that, as of now, has claimed over 150 lives and injured more than 5,000 other individuals. Bishop Rickel contacted me to express his deep sorrow over the loss of life. The blast zone is approximately one mile from All Saints Episcopal Church in Beirut, part of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, one of our companion dioceses. While the situation is ever-changing, as of now, there have been no casualties reported from All Saints, though the building did suffer significant damage. The American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem, of which Bishop Rickel is Board Chair, will be coordinating relief funds. If you would like to donate to relief efforts, you can do so here: https://afedj.org/give/give-online/ Additionally, Bishop Rickel asked me to pass along a letter regarding protests and federal policing that he helped shepherd through the House of Bishops and was just released on Tuesday. You can read the letter in both English (https://episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/episcopal-church-house-bishops-july-2020-word-protest-and-federal-policing) and Spanish (https://episcopalchurch.org/es/posts/publicaffairs/c%C3%A1mara-de-obispos-de-la-iglesia-episcopal-julio-de-2020-una-palabra-sobre-la). Blessings, The Rev. Canon Arienne Davison Canon to the Ordinary |
FYI, Bishop Rickel is on vacation in early August. Hence, the message from The Rev. Canon Arienne Davison